My friend Carol is a real party-animal. Every year she and her husband host a Christmas party, and you never know what to expect. For the past couple of years she has also hosted a monthly lunch group from among our Relief Society sisters. If you are reading this and you aren't LDS, the Relief Society is the women's group of our church.
Last month we had a box social, and in order to bid on the decorated and delicious box lunches, she also had prepared a way for us to gain points through the month (do a service for someone was x amount of points, reading your scriptures got you some more--and so forth), plus winning at Bingo at the beginning of the luncheon gave us the opportunity to gain even more points.
Today's luncheon was a Mystery Lunch. She asked the participants to bring a dish (I brought corn) and it had to be in a covered container so no one could see what was brought (I should have been suspicious right then & there). When we got to her house, we were given a menu, pencil, and two toothpicks, and asked to make our selections for each course. The first course consisted of things like "small twigs," "large twigs," "medium napper," and other such nonsensical titles. The next course included some cereal titles like "Apple Jacks, Kix, Cheerios, Fruit Loops" and a couple other choices I can't remember. Course 3 was a choice of "Monkeychunks" or "Henny Penny Delight" (not the exact name but I can't remember the real name other than Henny Penny). Course 4 was a choice of things like "Snow White Delight, King's Ransom," and several others that again, I don't remember the title of.
We were ushered into the dining room, seated, and waited upon by my friend Karen's mission-bound son, Ray. He proceeded to bring out our eating utensils first. My choice of "medium napper" turned out to be a napkin. "Small twigs" were skewers, and "large twigs" were chopsticks. The other titles I don't remember, but they consisted of a fork, a knife, a spoon (and sometimes all three), a large wooden spoon, and tongs. Have you ever tried to eat carrot salad (aka Apple Jacks--don't ask me why that title translated out to carrot salad) with a napkin? I ate with my fingers and used my medium napper to wipe them when done.
Monkeychunks turned out to be spaghetti with my corn, and the Henny Penny dish was chicken alfredo. Now I could have asked for another utensil to eat with, using one of my toothpicks & a song as ransom, but being a stubborn sort at times, I used my toothpicks to get the alfredo noodles close enough to my mouth to slurp up. My "Kings Choice" dessert turned out to be some kind of raspberry cake thingy AND banana cream pie. I was too full to eat much with my toothpick, so I brought it home where I will either let my dh (dear husband) eat it, or eat it myself later on if he doesn't want it.
So if you need an idea for a fun lunch or dinner, here it is. Spring Fling, indeed! But it was a fun afternoon.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Drive-in to Grocery Store
I thought the other day as I visited our new Winco store which opened on April 14th, of how the land this store is on used to be a drive-in theater when we first moved here almost 23 years ago. The Renfro! Kind of a ratty place, but still cool to pile everyone into the car and go see a movie for super-cheap. We watched "Ghostbusters" at this drive-in. And other movies which I cannot remember now. Then it was closed a few years later, and all traces of a drive in theater were torn down, leaving an empty lot. We were told at the time that a new movie theater was going to be built there, but it ended up being built elsewhere. This land stood vacant for probably close to 20 years, I guess. Then one day a little more than a year ago, some bull-dozing activity began to take place.
We heard by our neighborhood newsletter that Winco was building a new store there. Now they already had one not too far from us, which was the original one in our town and had been there for close to 20 years. But it was smaller than other Winco's built here, and it was only a matter of time until it was updated. I guess they decided it would be easier to just build a whole new store than to try to remodel the old one.
Now it's open, and it is bigger and shiny and new. But I won't shop here without remembering the good ol' days, and our long-lost drive-in theater.
We heard by our neighborhood newsletter that Winco was building a new store there. Now they already had one not too far from us, which was the original one in our town and had been there for close to 20 years. But it was smaller than other Winco's built here, and it was only a matter of time until it was updated. I guess they decided it would be easier to just build a whole new store than to try to remodel the old one.
