Services: In-Flight Service

by Liz Adair on Liz Sez
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 5 June 2008

My first commercial airplane flight was aboard a DC6, flying from Anchorage, Alaska to Seattle, Washington. The year was 1955 and I was fourteen years old. I wore a gray suit with pink accents—blouse, gloves, shoes and hat. Everyone dressed up to travel back then.

We walked out of the airport and across the tarmac to climb a flight of roll-around stairs where, at the top, the brilliant smile of our stewardess welcomed us aboard. Flight attendants were, by job description: female, young, pretty, single, and registered nurses. They were there to serve our every need. ~ 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/ Movies: Turn Around

by Linda Scanlan aka L.S. Keilbart on I Knew I Could Fly
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

I love watching modern day versions of scriptural events. The movie "Turn Around" is based on the story of Alma the Younger.

Colton is the guy that doesn't care what others think. He has strayed from the path of righteousness. He's the guy your mother has warned you about not getting involved with.

Sara is typical "Molly Mormon". She attends all her meetings and has a strong testimony of the Gospel. -- Read More

Clothing & More: Toe Rings and Toe Jam, Part II

by Nichole Giles on Nichole's Fairy Squeaks
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

When I was a kid, the last day of school was a major event. Not only did it signify the beginning of summer, but it reminded me that winter (my least favorite season) was over and summer (my favorite) had begun. Usually, I like to celebrate the warmer temperatures that accompany summer with the purchase of a great pair of sandals. Because, let’s face it, sandals just rock.

Last week, I talked about toe rings and how they can dress up an ordinary pair of feet. To tell the truth, I believe most people are self-conscious of their feet. I’m not sure why. We all have them and we all need them. Perhaps it has something to do with the amount of time they spend crammed inside stuffy, constricting shoes. Never mind the discomfort of wearing said shoes; we can’t exactly walk around barefooted in the snow without risking the loss of our feet. Then toe rings would be out of the question, wouldn’t they? -- Read More

Health & Food/Dutch Oven: Anatomy of a Potluck Party

by Keith Fisher on The Camp Cook in your Backyard
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

Did you ever have a DOG? No, I’m not talking about eating dogs. DOG is an acronym for Dutch Oven Gathering. It’s a phrase adopted by Dutch oven cooks, and is widely used in those circles.

You'd never know it since the temperatures have been so cool, but with the passing of Memorial Day, summer is upon us. Time to start thinking of backyard parties and camping trips. I’m sure you know how to throw a dinner party, but let me talk you into a special kind. -- Read More

Home and Family: A Culture at War With Itself

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

A young man and I approached the post office door at the same time. I smiled at him and stepped aside, expecting him to hold the door for me. Instead, he smiled back, opened the door and walked through. As I realized that I had fallen back into an old pattern that is no longer in effect, it struck my funny bone, and I started to giggle.

It reminded me of another incident of thirty-plus years ago. At that time I was also approaching a post office door. There were several older men standing around, passing the time of day. One of them stepped forward, smiled and opened the door for me. As he did, he touched his fingers to the brim of his hat in a courteous salute. I remember thinking that, though we were in California at the time, this man must have come from southwestern Colorado. It was such a typical Colorado salute for a man of his generation. ~ Read More

Home & Family/Preparedness: What Do I Start If I Don't Know Anything

by Barbara Salsbury on Three P's in a Pod
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

Your first step is to spend a few minutes thinking about what area of preparedness you are most concerned. Are you concerned about the possibility of a natural disaster leaving you stranded with no food or water or utilities? Are you uneasy about the possibility that you’ll be evacuated from your home with only the clothes on your back? Do you worry about the economy and how to be sure you always have food on your table? Have you considered the possibility that severe weather conditions or global disasters could result in severe food shortages?

