Arts & Entertainment/Art: "A Day of Triumph and Beauty" by Gaynell Parker
This is the time of year that we get to remember some of the past that was more than just the beginning of Life for this valley. It was the start of the Desert blooming as a rose. I realize that some of that quote was for the middle east, but I think a great deal of it was for Utah.
Back in 1847, when the pioneers first entered the valley it was nothing like what we see now. There were some trees, mainly around what steams and rivers existed, but most of it was arid land. A desert.
Only the industry and work of those early saints turned this valley into what it is now -- a glorious area to see. One that I wouldn't trade for anywhere else. -- Read More
Arts & Entertainment/Movies: "A Review of Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Candace E. Salima
The Jules Verne classic, Journey to the Center of the Earth, has been made into a movie more than once. But Walden Media's recent rendition of the same is my absolute favorite. Brenden Fraser is one of my favorite actors, and Walden Media is one of my favorite production companies, so I was willing to take a chance and go see this their version of Journey to the Center of the Earth.
-- Read More
Books: "Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston" by Alison Palmer
In honor of Pioneer Day, I bring you a book review on a story about… pioneers!When I first picked up Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston, I have to admit feeling a little intimidated by it. It’s a thick book (320+ pages), and the cast of characters looked longer than the cast of a Shakespeare play. But, I’m happy to share that each character was introduced on its own timetable and not all at once. I didn’t have a bit of trouble keeping them straight as I became involved in the story, and I did become involved enough to forget how long the book was.
My friend Tristi has felt a passion for this story for many years and I’m proud of her for seeing it through to completion. It’s definitely a star in her crown. Season of Sacrifice tells the story of her great-great-
grandparents and their part in settling Utah, particularly the famous “Hole in the Rock” (which I’m now dying to see, by the way). -- Read More
Clothes & More/Jewelry: "Artistic Possibilities" by Nichole Giles
I think I mentioned before that the modern jewelry movement started around the
end of World War II, with artists like Georg Jensen, Pablo Picasso, and the firms of Faberge, Cartier, and Tiffany continuing to advance the concept of wearable art.Style varieties progressed with the creation of plastics, precious metal clay, simulated gemstones, and new coloring techniques. The creation of artificial gemstones and the development of pearl harvesting have made nicer jewelry more affordable than ever. You can even get a simulated diamond for about half the price of the real thing, and according to the jewelers who sell them, the fake ones sparkle more brilliantly. - Read More
Health & Food: "Dinner Tightens Family Bonds" by Candace E. Salima
Gathering around the table for family dinner is something that, for too many homes, has gone the way of the past. I find this very sad. Looking back over the years I grew up I recall many a conversation, many a problem being solved, much family history being learned, all around the dinner table.
No matter what our schedules were, we had to be home and up to the dinner table by 6:00 p.m. Oh, concerts or games were the exception, then dinner was at 5:00 p.m. My mother was firm on that.
There's a lot of cementing of family bonds around the dinner table. Whomever cooked, whether it be mother, father or teenager, there is care and love which goes into the preparation of that meal. Much thought is poured into the nutrition, taste and edible nature of the meal. And from the one who benefited from all that great food, I can say it taste good! For my family, I even go as far as to make certain there are a plethora of colors on the dinner plate when it is filled. -- Read More
Health & Food/Dutch Oven: "Shake or Bake" by Keith Fisher
It started out as a great family, fishing trip. The full moon prevented us from catching any fish but we had fun playing with crawdads and chatting. I made waffles and eggs with the maple syrup we got from a friend who went to Alberta. This syrup isn’t the thin, runny stuff we get in the supermarket, this stuff is so thick you have to wait for it to come out of the bottle. I discovered if you leave it in the sun for awhile, it will pour easier.
Now, as I was saying, the trip started out great, but like all good things, there was a lesson in it for me, maybe two or three.