Now it's open, and it is bigger and shiny and new. But I won't shop here without remembering the good ol' days, and our long-lost drive-in theater.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Ho Hum
In talking with dd#3 just a little while ago, I came to the realization that I haven't posted anything here in almost a month. So just to reassure my 3 readers that I am still alive and well, let me just give a brief run-through of the past month.
1. Home: Made it home from Salt Lake okay. I stopped in La Grande on the way home, to break up the trip and to do some more research. Sunday night as I was getting ready to organize what I wanted to look for at the Pierce Library at EOU, I changed my mind and decided to look for a few graves instead. My "baby" brother, who would actually have been 7 years older than me had he lived but died at 2 or 3 days old, was buried in the Hillcrest cemetery in La Grande. A great-great uncle & aunt were also buried there. To make a long story short, I discovered that my brother did not have a tombstone. Have talked with a few members of the family about getting one for him, that may be a future event.
2. Work work WORK! The night I left La Grande, I got an email that one (or so I thought) of the real estate files I put online was ready for download. I had a good, fast connection, so downloaded my book that night. Unfortunately, I didn't read the email, just the subject line, or I would have gotten the news before I got home. Instead of doing two Home Source magazines, I was getting to do all FIVE of them. Sigh. So much for personal time. But between the two jobs, I made over $900 in October.
3. Pumpkin Party. This has been an annual tradition since 1995. Our whole family (or as many as will or can come), gathers at dd#2's house, armed with a pumpkin to carve and whatever potluck dish we've been asked to bring. Costumes are optional. Usually the little kids will dress in costumes, sometimes the grown-ups do too. We had this year's event on the 27th. It went pretty well. Two new "additions" to the group this year was dd#4's fiance, and dd#5's boyfriend. The boyfriend hadn't met too many of our extended family yet, so this was a first for them & for him. He's still dating dd#5, so apparently we didn't scare him too badly.
4. Disappearing/reappearing quarter. I volunteer at my local genealogy society library twice a month as a librarian. Yesterday when I got there, my partner, Larry, mentioned that he was off a quarter and would I see if I could find it. I pulled the quarters out of their space in the cash box and counted them. I came up with 15 quarters, which is what he had come up with, but was one short from the previous day's count. He looked in the file box drawer about that time, and there the rascally little quarter was--it had somehow escaped the cash box and was sitting there in the drawer, waiting to be discovered. Six hours later, when we counted the cash again to be sure we balanced (my turn this time), I only counted 15 quarters. I turned to Larry to ask him if he had put that quarter in the section reserved for quarters, and when I turned back to the money, it was sitting in its space, waiting to be discovered. I should have called today's crew to see if they still had problems with this mischevious quarter.
So we are now into November. Halloween is over, except for the leftover candy. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and following that it will be Christmas. Let's see what the rest of the month brings.
1. Home: Made it home from Salt Lake okay. I stopped in La Grande on the way home, to break up the trip and to do some more research. Sunday night as I was getting ready to organize what I wanted to look for at the Pierce Library at EOU, I changed my mind and decided to look for a few graves instead. My "baby" brother, who would actually have been 7 years older than me had he lived but died at 2 or 3 days old, was buried in the Hillcrest cemetery in La Grande. A great-great uncle & aunt were also buried there. To make a long story short, I discovered that my brother did not have a tombstone. Have talked with a few members of the family about getting one for him, that may be a future event.
2. Work work WORK! The night I left La Grande, I got an email that one (or so I thought) of the real estate files I put online was ready for download. I had a good, fast connection, so downloaded my book that night. Unfortunately, I didn't read the email, just the subject line, or I would have gotten the news before I got home. Instead of doing two Home Source magazines, I was getting to do all FIVE of them. Sigh. So much for personal time. But between the two jobs, I made over $900 in October.
