Ho ho ho!

Our ward Christmas party was last Saturday night. For many years Roger and his friend (our recently released bishop) have concluded the festivities as Elf and Santa, respectively. This year, Dad decided to go see Santa when the kids were done making their requests and receiving their treats. A couple of ward members caught photos of the event, in which Dad enjoyed some spirited conversation with the man in the red suit. It was a great party, and a moment to remember.

I only have eyes for you

I warned Patrick I would open his eyes in Photoshop by pasting Kim's eyes on him. He thought that was a nice idea. So here it is: Patrickim. We don't want him to go through life with his eyes closed, do we?

The Closer

I learned something about Kim's husband, Patrick, at their wedding last weekend. Patrick is a closer. He closes his eyes instinctively the instant the camera clicks. He is less likely to blink outdoors during daylight, when no flash is employed - but I have enough shut-eye photos of Patrick to do an entire slideshow of Patrick smiling with his eyes closed. To be fair, Patrick warned me about this. He knows he is a closer. In fact, he seems to have inherited the trait from his dad. I have highlighted one of the many shots of Patrick from the rehearsal dinner. I'm certain the professional photographer will have had better success. Some of my favorites of the happy couple can be found on my flickr.

Fire Storm

I never really understood the term "fire storm" until this week. We had the "perfect" fire storm here in San Diego. The weather, high winds, and draught conditions combined against us in an apolcalyptic way. Sunday afternoon the sun turned orange and the east wind brought all-too-familiar ash - signaling wildfires in the area. Listening to the news, we learned fires were raging in the Ramona area. We were concerned for Katie and George, who live in Ramona. They evacuated that night, moving in with George's brother in La Mesa. We went to bed Sunday night to howling winds, but with a sense that the fire was far from us.
Monday morning we found ourselves under mandatory evacuation. Ironically, I had spent the previous Saturday manning a booth at the local town council's Emergency Preparedness Fair. I went home with new resolve to prepare more thoroughly for this kind of event - having spent several hours telling others how to do it. But of course I put it off. We were fortunate to have time to pack all the cars and leave - and to have somewhere to go. We spent Monday and Monday night at Roger's folks' house in Pt. Loma and returned to our house Tuesday morning even though the evacuation orders had not yet been lifted. The fires swept by a few miles north of us. Watching the blaze on local news, I saw live footage of the fire literally raining down on neighborhoods nearby. We feel grateful to be home, thankful for the four walls around us with only a bit of grit to clean up. Thanks for all your prayers in our behalf.

Lynlee Bo Peep

It has been forever since I blogged - caught in the melee of summer trips and visitors. Things have quieted down some, but the real motivation for adding to the blog is that I finally discovered how to include photos! I can think of no better way to intiate the new-found techno-knowledge than to publish a photo of Lynlee in her Halloween costume. The Bo Peep idea is all Jana's - and Lynlee will be accompanied by her sheep surrogate, Fritzi II, on the big night. We made the costume at my house, so Baxter is standing in for Fritz in this picture. Pretty cute, huh? I posted a few more pictures of Bo Peep on myflickr. Now that I know how to include photos in my posts, there is no stopping me! bwahaha!

Richmond, MO

There is a little pioneer cemetery in Richmond, where grave markers have been salvaged and set in cement (see my flickr). A flood destroyed the cemetery years ago, so the church has taken over the maintenance of the grounds and restored headstones as much as possible. Peter Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery were buried here, although it is impossible to tell where. Heber J. Grant dedicated a monument to the three witnesses at this little cemetery in 1911. Our tour guide told us the three measures of meal in the parable of Matthew 13:33 represent the three witnesses of the restoration. Where does he get this stuff? He also told us Parley P. Pratt was made the missionary companion to Matthias (see Acts 1:15-26) in the spirit world, and that Cain killed Able at Far West, Missouri. As far as I can tell, there is no marker for Able either.

Midwest Headstones

While traveling between church history spots in the midwest, our bus stopped at a few cemeteries. On the road to Richmond we found Sunny Slope Cemetery, where David Whitmer is buried. The headstones in these fine places are an education in themselves. My flickr photos show examples of some interesting trends. Several of the grave markers we saw were sculpted to look like tree trunks. And on MANY headstones, great and small, there was a relief of a hand, the index finger pointing toward heaven. Other headstones bore the likeness of two hands shaking. Although the sign for Sunny Slope indicates it was established in 1911, many of the markers are from a previous time - a time when tree trunks and pointing fingers were in style. Modern cemeteries would have none of that. It causes one to wonder if the dearly departed were given directions so that when they emerged from the grave they would know which way to go. Straight up!

