Tuesday, June 24, 2008

On the Newsstands June 23, 2008

Art: "Art in the City" by Gaynell Parker

Summer time is a great time to experience the arts. Not only are there many opportunities at the local fairs and festivals and farmers markets, but there is also the big daddy of them all, the Utah Arts Festival.

This has gotten very large over the years, from the small thing it was in the early 1980's to now. This year one of my fellow writers and talented artist is doing a demo there with her group of painters. Hazel Jensen will be demoing oil painting. She does great work, so you should go and check her out. -- Read More

Books: "Counting Blessings by Kerry Blair" by Alison Palmer

Several months ago I learned a beautiful lesson from one of the sweetest people I am privileged to know. She taught me about problems and elephants. Yes, that seems like a strange combination but when she explained it, it worked. I learned that problems can be just like elephants: it’s all in the perspective. Even the smallest elephant, held in front of your eyes can become huge and block out everything else around it. Big elephants cause the same problem. Every problem needs to be part of a bigger perspective. If all we ever look at is our elephant, then we miss out on everything else in our lives and in the lives of those we care about. -- Read More

Home & Family: "Kids Will be Kids" by Muriel Sluyter

Recently, we had a fascinating experience at our house, or, to be more precise, in our barn. I had gone to the barn to do morning chores when, to my surprise, I discovered that someone had been there during the night.

The signs were everywhere. The fascinating part of this hilarious episode was the criminal's apparent goal, which seems to have been to feed a baby animal (an orphan?) some goat's milk. Now, it is true that goat's milk has saved many an orphan, but it is unusual for the young critter to be brought to the goat in the middle of the night, without the owner's knowledge. -- Read More

Jewelry: "Mythological Jewelry" by Nichole Giles

Because my current novel project involves a little Greek and Roman mythology, I’ve had to do research into the history of Greece and Rome. The ironic thing is that research for my novel is leading me toward wonderful information for my jewelry blogs, and vice versa. Interesting, huh? But really, really fun.

On to the Greek influence.
During the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., Greek jewelry was often modeled after larger pieces of art—only made miniature—depicting religious, mythological, and heroic scenes. Often, jewelry was bound together with a certain kind of knot called the Hercules knot, because it was said to possess mystical and magical qualities. Craftsmen who specialized in working with gemstones and gold were producing exceptional works of art by incorporating overtones of contrast, harmony, clarity, unity, and rhythm in their work. -- Read More

LDS Department Store/Gardening & Landscaping: "Water-wise Planting" by Heather Justesen

Just the word Xeriscaping brings visions of rocks and cactus to most people’s heads. They think of those poor desert dwellers whose city ordinances prevent them from growing ten square feet of grass and shudder, grateful it isn’t them.

Wikipedia says the word “refers to landscaping in ways that do not require supplemental irrigation.” And that “Plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to the local climate are emphasized, and care is taken to avoid losing water to evaporation and run-off.” The Greek translation for this term is ‘dry landscaping.’ -- Read More

LDS Department Store/Preparedness: "The Headline: Food for Thought and a Bonus" by Barbara Salsbury

As the year progresses the headlines that cause fear, and the struggles with the economy are not going away All these things are affecting more and more of us, more and more. My son is on active duty. War and all of its horrors are in our own basket, as well as yours as we live in these times. The failing economy continues to wreak its toll on what used to be called our budgets.

And so, I encourage you to do what you can, where you can, when you can. As an individual you or I cannot resolve the situations that are generating the fear from the headlines. Nor can we resolve situations in the city, state, or country. BUT, what we can do is resolve to do something, to create our own safe haven in attitude and action in our preparedness program. Even if you are in a small apartment there has to be one corner that you can set aside to hold a few things that will benefit you. If you can’t create a “safe room”, plan and create a comforting “safe corner.” -- Read More

LDS Outlets/Dutch Oven: "Snacking Around the Campfire" by Keith Fisher

Have you ever sat with your family around a campfire? You ate supper hours ago, but you were hungry for something, You don’t know what? Digging through the camp kitchen might not be a good idea (especially if you’re not the cook). I may have a solution for you.