3. Pumpkin Party. This has been an annual tradition since 1995. Our whole family (or as many as will or can come), gathers at dd#2's house, armed with a pumpkin to carve and whatever potluck dish we've been asked to bring. Costumes are optional. Usually the little kids will dress in costumes, sometimes the grown-ups do too. We had this year's event on the 27th. It went pretty well. Two new "additions" to the group this year was dd#4's fiance, and dd#5's boyfriend. The boyfriend hadn't met too many of our extended family yet, so this was a first for them & for him. He's still dating dd#5, so apparently we didn't scare him too badly.
4. Disappearing/reappearing quarter. I volunteer at my local genealogy society library twice a month as a librarian. Yesterday when I got there, my partner, Larry, mentioned that he was off a quarter and would I see if I could find it. I pulled the quarters out of their space in the cash box and counted them. I came up with 15 quarters, which is what he had come up with, but was one short from the previous day's count. He looked in the file box drawer about that time, and there the rascally little quarter was--it had somehow escaped the cash box and was sitting there in the drawer, waiting to be discovered. Six hours later, when we counted the cash again to be sure we balanced (my turn this time), I only counted 15 quarters. I turned to Larry to ask him if he had put that quarter in the section reserved for quarters, and when I turned back to the money, it was sitting in its space, waiting to be discovered. I should have called today's crew to see if they still had problems with this mischevious quarter.
So we are now into November. Halloween is over, except for the leftover candy. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and following that it will be Christmas. Let's see what the rest of the month brings.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Dining At Church Headquarters
For the past two days I have eaten lunch at the Church's employee cafeteria. This place is HUGE! There are a lot of food choices, including several main dishes as well as soup, a "build your own" sandwich bar, salads, desserts, and more. It's in the basement of the Church Office Building. It's normally only open to employees, but they give guest tickets at the Family History Library for the patrons, so we genealogy researchers mingle with those nicely suited and dressed Church employees.
I have never seen so many suits in one place at one time. There's obviously a dress code if you work for the Church, unless you are a custodian, groundskeeper, maintenance person, etc. Most of the men wear black or very dark suits, although there are a few lighter-toned suits, and some men in slacks, white shirts and ties. The women are very neatly dressed in dresses or skirts and sweaters. Since I have a hard time finding dresses I like back home, perhaps I should take in some shopping here in Salt Lake, because it's obvious these women are buying dresses here.
But back to the food! Yesterday I had a sloppy joe and some yummy potato salad for lunch. Great tasting food! Today I had burritos and seafood salad. I'll be going back tomorrow, but I don't know what's on the menu. The food is good, there are plenty of choices, including desserts and salads and beverages. They do know how to eat at the Church's employee cafeteria.
I have never seen so many suits in one place at one time. There's obviously a dress code if you work for the Church, unless you are a custodian, groundskeeper, maintenance person, etc. Most of the men wear black or very dark suits, although there are a few lighter-toned suits, and some men in slacks, white shirts and ties. The women are very neatly dressed in dresses or skirts and sweaters. Since I have a hard time finding dresses I like back home, perhaps I should take in some shopping here in Salt Lake, because it's obvious these women are buying dresses here.
But back to the food! Yesterday I had a sloppy joe and some yummy potato salad for lunch. Great tasting food! Today I had burritos and seafood salad. I'll be going back tomorrow, but I don't know what's on the menu. The food is good, there are plenty of choices, including desserts and salads and beverages. They do know how to eat at the Church's employee cafeteria.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Sunday--On to Salt Lake
I left La Grande shortly after 8 a.m., weather was cloudy but the forecast was for rain. Fortunately it wasn't long but the sun came out, and I didn't experience any of the wet stuff. The drive was fairly uneventful. I stopped of course, every so often at a rest stop, and naturally had to stop for gas once as well. Made it to a few miles before Twin Falls when I decided I needed a bite to eat and so did the car. There wasn't much choice for food, so I ended up with a sub-par corn dog, my kickapoo joy juice (pepsi), and nibbling on Chex mix.