Liberty Jail

Always sounded like an oxymoron to me: Liberty Jail. In fact, when in use it was an inescapable dungeon, located in Liberty, MO. The weather was muggy and warm as our bus pulled up to the visitor's center at the site of the old Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith and others were incarcerated during some of the darkest days of the Church. The jail has been described as a Prison Temple, and indeed it became a sacred place in spite of the vile circumstances of the incarceration. Sections 121-123 of the Doctrine and Covenants were received at Liberty Jail.
The first of two photos up on my flickr shows the rebuilt jail, in a cutaway that gives an idea of the construction of the walls and the dimensions of the basement cell. The other photo shows the exterior of the visitors center, which is lovely. The visitor's center is built around the jail site, with sister missionaries on hand to explain the history. Our tour guide talked about Lyman Wight, also known as the Wild Ram of the Mountains. He was one of those who shared the cell at Liberty with Joseph. Apparently Brother Lyman once told Moses Wilson he was only alive because Joseph wouldn't let Lyman kill him. He seems to have lived up to his Wild Ram epithet.

More Independence

The latest photos up on my flickr show a few more of the sights in Independence, MO. The Historic Courthouse there is a bit of a tribute to Harry Truman, a native son. There was a Truman Museum/ Library in Independence also, but it was not on our tour. The current courthouse has a nice statue of Stonewall Jackson riding a horse on one side and a statue of Harry Truman on the other. Across the street from the courthouse is a reconstruction of the old Gilbert and Whitney Store, looking quite new compared to the rest of downtown Independence. Also up on my flickr is a picture of a stained glass window taken from the inside of the Old Stone Church, and an interior shot from the Community of Christ Temple. It was very interesting to see the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, crosses and seashells all together in the Community of Christ setting. They were lovely to show us around their buildings. Of particular interest was the museum inside the temple, which had oil paintings of Joseph and Emma as well as printers copies of the original Book of Mormon. Wish we had had more time in the museum!

Hedrickites

According to our tour guide, Calvin Stephens, there were around one hundred different sects of Mormonism as of 1964. The official name of one of these groups, the Hedrickites, is "The Church of Christ (Temple Lot)." We were privileged to hear from one of their apostles on our visit to Independence, MO. He was sharp and feisty, eager to share his beliefs and doctrines. Like the Community of Christ, the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) believes in the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, and recognizes Joseph Smith as a prophet - up to a point. They believe the office of President of the Church is unscriptural, so they have a council of 12 apostles but no first presidency. They also believe they have been chosen to hold the temple lot identified by Joseph Smith as the site for a temple to be built in Independence, and will some day be called upon to build that temple. If you visit my flickr, you will see photos of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) building, located just next to the original temple lot. Also, there are pictures of the temple site marker and some stones they excavated from the lot. It was interesting to see the Hedrickite building, with its legal claim to the temple lot (they in fact purchased the property in the late 19th century), towered over by the Community of Christ Temple just across the way, a neighbor to our own LDS Visitor's Center. The air in Independence was heavy and hot, the humidity seeming to match the doctine-filled air of dispute.

Blog Fodder

The church history tour Shelley and I took last week has given me enough blog fodder to last a good long time. We drove to SLC on the 21st and flew to Kansas City, MO Monday morning. From there we took a tour bus to historic sites in the midwest. Neither of us had ever been to Missouri (Mah-zuh-rah) so it was an enlightening experience on many levels. The first thing we noticed was that there were no privacy fences between houses, and often no sidewalks. The fence situation seemed to be universal in the midwestern states we drove through. Sidewalks were occasional, but not often handy.
Upon arrival in Independence, MO, the bus drove to a Hometown Buffet which had been alerted that 56 people would be stopping by for lunch. I thought later how appropriate Hometown Buffet was, since there seemed to be a veritable smorgasbord of churches in downtown Independence. On our brief drive through the district we saw churches representing every Protestant denomination imaginable. But the real fun began as we toured the blocks surrounding the temple site. We were greeted by lovely representatives of the Community of Christ, formerly known as RLDS. A 92-year-old pastor showed us around their old stone church, bearing testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Another guide took us through their auditorium, which seemed to be built much like a tabernacle, seating 6,000. The next day we were able to visit their temple, architecturally inspired by the chambered nautilus sea shell. Photos of these three sites are on my flickr - still can't seem to make the photos appear on the blog. The visit to Independence was great - but warm and muggy. I had no idea there were approx. 100 LDS splinter churches! These are good and sincere people who are doing their best to spread the doctrine they hold dear. It is interesting to note similarities and differences. Tomorrow I will post photos from the Hedrickite (Church of Christ - temple lot) sites.