Ponder your possibilities and try to gain as much insight and information as you can about what your options are and how you’d like to tackle them. (Get further information at Solutions for Preparedness.) Ideally, you’ll want to work towards being ready for any crisis. But don’t wait till you have the time and money to purchase every emergency preparedness product known to man before you start. ~ Read More

LDS Outlets/Gardening & Landscaping: Plants in Unexpected Places

by Heather Justesen on Heather Justesen
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

Got your veggies in yet? The one part of gardening I don't love (besides the weeding, which isn't all that bad if it's not too hot out) is watering. Let me get my hands in the dirt, or plot out where everything is going to go. Better yet, let me spend hours in nurseries looking at plants and imagining where they are going to go (If you refuse to let me buy anything while I'm there, I'm going to accuse you of cruelty.). But ask me to remember to turn the water on and off and move a hose periodically and you'll find how truly lazy I can be. -- Read More

LDS Outlets/Humor: Writer's Block

by C.L. Beck on Write Up My Alley
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

The willowy blonde sat in her Big Bird jammies, a chocolate cupcake in one hand.

Putting my pencil between my teeth, I re-read the words I'd written and then erased them. Next I drew a tulip with eyes, a nose and a goatee … and then my mind wandered.

“Writers are a superstitious lot,” I announced.

“Ummm,” my husband, Russ, replied. I wondered if that meant he was listening or he liked the looks of the donut sitting on my desk. -- Read More

New Neighbors: Memorial Day Jaunt

by Cheri Crane on Craneium
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

This past weekend, I traveled with my mother and youngest sister on our annual Memorial Day Jaunt. We were the only three who could make the loop this year. Despite that, we still enjoyed ourselves immensely. On Saturday, we traveled to Idaho Falls, Idaho stopping for lunch at the famed Smitty's Pancake House where we enjoyed delicious breakfast items for lunch. (Breakfast is served all day at this fine establishment) We met up with an aunt and uncle at this location and enjoyed wonderful food and a good visit. -- Read More

Religious: Respect for Missionaries

by Rebecca Talley on Rebecca Talley Writes
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

The young men and women who serve missions sacrifice 18 months-2 years of their lives. While their peers are advancing through college, earning money, and experiencing social activities, these young people are out preaching the gospel. Many have worked and saved their own money to pay for their missions and when they return from their missions, many have very little money left. Many missionaries miss out on weddings, births, and other family celebrations while they are gone. -- Read More

Scrapbooking & Crafts: Summer Scrapbooking Fun

by Kim Thompson on Scribbled Scraps
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

Today was the last day of school at my house. I always look forward to my kids being home. But after a few weeks, the newness wears off and I inevitably hear, “I’m bored.” I’m constantly looking for ways to keep them involved and busy. Scrapbooking can be a fun activity to share with your kids to keep them busy and actively creating throughout the summer. It may not be as good as schoolwork, but it comes pretty close! It can reinforce skills they learn in school without them even realizing it. -- Read More

Services: Thanks! Brother of Mine!

by Liz Adair on Liz Sez
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

When I was 48, I had a revelation. It came about when I watched the interaction between my ten-year-old daughter and her eight-year-old brother. One day, as she tried to get this laid-back, happy-go-lucky boy to march to the beat she was insistently drumming, I realized this was a mirror of my childhood relationship with my brother. The one difference was that I was the younger sibling.

The next time my brother came to visit, I shared this with him. “I didn’t realize,” I confessed, “how I used to try to run your life.” His reply? “What do you mean, used to?” -- 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/ Movies: Jon Heder

by Linda Scanlan a.k.a. L.S. Keilbart on I Knew I Could Fly
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

Jon Heder is a name that people are starting to become familiar with. Starring roles in Napoleon Dynamite, The Benchwarmers, Blades of Glory, Just like Heaven and School For Scoundrels has almost made him a household name. Who is this man and where has he hailed from?

-- Read More

Books: Betty Briggs and YA Fiction

by Anne Bradshaw on Not Entirely British
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

Betty Briggs is one of my favorite people. Like me, she also loves horses. Unlike me, she actually owns some--and successfully brings them into her Young Adult novels. If your teens love horses, then Betty's books are a must-read.