The trip wasn't bad at all. I arrived in Salt lake about 5 MDT (8 hour trip), and got out my directions to the hotel. They appeared to be pretty simple, but then I've been known to make simple pretty complicated. Needless to say, after a tour of the downtown area, including the capital building, I found the hotel. Checked in, unpacked, and crashed. On to Monday!
The trip wasn't bad at all. I arrived in Salt lake about 5 MDT (8 hour trip), and got out my directions to the hotel. They appeared to be pretty simple, but then I've been known to make simple pretty complicated. Needless to say, after a tour of the downtown area, including the capital building, I found the hotel. Checked in, unpacked, and crashed. On to Monday!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
My Kitchen Window
For years I have decorated my kitchen window for Christmas. Why not? I spend a lot of time there, I should have something nice and fun to look at it too. We usually decorate pretty heavily anyway, for Christmas, and the kitchen deserves its Christmas look as well. Right after Thanksgiving, when the rest of the Christmas decorations come out of storage, I find the multi-colored string of Christmas lights that I hang to frame my kitchen window. Out comes the snow made from batting, which is taped to the window sill (for obvious reasons). We find the ceramic (or whatever they're made from) village pieces that my daughters and I have painted through the years and arrange them on the "snow." Sometimes I can even find the Christmas-y window clings too. The Christmas dishes, glasses and mugs also come out at this time.
Last February or so, as I was getting ready to take down the kitchen window decorations (they weren't screaming CHRISTMAS so much as WINTER, and the snow on the window sill was pretty much all the snow we had seen that winter), I got the idea to decorate my kitchen window for all seasons. After all, I still spent a lot of time here all year round--not just at Christmas--and it would be nice to look at something pretty and fun all year round, not just at Christmas. So off I went to my "not-so-local" craft stores to look for things to decorate for Spring/St. Patricks day/Easter.
The multi-colored lights were replaced with white ones, only because I couldn't find pastel colored lights. The snow came off the window sill and I replaced it with pale green glass stones (I think they're used for flower arranging or something). I bought two smallish bouquets of spring flowers--daffodils and some kind of blue flowers that I can't remember the name of--and two bud vases to hold them, placing those on each side of the window. I have some baby animal small statues which I placed on the window sill, and added green top hats and coins for St. Patricks day and for Easter some little bunnies and other Easter-type statues.
For Summer/4th of July I still had to stick with the white lights, since no one was selling red or blue ones yet. The flowers were replaced with sprays of flags and shooting starts that I stuck into the vases. The pale stones were replaced by blue ones. I found a garland of stars to hang with the lights, to kind of give more color to the window than what the white lights afforded. I never did get around to the summer theme I wanted to do, which was a beach theme, with sea shells replacing the blue stones and some more summery flowers. I put the Spring flowers back in the vases, but we still looked pretty 4th of July-ish.
Today I decided it was time to decorate for Fall. Down came the white lights, the garland (not sure why I left that up), the flowers, the blue stones, and I was back to a bare window. Back to my "not-so-local" JoAnn Fabrics, this time I came home with almost everything I needed in one trip. Found orange sunflowers to go into the vases, although I should have bought another vase since one of them is pale blue. Found orange glass stones to replace the blue ones. Bought a scarecrow statue that sits on the window sill. And I found ORANGE lights to replace the white ones (yipee)! While there I noticed the Christmas decorations being put out, so I will be buying a string of both red AND blue lights soon.
Oh, and the piece de resistance? A sign to hang from the hook above the sink. It reads "The Witch Is In."
I put the baby animal statues back in the window for now, but I will be making a trip to the Dollar store soon for some other statues to add to the mix. Other than (hopefully) finding pastel lights and buying the red and blue ones I saw, I should be ready for the coming year.