Westview 'Bye

I just noticed that I haven't written here in over a month. No excuses, but it has been a busy month. With luck, Rob will graduate next week from Westview High. Yay! What this means is that we have been cramming pretty solid for the last several weeks. He has to pass every class to have enough credits to graduate, and this is probably his toughest semester ever. In a great leap of faith I ordered his cap and gown in January. With fingers crossed he is sending out announcements today. We should know by Friday if all finals and final projects add up to enough points to walk.
In his defense, this is a tough school. On the other hand, he has not been in really tough classes. Had they offered Video Games 101 or Advanced Guitar Hero he would be valedictorian. He aced choir. At least we know he has his priorities in order.
Wednesday (June 20) is graduation, and whether or not he graduates, he is going to grad night (ticket purchased well ahead) and Shelley and I are heading east. We'll drive to Jana's house on Thursday, spend a few days with Lynlee and then leave early Monday morning for a Church History Tour. It is my graduation present to myself. Rob gets a video game.
If you want to check out Rob's senior photo, go to my flickr. If he earns the cap and gown, I'll post that picture next week.

Weird News

Now and then I come across a fantastic news story. Is the news getting more weird or am I just noticing it more? Here are a few samples from the weird news file:
1. Ms. Pan Alying, a schoolteacher in China's Shandong province, had her purse snatched (containing her mobile phone, bank cards and cash) and decided to try pleading with the thief by sending text messages to her stolen phone. According to Xinhau new agency, she patiently sent 21 sympathetic notes to the man, with no answer. The day after the last one, she found a package at her door containing her purse and all its contents intact, with a note, "I'm sorry. ... I'll correct my ways and be an upright person."
2. Surgeons at London's Great Ormond Street Children's Hopsital, recognizing the similarities between a hospital operation and a car race, asked a team of mechanics from Ferrari's Formula 1 racing group to critique their procedures for moving patients from the operating room to intensive-care units. The Ferrari team took notes and devised a protocol that smoothes the process and minimizes chances that a piece of needed equipment or a vital message is overlooked. Doctors say the new protocol, which includes changes like banning nonessential chatter and disconnecting wires in a specific order, has already reduced hospital errors.
3. Jyrki Kasvi, an incumbent parliamentary candidate in Finland, has launched a new version of his campaign website, written entirely in the Star-Trek language Klingon.
My question: Is the website in Klingon as we heard it on the original Star Trek show, or has it first been translated to a Finnish dialect of Klingon? And how do we know Mr. Kasvi is actually from Finland and not Klingon?

Sanjaya Libre

I still cannot post photos on the blogspot, but would like to direct attention to my most recent masterpiece on my Flickr, a Photoshop creation I sent to Sherman this morning in celebration of the less-than-timely release of Sanjaya. Sherman has been one of the spoilers voting for Sanjaya, no doubt to irritate and annoy any and all who watch American Idol. I don't know which I will miss less, hearing Sanjaya sing or receiving Sherman's gloating phone call after the Wednesday results show. Life is good.

Holy Trinity, Blythburgh

My dad has been looking for a particular photo album in his room, which has lead to the discovery of several albums which were not what he was looking for but which turned out to be of some interest. They appear to contain photos and postcards put together by my grandmother, Edith Snowling Allen. The problem is that there are pages and pages of photos with no names, dates, or any other notations. There are also several pages of postcards. Apparently 100 years ago, when one sent a postcard, it was normal not to write anything but the recipient's address on the back. Nor did the publisher of the postcard feel inclined to give a description on the back of where the picture was taken. Some of the cards, however, are marked - and come from places as varied as "Beaverhead County High School, Dillon, Montana," "St. John's Bridge, Portland, Oregon," and "Market Place and High Street, Southwold." Some dates can still be made out from the cancellation stamps. But the one that really got me excited was a postcard sent to my grandmother in 1905. The picture on the front is of the inside of a church. The writing across the top of the picture says (helpfully) "This is the interior. Write soon. Hannah." At the bottom of the picture the same hand wrote, "Best wishes and Much love from HS." Aunt Hannah was my grandmother's younger sister, who was probably around 2-3 years old when my grandmother left England in the 1890's. The card is addressed to Mrs. Allen, 830 First Street, Salt Lake City, Utah: U.S.A. and posted with a One Penny stamp from Southwold. I looked more closely at the photo and felt I had seen the church before. So I got out the album of pictures I had taken on my trip to England 3 years ago - and there it was! The very first church at which we stopped after our arrival in England was Holy Trinity, Blythburgh. There was no particular reason to stop at this church, except that it has a really lovely Norman tower and the flowers in the churchyard were just beginning to bloom. Imagine my surprise when I realized a photo of the same church had been sent to my grandmother 100 years prior to my random stop there on my way to Lowestoft! I will post some of my photos on my flicker, but if anyone is interested I recommend the website www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/Blythburgh.htm. Makes me want to go back!