25-years ago, I used a tool that pleased a troop of boy scouts and brought me high praise. I’m not sure where the tool came from, and I haven’t seen it for years. I looked for a picture on the internet, and found this on an antiques website. It’s worth a little money now—I wish I’d kept tract of mine. As you can see from the picture, it’s a campfire popcorn popper. -- Read More

LDS Outlets/Humor: "Bats in my Belfry" by C.L. Beck

One summer, I was sitting near the door that leads down to the furnace room, when I heard a “scritch, scritch”. Thinking it was Slippers, our cat, I ignored it and continued with my vastly important project of checking email.

Pretty soon, “scritch, scritch, shuffle, shuffle” caught my attention again.

“Slippers, I’m not getting up to let you out. Just sit in the dark and dream of mice.” -- Read More

Missionary: "More Mission Prep" by Rebecca Talley

In an earlier post, I mentioned ways families can help young people prepare to serve missions. Suggestions included having regular Family Home Evenings, having consistent scripture study and prayers, setting an example of faithfulness, encouraging high-school age children to attend seminary, providing opportunities for children to gain and strengthen testimonies, and finding time to discuss the gospel.

In addition to these, other areas in which parents can help future missionaries prepare include: -- Read More

New Neighbors: "In the Good ol' Summertime" by Cheri Crane

I think summer has finally arrived. Here in Bear Lake Valley, we feel like we've jumped straight from winter to summer. There was no spring to speak of. =) We endured a series of wintry storms during what should have been spring. But summer has arrived, and it is gorgeous. All of the moisture we received has contributed to the brilliant green color of the hills and surrounding farms. Flowers are blooming all over the place, wild and otherwise. And the flowering trees are beautiful. This is the first year that my row of lilacs has actually bloomed. I've been nursing them along for years---last year I had high hopes for them, but the blossoms froze. This year, not only did my lilacs bloom, but so did my flowering crab tree. This is a huge event in my life. -- Read More

Scrapbooking: "Memories of Dad" by Kim Thompson

I realize I’m a week late with a post about Father’s, but I’ve been moving, so I’m allowed to be a week behind. Right?

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”
—Jim Valvano

Valvano’s quote pretty much sums up my relationship with my dad. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I finally realized all the things he’d been telling me all along were really for my own good. He is the most patient, loving man I know and I count myself lucky to be his daughter. -- Read More

Services: "Four Simple Gifts" by Liz Adair

About ten years ago, with our last child perched and ready to fledge from the nest, we left the house we had lived in for 25 years and moved temporarily to a small town on the other side of the state. Same house for a quarter century = same ward family for that span. Oh, boundaries had changed and people had moved in and out, but we were old timers, elder statesmen. Everybody knew us. We had grown gray serving in that ward.

Suddenly, we were in a new ward, and we found that with the new locality had come super powers. We were invisible. When we walked in the chapel the first Sunday, not a head turned our way. No hands were offered. No eye contact was made, even accidentally. It was as if we didn’t exist. I pinched my husband just to check, but though his buns are spare, I had hold of real flesh. We were still there, all right. -- Read More

Sports & Recreation: "Swimming: The Ultimate Summer Sport" by Rachelle Christensen

I enjoy swimming. I don’t get to go as often as I used to but I enjoy it when I have the chance. I’m guessing that what defines people’s like or dislike of swimming is knowledge. If you know how to swim, you generally enjoy it.

I grew up near the mammoth Snake River in Idaho. When I went to Utah State University for college and someone showed me the Logan River, I actually laughed out loud. “That’s not a river, that’s a creek!” I said. -- Read More

Sports & Recreation/Movies: "Return with Honor" by Linda Scanlan

Isn't life funny in that what you so carefully plan out for yourself, seems rarely to happen the way it is planned. This summer was to have been a fast moving action filled summer scheduled with girls camp, art camp, family reunion, boating and fishing. All of that was for June. This schedule was planned as skillfully as choreography in a musical is planned.

Enter one emergency surgery. Out the window goes the elegant meal planning for guest. No longer is the routine bulletin easily completed. Laundry becomes the stereo-typical mountainous chore that has depressed women from the beginning of time. Nothing is on schedule. The train has derailed and the station is no where in sight. -- Read More


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