Last February or so, as I was getting ready to take down the kitchen window decorations (they weren't screaming CHRISTMAS so much as WINTER, and the snow on the window sill was pretty much all the snow we had seen that winter), I got the idea to decorate my kitchen window for all seasons. After all, I still spent a lot of time here all year round--not just at Christmas--and it would be nice to look at something pretty and fun all year round, not just at Christmas. So off I went to my "not-so-local" craft stores to look for things to decorate for Spring/St. Patricks day/Easter.
The multi-colored lights were replaced with white ones, only because I couldn't find pastel colored lights. The snow came off the window sill and I replaced it with pale green glass stones (I think they're used for flower arranging or something). I bought two smallish bouquets of spring flowers--daffodils and some kind of blue flowers that I can't remember the name of--and two bud vases to hold them, placing those on each side of the window. I have some baby animal small statues which I placed on the window sill, and added green top hats and coins for St. Patricks day and for Easter some little bunnies and other Easter-type statues.
For Summer/4th of July I still had to stick with the white lights, since no one was selling red or blue ones yet. The flowers were replaced with sprays of flags and shooting starts that I stuck into the vases. The pale stones were replaced by blue ones. I found a garland of stars to hang with the lights, to kind of give more color to the window than what the white lights afforded. I never did get around to the summer theme I wanted to do, which was a beach theme, with sea shells replacing the blue stones and some more summery flowers. I put the Spring flowers back in the vases, but we still looked pretty 4th of July-ish.
Today I decided it was time to decorate for Fall. Down came the white lights, the garland (not sure why I left that up), the flowers, the blue stones, and I was back to a bare window. Back to my "not-so-local" JoAnn Fabrics, this time I came home with almost everything I needed in one trip. Found orange sunflowers to go into the vases, although I should have bought another vase since one of them is pale blue. Found orange glass stones to replace the blue ones. Bought a scarecrow statue that sits on the window sill. And I found ORANGE lights to replace the white ones (yipee)! While there I noticed the Christmas decorations being put out, so I will be buying a string of both red AND blue lights soon.
Oh, and the piece de resistance? A sign to hang from the hook above the sink. It reads "The Witch Is In."
I put the baby animal statues back in the window for now, but I will be making a trip to the Dollar store soon for some other statues to add to the mix. Other than (hopefully) finding pastel lights and buying the red and blue ones I saw, I should be ready for the coming year.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
If You Can't Say Something Nice......
I've recently experienced several instances of people using unkind words to belittle and otherwise make another person feel less than valued. It caused me to think about how our words can either lift another person up, or tear him down. These experiences were all while being online, in emails and in blogs. Some experiences were politically based, while enduring yet another election for the Advisory Board of the USGenWeb Project, the world's first Internet source for free genealogy records in the United States. Since I was elected to a two-year position on the Board last year, I didn't have to go through what some of the candidates did who were running for office this year. This year was a particularly nasty year for politics in the USGenWeb Project. The other instances are related to a friend's blog space, and comments left by well-meaning people who thought they were offering constructive criticism. I guess. In retrospect, I'm not sure what they thought they were doing. Maybe they were only being mean.
Sometimes even the most chicken-hearted of us will gather immense courage and tell others what we think of them, their thoughts, their lives and anything else we can think of--mostly non-complimentary--in an email or as a comment to a blog. Most of us would NEVER dream of saying these things to someone's face, but we will let fly with the most uncomplimentary and vicious commentary we can dream up when it's done in writing and on the 'web. Whether spoken or written, words can uplift, and words can hurt.
I seem to have been raised by two rules: The Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you), and Thumper's Rule: "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say nuthin' at all!" For those who have never seen Walt Disney's "Bambi"--don't walk--run to your nearest video store and rent it, especially if you are one who finds it difficult to hold your tongue. I try to treat other people in the same way I would like to be treated. I'm not perfect, but the important thing is that I am trying. Are you?