Eiffel Moon

Check out the Astronomy Picture of the Day by clicking the link in my "Favorite Websites" box below. Today's picture is a beautiful shot of the moon in phases of the total lunar eclipse earlier this month, with the Eiffel Tower in the foreground. Spectacular! If you miss it today you can find it in their archives.

Game On

We have been looking forward to the completion of a new meetinghouse in our stake since the groundbreaking nearly two years ago. Here in CA there are all kinds of hoops to jump through before you can even move a shovel of dirt. We had to wait for environmental impact reports and endangered birds to fly away. The latest drama came last week when the finished building didn't pass fire inspection. The inspector noted that the chapel and cultural hall should be treated as one big room instead of two because the partition that separates them does not close automatically in the event of fire. Therefore, the ceiling sprinklers had to be rewired and some conduit installed in the attic (AKA: Mezzanine!). Why do I care? I am the media specialist on the stake public affairs counsel, so I was concerned that my stories to the local papers last month would be in error if the open house was postponed. Also, I made the invitation cards that have been passed out like handbills by members all over the stake. I'd rather not redo them and there is no way to contact all the people who have been invited. So today, there is great rejoicing in the land as we have received the green light from the inspectors and can proceed with the open house next weekend. The bad news? I need to put together a slideshow, contact the Chinese Branch for translation notes, nag at one of the papers that didn't print my article, look into the tri-fold brochure that should have gone to the printer last week, and begin writing more media releases for post-production. The good news is we will have a new meetinghouse with a bit more elbow room, and we have not displaced a single Least Tern.

Useless Information

As taken from "Sizesaurus" by Stephen Strauss (1995): It would take 27,800,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Big Macs to equal the weight of the earth. From the same source, it would take 140,000,000,000 Big Mac patties to cover one square mile. The problem with the first number is that I don't know how to say it, so there is no chance of dropping it into polite conversation. My problem with the second stat is the trick it plays on my mind, trying to imagine all those round patties covering a square mile. I guess this is just another good reason to celebrate pi day every day.

To infinity and beyond!

I can't believe I beat Clark to the punch on wishing everyone a happy pi day. I was considering waiting until 1:59PM, but thought that might be taking the thing a bit too far. Nevertheless, I am considering what kind of pie to make for dessert tonight and wondering if pizza is in order. Soon Hallmark will be making warm meaningful commercials about Pi Day so we will all feel obliged to exchange Pi cards and perhaps dress for the occasion. But until then, I am a little surprised Marie Callender has not hopped on board. Maybe they need me in marketing. I do hope your day is infinitely lovely, not terribly random, and if at all possible, ala mode.

Study Guides

Since I teach an adult institute class in our stake, I decided to create a blogspot to facilitate access to study guides. I email these to class members each week as a way of helping them get more out of the class, but sometimes even though I send my original (mac) version and a translated (windows) version they are hard for people to open or print out. Perhaps this will help the class access past study guides and print their own. I end up copying 12-15 per week on the church's copying machine for those who need hard copies. You could say the new blog is my attempt to save the stake money on copying costs - but really I just thought it would be cool to tell the class they can find the study guides at my blogspot. They seem resistant to looking for them on the stake website, so it may or may not work.
The new site is http://bomstudyguides.blogspot.com. So far I have posted the study guides for 1 Nephi 2 through 2 Nephi 19. If it catches on, perhaps we could have a "virtual" class for people who can't attend for some reason. Cutting edge? Or an invitation to trouble? Time will tell.

Video Games and Earthworms

I ran across a couple of interesting items on the science page of our local paper. One article claimed there would be a minimum of 10,000 PlayStation 3s whose spare processing power will be used next year for biological research. Further, it was reported that the interconnected game systems will be five times faster than the world's most powerful supercomputer. The first question that came to mind was, "Are there biologist standing in line at Target Stores all over the world to collect 10,000 PlayStation 3s?" The next question: "What do they mean by 'spare processing power'?" Is that whatever is left over after the so-called researchers are done playing Zelda? Surely Sony won't make the biologists stand in line when their game system is getting such good press as a research tool. Heck, they probably donated 10,000 and wrote them off! Next question: "Why didn't I think of this before Christmas?"
The other article explains that Charles Darwin was an authority on earthworms. Apparently, he even went so far as to calculate the number of worms in his garden ("53, 767 pre acre, on average". What? 53,767 is an average? Does this mean some days there were 53, 766 and other days there were 53,768?). Mr. Darwin also subjected his earthworms to many experiments, including several to test their hearing. He placed them near a piano and then in the mouth of a bassoon. Given their lack of response, he concluded they were deaf. Or at least unappreciative of the music. Kind of calls all his other scientific theories into question, doesn't it?