She says, "I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. In grade school I used to take work home at night so I could create stories to entertain my classmates during the day. I loved filling the pages of notebooks on both sides so the paper would crinkle. At that time, my dream was to write and illustrate children’s books when I grew up. ~ Read More

Clothing & More: Back to Basics

by Nichole Giles on Nichole's Fairy Squeaks
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

Last week I told you about the crazy notion I once had in my head (for way, way too long) that in order to be a good LDS wife and mother, I had to give up big chunks of my personality. One of those chunks included the jewelry-loving me. The one that wore leather string around my wrists, earrings nearly as big as my head, and the most unique rings I could find.

Okay, so I admit, giving up the leather wasn’t a bad thing. After all, I wasn’t a teenager anymore, and that was part of a teenaged fad. And the earrings were completely impractical for a mother with young babies. Ouch! But I gave up so much more than those silly things. I gave up any jewelry altogether except my wedding ring. ~ Read More

Health & Food/Dutch Oven: After the Rooster Crows

by Keith Fisher on The Camp Cook in your Backyard
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

Before we know it, we’ll be in the middle of the patriotic season. Inevitably, we’ll have the opportunity to cook or attend one of the many fund raising breakfasts offered on those holidays. Since my blog is dedicated to out-door cooking not just Dutch oven, let’s talk about breakfast in Camp.

When I was a kid I remember waking up during camping trips and watching my grandfather make breakfast. He loved to cook in the mountains and he designated himself camp cook. His pancakes from scratch were the best, and he could flip an egg with finesse. ~ Read More

Home & Family: When the Family Falls Apart

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

A man contacted me a short time ago to request a copy of an old column. He said his copy had come from someone else’s copy, which had come from someone else’s copy, and it was practically unreadable. I dug into my archives and found it was several years old and full of quotes from the long-dead, but very wise, Alexander Fraser Tytler; then I knew why it was being passed around. I have quoted him extensively over the years, and I am going to do it again today. In that column I said:

“For many people around this world, freedom is anything but commonplace; it is, in fact, a dream that will never be realized during their lifetime. We who have possessed it for over 200 years think of it as an entitlement, rather than an extraordinary condition enjoyed by comparatively few of this world’s inhabitants. -- Read More

Home & Family/Preparedness: Disaster Preparedness and 72-hour Kits Are Not The Same

by Barbara Salsbury on Three P's in a Pod
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

With the headlines and media reports still reeling with the news of disaster after disaster many people are finally hearing the wake-up call and sincerely trying to become prepared. Spring many times coincides with an onslaught of heavy rain, floods, more ice and snow and so on, before the much looked-for flowers and sun appear. So thoughts and plans toward preparedness are indeed practical at this season.

Being prepared for a disaster and having a 72-hour kit are not the same. You need to know the difference. -- Read More

LDS Outlets/Gardening & Landscaping: Gardening Like Laura

by Heather Justesen on Heather Justesen
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

I'm really excited about the opportunity to blog for yourLDSneighborhood.com on landscaping and gardening.

If you discount snitching peas off the vine when I was a preschooler as actual gardening experience, you could say I first began gardening in my early elementary school years. The summer after I discovered Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, I was determined to grow my own food--just like a real-life pioneer. (Of course, at this time I wanted to be Laura Ingalls, in every way--an insane dream I fortunately grew out of.) There was a patch of dirt my mom had used for veggies a few other times back behind their business, where we kids spent the long summer days. I know I planted peas, but don't recall if I planted anything else. It's a good thing peas have such a short growing season, because I remember becoming bored with all the weeding before they finished producing for the summer. -- Read More

LDS Outlets/Humor: Why Don't You Write Me?

by C.L. Beck on Write Up My Alley
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

There’s no doubt I’m giving away my age by mentioning this, but a number of years ago there was a song released by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel called Why Don’t You Write Me. It’s one that easily becomes an ear worm.

Have you ever had an ear worm? In case you’ve been infected but didn’t recognize it for the insidious bug that it is, an ear worm is a tune that gets into your mind and repeats itself over . . . and over . . . and over . . . and over . . . and . . . well, you get my drift. ~ Read More