Arts & Entertainment: Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

by Gaynell Parker on Musings of an LDS Writing Mom
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 5 June 2008

Well -- today is the first day (well, school calendar wise) of summer. I informed my 12 year old son that it wasn't official until the 21st, and he gave me this confused look. I love making them confused -- at least I do it often enough that I must enjoy it...

He's the one holding his nose in the photo above -- we were at one of the smelly pots at Yellowstone that year. That's a trip we probably won't be making soon, gas prices being what they are. ~ Read More

Arts & Entertainment: Hey, That's my Bedspread

by Gaynell Parker on Musings from an LDS Writing Mom
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

Our Relief Society met Wednesday and held a mix between a quilting bee and a bag sewing party. One of the women in the ward wanted to learn how to make a quilt for her daughter, so we decided to set one up and put it together so that it could be done quickly.

We have several women in the ward who quilt -- some with more dedication than others. One of whom brought her daughter's quilts for decoration and example; one's they had made together as projects over the past couple of years. The daughter graduated this year, and now has three quilts to her credit. They were gorgeous, and I told the lady next to me (who was a neighbor as I graduated high school) that it wasn't fair. -- Read More

Arts & Entertainment: Memorial to the Living

by Gaynell Parker on Musings from an LDS Writing Mom
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

Memorial day is kind of a strange day for me. On one hand, it's the first weekend of summer, and on the other, a time to remember the dead. I didn't grow up thinking it was a day to visit grave sites, so I thought it was a bit odd that my mother-in-law did it every year. When we lived at a different house, it had a huge snowball bush in our back yard. She would come every memorial day and harvest what was left of the large blooms to go decorate graves. I thought it was a little morbid -- but ya know.

As time has gone on, and more of my loved ones have left us, I have seen the wisdom of this practice. Yesterday we thought we'd beat the crowds and go visit my moms headstone. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera (I'm not thinking blog moment every day yet...grin) and so I can't show you how cute her headstone is. It's raised up off the ground about two feet, and has a darling carving of Winnie the Pooh on the back, chasing butterflies, with the words from my mom and dad's favorite song. Something about feeling butterflies... The joke at her funeral was how she'd raised all of us on Winne the Pooh before it became popular. -- Read More

Arts & Entertainment: The Beauty of Code

by Gaynell Parker on Musings of an LDS Writing Mom
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 26 May 2008

I got to thinking about the internet and websites today, as I played around with my browser. I usually use Firefox, and it was on the fritz, so I had to go to IE. I don’t like IE - I’ve never been a big Microsoft fan – call it the rebel in me. But it gave me options to install a theme, and once I got looking at them, I wasted a good half hour or more finding one that I wanted. I now have a dolphin for my cursor...

It made me wonder what other people look for in a website. Have you ever thought about what it is that draws you to a place on the internet? Take yourldsneighborhood. What is it that you like about the site? Myself, I like the artwork. It’s fun without being cutesy. Sort of like a scrapbooking style, you know? I like the different sites in it. It makes me feel at home. -- Read More

Arts & Entertainment: Origami

by Gaynell Parker on Musings of an LDS Writing Mom
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 22 May 2008

My daughter discovered something a year or so ago, and it's been a consuming passion for the past six months. I thought she would get tired of it and move onto something else (which is my children's wont) but she hasn't. In fact, she has continued to be more fascinated with it and keeps buying more stuff that has to do with it.

I'm talking about Origami. She started out with a book/kit her grandmother gave her for Christmas last year, and went on from there. Her favorite store to shop is Barnes and Noble (she's a bookaholic as well) and they apparently keep much of this stuff in stock, because she comes home with something new every pay period. At first she was buying books about it -- how to fold more, etc. Then she discovered little kits with loads of paper. Apparently it's all about the paper. -- Read More

Arts & Entertainment: My Mailbox

by Gaynell Parker of The Musings of LDS Writing Mom
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 19 May 2008

Last year we had an issue with kids throwing pumpkins at our mailbox. I don't know how many of you suffer from the same disease we do here with regards to no brains and pumpkins, but it's a yearly illness that routinely takes out the mailboxes. Sometimes they get tired of waiting and use a baseball bat -- they've even been known to use a car. But this time, it was a pumpkin. We weren't the only ones struck by the onset of the disease, there were several other mailboxes that suffered a similar fate. ~ Read More

Arts & Entertainment: Welcome to the World of Art

by Gaynell Parker on Musings of an LDS Writing Mom
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 15 May 2008

Greetings on this first day of blogland for the LDSneighborhood. I'm excited! Today I wanted to talk about the word Art, and what it means to me. Have you ever thought about what that word entails?

I used to think that it meant only physical things; paints, brushes, canvas, paper, pencils, charcoal, pastels – the list is endless. But it's so much more than that. There are lots of different aspects involved in art. There is dance, music, theater, etc. Since I’m sure there will be different blogs on music, as well as perhaps the other aspects I’ve listed, I’m going to focus mainly on the visual art – painting, sculpting, and photography. Yes, Photography is art too. Ever hear about Ansel Adams and his black and white photos? Pretty cool stuff. -- Read More

Arts & Entertainment/ Movies: Romeo and Juliet

by Linda Scanlan on I Knew I Could Fly
on the yourLDSneighborhood Newsstand - 5 May, 2008

History is fascinating. The movie industry has brought truth, glamor and understanding to the historically challenged population. Shakespeare seems to be number one on the list for those historically challenged people. Fortunately Twentieth Century Fox has given this group of handicapped individuals hope.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes starred in the 1996 Shakespearean film “Romeo and Juliet”. A new generation was introduced to this classic set in “the futuristic urban backdrop of Verona Beach.” Though in a modern setting, the original dialog has been maintained. The combination of old and new created a new form of “classic” for movie goers. ~ Read More