Back in 2003 after a frustrating experience with my camp trailer, I came home and bought a new camp trailer. More out of pride and anger than deliberation. I had a better job then—I figured we had the money. Don’t get me wrong, however, I’ve never regretted buying the new trailer. It has brought us much joy and family togetherness. -- Read More
Home & Family: "Grandsons as Miracles" by Muriel Sluyter
For some reason I am taken back to the birth of my daughter, Heather's, first son. Connor is now 10-years-old and a strapping young man. But I remember when he was born. This was what I wrote eleven years ago.
A tiny, exciting, sweet-smelling creature has come into our lives, a brand-new, precious little grandson; to say we are ecstatic is to understate the case. One of our daughters, Heather, has had her first child; a large, very healthy boy. This little one tried to be born the traditional way, but a childhood injury his mother had sustained during a tubing party left an unexpected barrier, and he was forced to be born by caesarean section. -- Read More
Home & Family/Preparedness: "Is the Food in Your Pantry an Inheritance for Your Grandchildren?" by Barbara Saslbury
Food storage or home storage was never meant to be an inheritance for your grandchildren. Now that may come as a shock to some of you. You might be getting a glimmer of thought that I’m going to tell you that you should be planning on eating it – someday. Yes, after all of your scheming and planning of how and where to store it you need to plan to eat it. Now you know you are in trouble.
One of the key words or phrases that one always hears or uses upon entering any store that sells “food storage products” is, “what is the shelf life?” Herein is the magic formula. If you can buy a food that you can hide under the stairs and bed forever you have kept the commandment. Right? Right! Haven’t you heard, “You must have your food-storage? Therefore it only makes sense to want to know what the shelf life is of the magic elixir or wonder grain or deluxe freeze-dried phenomenon. Then you can store it! -- Read More
LDS Outlets/Gardening & Landscaping: "Oregano, Not Just for Pizza" by Heather Justesen
Some years ago one of my family members was told to take oregano for a health problem. I remember thinking what a strange idea that was—Oregano? You mean that Italian seasoning? When I had planted this versatile herb in my garden I had no intentions of using it medicinally, I just wanted something to spice up my pizza and spaghetti sauce.
Oregano was not commonly used in the
LDS Outlets/Humor: "Not the Colonel's Chicken" by C.L. Beck
Several years ago, my husband, Russ, and I had an interesting experience. It was so interesting that it sticks out in my mind like it was just … well … several years ago.
**********
“You should have been at the post office today,” I said to Russ.
“Why’s that?”
“One of the boxes of mail-order chicks broke open and yellow babies were peeping and running all over the place.”
I paused. “What would you think about raising poultry?”
Russ looked dubious. Who can say why? It’s not like my schemes ever backfired or anything. -- Read More
Music: "Six Most Common Mistakes Made by Independent Musicians and How to Fix Them" by Greg Hansen
“Why’s that?”
“One of the boxes of mail-order chicks broke open and yellow babies were peeping and running all over the place.”
I paused. “What would you think about raising poultry?”
Russ looked dubious. Who can say why? It’s not like my schemes ever backfired or anything. -- Read More
Music: "Six Most Common Mistakes Made by Independent Musicians and How to Fix Them" by Greg Hansen
You’re a singer or songwriter. You have talent, but what do you do with it? Let’s assume you have managed to get funding for an independent recording-what pitfalls do you want to avoid?
Here are 6 tips to help you as you embark on your journey as an artist.
Mistake #1: Not listening to your audience when writing your material.
Solution: Think of THEM, not YOU. Know why you are writing, and to whom. Write to uplift people, and not for selfish-expression. If your work requires substantial explanation, you have missed the boat. Know your audience and take them where they (or you) want them to go with your talents. You are already unique, use that for other’s good. -- Read More
New Neighbors: "One More Salute to Pioneers" by Cheri Crane
Since this post will be featured on Thursday, July 24th at www.yourldsneighborhood.com, I decided to do one more tribute to the courageous pioneers. =) I figure it's a timely thing. One could call this pioneer culture week. ;)
During the trip to Nauvoo that our family made in 1997, I wrote the following poem. It's a comparison between their time and ours:
Along the Mormon Trail
Air conditioning
Padded seats
Snacks for pleasure
Riding in comfort
Along the Mormon Trail . . .