Valentines

Check out the Valentine pictures of Lynlee and Gavin at my flickr! I am still trying to figure out how to use the flickr site. I opened the account because I don't seem to be able to upload photos to Blogspot. It may be a Mac thing. Whatever the reason, the blog will not publish my photos. And I can't figure out how to reorder the photos on flickr. It is sounding more and more like a user problem. Nevertheless, the grandkids are adorable and hilarious. Jana is here with Lynlee and Sherman asked us to watch Gavin last week, so we dressed the two up and gave them a box of chocolates - then took a boatload of photos, only five of which I have posted so as not to appear overly doting. Even if I am.

Haiku

Morning

Dawn melts maroon skies
Filling anew God's pallet
Painting life with light

Two in one day

Two posts in one day. Amazing. Just wanted to mention the new sites in my favorites list and note that I have fixed the link to Attack of the Sprouts - which I had somehow managed to goof up when I set up my list. Of the new additions, one is to Rob's band's MySpace, where the actual band can be seen and heard. Rob is the one with the big hair. Another new site is one I have loved for a long time, American Science and Surplus. It is a retail site, but very fun to read. Plus it carries items you can't find anywhere else which you suddenly and desperately need. The last new site on my list is a link to Richard Thompson's blog. Thompson is a musician who lives in the bay area. I think he is originally from Scotland??? His blogs are creative and hilarious - they can be found under Catch of the Day. The other reason I like Richard Thompson is that he writes even less frequently than I do. Check it out.

Another possibility

Shannon and Clark have covered almost all the possibilities as to why I have not kept up with posting on this site. Almost. Here are another few possibilities. First, blame the Chargers. I was going to post something the day after the first playoff game, but there had to be a proper period of mourning. Every time I thought I might be able to talk (blog?) through it, the whole thing fell down around my ears like an over-heavy helmet of disappointment. Overdramatic? Did you see the game? Healing began when the Patriots lost last Sunday, but it is still a sore subject. I am currently trying to work up a fondness for the Colts. You see my dilemma?
Another possibility: I have had a cold. Pretty weak. In and of itself, this would not hinder my typing.
Another possibility: Rob has been in the throes of finals. He is a senior in high school and was not taking any challenging classes, so finals should have been a breeze - except he failed to realize that even in Design and Mixed Media he had to actually turn in projects in order to pass. We have been in high production mode. We are talking Andy Warhol recreated in food sculpture. Which brings me to:
Another possibility: Jana and Lynlee are here for a few weeks. It is too cold in Utah, so they are basking in our 76 degrees today, happy to be out of the snow. With the joys of the toddler come the extra responsibilities. Lucky for me, I get to play with Lynlee while Jana works on Design and Mixed Media, as well as Photography 3-4. In fact, we have all worked hard with the exception of Lynlee, who prefers to line up her plastic "dinassey's" (dinasaurs) and watch Mickey Mouseclub.
But you should know that as I visited my long lost blogspot today in order to put a couple of favorite websites on the list I noticed I had LOTS more comments - and that is what ultimately drove me out of the Charger funk and pushed me to write again.
Is the block over? Maybe. But Jana and Lynlee are here until President's weekend - and the beach is calling. Thanks, Shannon and Clark, for your clever and uplifting posts. I appreciate the connection! And it is helping to read about basketball.

10

A few years ago I had the interesting opportunity to host Carol Lynn Pearson for an evening and then drive her from San Diego to Los Angeles. She is a fascinating character, warm and full of energy and ideas. She spoke enthusiastically about "synchronisities" in our lives - she defines them as "meaningful coincidences." Have you every heard the same new word three times in the same day, or randomly picked up on a concept from three or more remote references over a short period of time? That is what she meant, and she tracks them religiously. Get her book on butterflies if you think I am kidding.
Of course, she was happy to admit that the more we become aware of synchronisities the more we see. Well, I had a great one yesterday. First, I found this fantastic site where there is a short video attempting to explain the ten dimensions. I won't pretend I get it all, but it was quite a trip. Mind bending. Later the same day I was doing some research for my institute class and came across an article by John Welch called "Counting to Ten." He gives a very thorough explanation of the significance of the number ten in the scriptures. So now I am seeing tens everywhere. It's a good thing.