Tuesday, August 19, 2008

On the Newsstands August 18, 2008

Arts & Entertainment: I've Made the Semis by Gaynell Parker


Musings of a LDS Writing Mom

Well...since my theme this month is the Olympics, I've got a few items of my own. Remember how I mentioned going to county and state fairs for viewing art and enjoying it for low cost? Well, this week was our county fair, and I entered a painting. It was kind of a last resort -- I felt I'd committed to doing it and the painting was the only one handy. It framed up nice, and everyone commented on it when I turned it in.

My hubby insisted on taking this shot...so now you know what I look like with extremely short hair. -- Read More

Arts & Entertainment/Movies: Nim's Island by Linda Scanlan
Focus on One

Nim's Island is a cross between Romancing the Stone and Swiss Family Robinson.

Nim's mother was lost at sea. Nim's story is that the ship Buccaneer caused a whale to swallow her mother. Her father is a marine biologist. They live on their own island (Nim's of course) under the shadow of an inactive volcano.

Dad goes out to sea for what he believes is a couple of days. Where would the story be if nothing happened? Jack gets caught up in a monsoon and his boat is severely damaged and takes on water. His whole goal is to get back to Nim. -- Read More

Books: The Mist of Quarry Harbor by Liz Adair by Alison Palmer
Tangled Words and Dreams

Shame on me. I finally got my curriculum outline and should be hard at work on my next project, but what did I do yesterday? I read a book.

I'd picked up The Mist of Quarry Harbor by Liz Adair a while ago and never had a chance to read it. It turns out I just needed a good procrastination excuse. All it took was a very tight book deadline to mull over and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to read a good book.

I chose The Mist of Quarry Harbor for its mysterious cover. I have to admit, a boat in the middle of nowhere was a very appealing idea at the moment. Plus, I liked the back cover blurb because I could completely relate. -- Read More

Clothing & More: That’s My Girl by Nichole Giles
Fairy Squeak

My daughter started school again today. I have four kids, and she is the only one who started today because the seventh graders start a day earlier than the rest of the junior high. Part of me is glad to see school starting again, and another part of me is so bummed that summer is over.

After all, summer is my favorite season. That’s not to say that the warm weather won’t continue for a bit, but all the great activities associated with summer will slow down or stop completely now that school is in session. For instance, the pool in our city closes on Labor Day. Camping becomes more difficult with bedtimes and school days to worry about, and all the stores are clearing out the sundresses, shorts, swimsuits, and sandals. -- Read More

Health & Food: Texas Sheet Cake by Candace E. Salima
Dream a little dream ...

One of my all time favorite desserts is Texas Sheet Cake. Love 'em! I used to make them all the time, having a killer recipe and all, but then the weight started packing on and I had to stop. That's when I started making 'em for other people, or inviting people over for dinner so Alvin and I could have one or two pieces before it was devoured by our guests. Hey, when you love Texas Sheet Cake as much as I do you've got figure out a way.

So this great to service with Vanilla Ice Cream with Hot Fudge topping (yum!) or all by itself. It's a wonderful dessert for almost any American dish.

So get ready and start baking. It's easy to do and delicious to devour! -- Read More

Health & Food/Dutch Oven: Party Tomorrow by Keith Fisher
Camp Cook in your Backyard

I am lost trying to get ready for a dinner party tomorrow. Perhaps I'll tell you about next time. until then, I've posted one of my favorite easy recipes for you to enjoy.

Spiced Pork Chops with Red Sauce
12-inch Dutch Oven
  • 1-2 lbs. Top loin pork chops
  • Red sauce (recipe follows)
  • Spice mix rub (recipe follows)
Spice mix rub: -- Read More

Home & Family: Why Do Children Join Gangs? by Muriel Sluyter
Rocky Mountain Straight Talk

Since I have had the fun of being stuck at our daughter and son-in-law's house, I have taken advantage of the opportunity to question him concerning kids and gangs. Here are some of the things I learned:

If a child is to resist joining a gang, he must have a nurturing mother IN THE HOME, who is emotionally available to him. He must know that she loves and respects him and is concerned for his needs. He must have a strong father IN THE HOME, who is more intimidating than the gang members. He must know that his father is strong enough, not only to keep him in line, but to protect him, and he must have a fear of incurring his father's displeasure. Not a very fashionable reality, to be sure, but then, truth and fashion rarely have more than a nodding acquaintance. -- Read More

Home & Family/Preparedness: Should I? or Can I? It's Not a Grammar Lesson by Barbara Salsbury
Three P's in a Pod

For many of us this time of year brings memories of gardens and canning. Some good memories, as in assembly lines and family projects, others bring back thoughts of how tired we were.

Since this time of year does bring thoughts of bushels, peeling, jam and bottles I want to eliminate one word from your vocabulary … guilt. Following are a few pointers to help you decide – Should I? Can I? Do I want to? Is it practical? And I am really not a “Molly Mormon” – Do I have to?