In our Church's April 2007 General Conference, one of my most well-remembered talks was by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who gave a talk entitled "The Tongue of Angels." For anyone reading this who is of the LDS faith, you can read this talk in the May 2007 Ensign or online (whether LDS or not) at LDS.org. Here are a few of thoughts from his talk that struck home with me:
"The voice that bears profound testimony, utters fervent prayer, and sings the hymns of Zion, can be the same voice that berates and criticizes, embarrasses and demeans, inflicts pain and destroys the spirit of oneself and of others in the process." Another quote, which I believe comes from James: "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing."
From Paul: "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good...[and] edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God....Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you...And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
And finally, from Elder Holland: "Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christiam imperatives so desperately needed in the world today. With such words, spoken under the influence of the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated, hope can return, confidence can prevail."
I'm sure the people of whom I speak were either caught up in the heat of the moment, or had taken leave of their senses. There was absolutely no reason for anyone to have been spoken of the way these individuals were. A great deal of damage was probably done to these individuals' psyches. Many of us struggle with self-esteem issues at best, and to have to read emails and other messages that are not uplifting, does just the opposite. My advice--and I've lived long enough on this earth now that I am of the generation who can freely and without give advice--is pure and simple. There is no need to dash of a nasty comment to someone, whether in person or an email. Think before you speak or write. If what you have to say is uplifting and something that you would enjoy receiving in an email or whatever, then go ahead and say it or write it. BUT, if what you are about to say would be something that would be hurtful to you if you received it, then......
KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT ................... OR SEW YOUR FINGERS TO YOUR PANTS!
Sometimes even the most chicken-hearted of us will gather immense courage and tell others what we think of them, their thoughts, their lives and anything else we can think of--mostly non-complimentary--in an email or as a comment to a blog. Most of us would NEVER dream of saying these things to someone's face, but we will let fly with the most uncomplimentary and vicious commentary we can dream up when it's done in writing and on the 'web. Whether spoken or written, words can uplift, and words can hurt.
I seem to have been raised by two rules: The Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you), and Thumper's Rule: "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say nuthin' at all!" For those who have never seen Walt Disney's "Bambi"--don't walk--run to your nearest video store and rent it, especially if you are one who finds it difficult to hold your tongue. I try to treat other people in the same way I would like to be treated. I'm not perfect, but the important thing is that I am trying. Are you?
In our Church's April 2007 General Conference, one of my most well-remembered talks was by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who gave a talk entitled "The Tongue of Angels." For anyone reading this who is of the LDS faith, you can read this talk in the May 2007 Ensign or online (whether LDS or not) at LDS.org. Here are a few of thoughts from his talk that struck home with me:
"The voice that bears profound testimony, utters fervent prayer, and sings the hymns of Zion, can be the same voice that berates and criticizes, embarrasses and demeans, inflicts pain and destroys the spirit of oneself and of others in the process." Another quote, which I believe comes from James: "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing."
From Paul: "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good...[and] edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God....Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you...And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
And finally, from Elder Holland: "Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christiam imperatives so desperately needed in the world today. With such words, spoken under the influence of the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated, hope can return, confidence can prevail."
I'm sure the people of whom I speak were either caught up in the heat of the moment, or had taken leave of their senses. There was absolutely no reason for anyone to have been spoken of the way these individuals were. A great deal of damage was probably done to these individuals' psyches. Many of us struggle with self-esteem issues at best, and to have to read emails and other messages that are not uplifting, does just the opposite. My advice--and I've lived long enough on this earth now that I am of the generation who can freely and without give advice--is pure and simple. There is no need to dash of a nasty comment to someone, whether in person or an email. Think before you speak or write. If what you have to say is uplifting and something that you would enjoy receiving in an email or whatever, then go ahead and say it or write it. BUT, if what you are about to say would be something that would be hurtful to you if you received it, then......
KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT ................... OR SEW YOUR FINGERS TO YOUR PANTS!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)