“Are we there yet?”
“How much further?”
“When’s lunch?”
“Is there a rest stop soon?”
Along the Mormon Trail . . .
-- Read MoreAir conditioning
Padded seats
Snacks for pleasure
Riding in comfort
Along the Mormon Trail . . .
“Are we there yet?”
“How much further?”
“When’s lunch?”
“Is there a rest stop soon?”
Along the Mormon Trail . . .
Religious: "Youth Conference Testimonies" by Rebecca Talley
I’m going to detour today from writing about our basic beliefs in the LDS Church because I wanted to share an experience I had over the weekend.
I am currently serving in the Young Women’s organization in my ward and decided I wanted to attend the 4 Stake youth conference this last Friday and Saturday. Though I could only attend a portion because of babysitter issues, I am very thankful I was able to participate.
The conference was held on the old campus of a local college, nestled in the trees and surrounded by the mountains. It’s a beautiful place that’s used for these kinds of events. When I arrived, the youth were involved in different games, including a few water fights. After the games, they all participated in a square dance. It was fun to watch them dance in groups and try to keep up with the steps. -- Read More
Scrapbooking: "Scrapbooking Bargains Online" by Kim Thompson
Let's face it. Scrapbooking can be expensive. If you consider the paper at $1.00 per sheet, stickers approximately $2.00 per sheet, and embellishments at $3.00-$5.00 per package, you can easily spend $10.00 to complete one scrapbook page. And that's not even considering the tools required.
Luckily, we have the internet. There are tons of scrapbooking bargains to be found online. The first place to look is eBay. Okay, so I may be a little prejudiced since I have a scrapbooking store on eBay (Kim's ScrapShack). But there are a lot of other vendors besides myself who sell products at great prices. Just do a search for scrapbooking and thousands of items will come up. Your best bet is to skip the auctions and just scroll down to the bottom of the page and buy directly from Ebay stores. You can buy items now at bargain prices, without having to wait for an auction to end. -- Read More
Services: "Serving Your Neighbor in a Small But Significant Way" by Liz Adair
My husband wears size twelve shoes. This became important as I was ruminating about what the subject of today’s blog would be. I don’t know about you, but I do some of my best (mental) writing while my hands are busy, and this particular ruminating moment I was on my hands and knees scrubbing doggy doo out of the carpet of our travel trailer. We were at a family reunion where there were several dogs, and as my husband was setting up, he stepped in a generous pile and, unknowingly, tracked a size-twelve-ful of it through every area of the trailer.
That’s not the first time we’ve had this kind of trouble, lately. We live in a small town, but it’s a well-run little town and has a well-enforced leash law. You never see a dog running loose in town. However, we live on the very edge, and the people across the street live in the county, where the leash law doesn’t apply. They have a black and white spotted dog who must think our front lawn is malnourished, because he fertilizes it regularly. These are very nice neighbors, and I don’t think they know about their dog’s personal service project, but it’s been impressed upon our notice (and our living room carpet) on several occasions. -- Read More
Sports & Recreation: "Fishing With Family" by Steve Christensen
This is a fun blog written by my husband which would normally be posted to his blog, but since his internet manager (yes, that's me) is having technical difficulties, I'm posting it here. This is another article for yourLDSNeighborhood which I highly recommend you visit. Click here to get their free newsletter.
Written by Steve Christensen
Fishing is a sport that many men and women enjoy. Not many things in life are as exciting as feeling a big fish on your fishing pole and reeling it in with it fighting the whole way. Who doesn’t enjoy being outdoors enjoying the quiet lakes and forests that surround them? I have many fond memories of fishing with my dad and my family.
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