Home canning is one of those skills that should be part of our training. Training? What training? Let me rephrase that – canning is a very good, very valuable skill to have. If the need arises and things are so tough that the only way you can have jam or jelly is to make it yourself, it’s nice to be able to make it yourself and have it be edible. -- Read More

LDS Outlets/Gardening & Landscaping: Lily to Surprise Neighbors by Heather Justesen
Heather Justesen

In my previous home, I noticed these funny stalks growing up in a neighbor's yard, but with no green foliage. The next thing I knew, they were covered in pink flowers. I actually wondered at first if they were fake because there were still no leaves anywhere on the plants. Later I learned what the plants were--and heard a humorous story about them.

This flower is called many things, Lycoris, Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, Blushing Lady, but most commonly it is called 'Naked Lady' because the leaves come out in early spring, hang around until early summer, then disappear for weeks before the blooms appear. -- Read More

LDS Outlets/Humor: The Game's Afoot by C.L. Beck
Write Up My Alley

The game of internet tag is going around and I’m delighted to say that my husband, Russ, has declared that I’m “it." Back when I was a kid—in the age of the Velociraptor and the Tyrannosaurus Rex—tag was one of my favorite pastimes. I remember a number of variations including “food tag”. In that version, if the person who was “it” reached out to touch you, you’d squat down, name a food and you were safe.

It was such an easy game back then, but I sure couldn’t do it now. No, it’s not the food that’s the problem—my memory for food is even better than when I was younger. Face it; once you’re over fifty, you’re too old to do anything but eat. I am sure I could hold a bag of Cheetos in one hand, a Snickers in the other, and still name some kind of food. -- Read More

New Neighbors: School Days by Cheri Crane
Crane-ium

Earlier today as I was returning home from a jaunt to Utah, I swung by a couple of stores in Logan. Since my husband and I are now considered an empty-nesters (our youngest son is currently serving a mission in Canada) I'm obviously out of the groove for the yearly tradition known as "Back-to-School Shopping." Both of the stores I happened to visit today were filled with harried parents and their offspring. It was rather fascinating to watch.

"Here's a pair of pants on sale," a hopeful mother offered.

Her daughter, who looked to be between the ages of 12-14 replied: "Puh-leeze. The zipper is like gi-nor-mous!"

"What's wrong with the zipper?"

"It's like 5 miles long!" -- Read More

Religious: He's Home by Rebecca Talley
Rebecca Talley Writes

I’ve been somewhat absent from the blog world for the past week or so as I’ve been preparing for my son to return home from his mission. We’ve been cleaning and getting the boys’ room ready, which is no small feat. How two boys can be so messy is beyond me. Any why I agreed to letting them have toads, and lizards, and a turtle in their room is even more beyond me.

Wednesday we were all working hard so we could leave for the airport to pick up my son. We’d been counting `down the days (I admit, I was counting down the hours) and were all so excited for his arrival. The phone rang. We figured it was probably my son. As soon as I heard his voice, I knew something was wrong. He explained that his plane in Rome had been delayed and by the time it arrived in New York, he’d missed his connecting flight. He couldn’t make it home Wednesday night. He could make it as far as Salt Lake, but no farther. -- Read More

Scrapbooks & Crafts: Back to School Crafts by Kim Thompson
Scribbled Scraps

My oldest daughter started high school today. I refuse to believe I have a child that old. At our house, getting ready for school is a huge undertaking. With six children, attending four different schools, there are lots of schedules to arrange, clothes to buy, teachers to meet--you get the picture!

Some of my children are more excited for the new school year than others. There are lots of ways to help your kids get excited for school. Making their own back-to-school crafts is one of them. I've been researching kids crafts online and I found a bunch of fun things you can make with your kids to get them excited about school and get their creative juices flowing. -- Read More

Services: Serving in the Campground by Liz Adairf
Liz Sez

Our family has two major campouts each year: Memorial Day and Labor Day. We camp close to home, always at the same places.

Memorial day, we camp at recreational property owned by our stake that sits on the Stillaguamish River. It’s a beautiful site and over the years has been developed to the point that two sets of missionaries have been called to staff it. They preside over the work parties that come from nearby wards and stakes to cut wood, beat back the blackberry bushes, and build all the amenities that make camping more enjoyable. (In western Washington, that generally means a roof of some kind, and the 30- by 50-foot cabana is the thing that draws us there during the perennially iffy May weather.) -- Read More

Sports & Recreation: Michael Phelps, Worlds Best Swimmer by Steven Christensen
Steve's Sports Break

The Olympics are about half way over now and it has been exciting to watch the best athletes in the world compete with one another. My wife and I have been watching the swimming events every evening all week long having a particular interest in Michael Phelps. Michael has been amazing in every race that we have seen him swim in. He has blown away the competition in every race and received a gold medal for the 5 times that he has raced up to the point I am writing this article. He has 3 races left and if he gets the gold in each of those races he will be the first athlete in Olympics history to get 8 or more Gold medals in a single Olympics. He already has 11 career Gold medals which is an Olympic record for the most gold medals in an athlete’s Olympics career. I didn’t know Phelps very well and thought that maybe I should, where he is the greatest Olympic athlete in history and is from the United States. I did some quick research to find out who he was and share my findings on my blog.

According to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia: -- Read More

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