A Girl Walks Into a Fabric Store And..

A piece of fabric jumps off of the shelf and into her arms!

I mean—hasn’t that happened to you???

 

For several years I’ve been looking for a piece of great Halloween fabric.  Halloween is harder than some of the other holidays—I want something that can be worn to church, which means nothing with skulls, nothing ghoulish, no witches, and it also needs to be fabulously cute.

And this was.

The only problem was that clearly a lot of other people had loved this fabric, because there was only 1 yard left.

After thinking about it for a while I decided that I would make a dress for a younger child, so a yard would be ok.  I thought about it for a day or two, and this is what I came up with.

It turned out just as cute as I had hoped, and I had such fun making it.  I haven’t sewn much in the last year; I’ve been focused on de-junking and organizing my house.  But I think it’s time to get back to some sewing!

You Know You've Been Thinking About Your Diet Too Much...

When you have a nightmare that you've accidentally eaten the wrong food!

Finding Charity

 

A couple of years ago I started noticing something interesting.  I noticed that quite often as I walked out of church on a Sunday, I felt an unexpected amount of love towards everyone in my life.  The first time or two I just noticed it without paying much attention.  But as time went on and I noticed it more regularly, I started thinking about it.

After all, I was working hard in the rest of my life to behave in loving ways towards the people around me, and yet sometimes it was really hard to feel loving enough in my heart. 

And yet there I would be, having done nothing but go to church, walking out of the double glass doors and onto the sidewalk feeling like I loved anyone and everyone.

I was perplexed.  And intrigued.

 

I thought about it for a long time and  finally decided that it must be a combination of two things.  Because I am an extrovert, church is usually a positive experience socially for me.  But even more importantly, church is a place where there is a good likelihood that I will feel the spirit.  My hypothesis was (and is) that spending several hours in a place where I can feel the spirit helps me be able to have charity in a different way. 

 

I guess this gives me another reason to keep my wandering heart in places where it can feel the spirit. 

So that I can be nice to the rest of you.

 

PS—Even as I typed this I realized—I usually (usually) act nicely.  Because I’m well behaved, and generally prosocial.  (A new word that I learned at education week.  The opposite of antisocial.)  My problem with charity (that I am continually repenting for) is that while I may be well behaved, I am often so unloving in my heart.  I’m truly and continually grateful that there isn’t a printout on my forehead showing the world all of the thoughts going through my head.  But I know they’re there, and that I need to keep striving for more charity…

PPS—Yes, I have Sundays where I come out of church feeling like my heart/soul was disconnected the entire time I was there and I felt nothing.  I will have to pay attention and see if, on any of these days, I feel loving.

Sweet Validation

I was just listening to an interview online with Sister Julie Beck and her daughters.  Apparently at some point the producer asked them what their favorite family activity was, and they all said (without hesitation) that it was breakfast with books. 

Sister Beck explained that she loved reading herself and she really wanted her kids to love to read, and so she let them bring a book to the breakfast table on Saturday mornings.

Then one of the daughters went on to say that she really didn’t know how to eat without a book!  She said that occasionally now she and her husband will tell their family that they’re having a “reading dinner” (which usually means her husband needs some peace and quiet)  and all 7 of their children will run and grab their books.  Their youngest children read the Friend magazine because it doesn’t matter if they spill on that.

 

I love it.  Because not only do I read in the bathtub, I read while I eat.  Not if I’m eating with my family—I draw the line there.  (For me and for anyone eating at a table with me.)  But if I’m eating breakfast by myself—grab the book!  And I think we’re going to start having some breakfasts with books!!

 

PS—I must tell you quickly about the fun book I just read.  It was one I just grabbed off a shelf, and you know what a dangerous practice that can be.  But this one was great—nothing (NOTHING!) objectionable, and a fun murder mystery.  It’s called “The Sudoku Murder.”

PPS—I cannot spell Sudoku.  Took me 3 tries…

Utah 2011—Pictures From the Road

It always makes me laugh to see how contorted these kids can get then they sleep…

In Kansas at a big truckers gas station we saw these “wide loads” pull in.  Clearly they were not only wide they were LONG!  And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tanker/container supported like this before.  Wish I knew what it was!

We have gotten used to hotels having waffle makers as part of their free breakfasts, but the swanky hotel we stayed at in Denver had a new toy—a machine that made pancakes.  Seriously, you pushed a button, and a few minutes later a pancake or two rolled off of the (internal) conveyor belt and onto your plate.  The kids were fascinated. 

And last but not least.  When we made it to Utah the kids were thrilled!

Utah 2011—The Great Kansas Mystery

One of the things that is interesting when driving across Kansas is that you can occasionally see amazing church steeples in the distance.  I don’t know a thing about the history of Kansas, but I am curious to know what religious culture shaped this area.  We’ve driven several times past a sign advertising the “cathedral of the plains” which of course only adds to my curiosity.

While we were driving this summer I decided that we needed to get some post card stamps.  I immediately called my navigational assistant and asked him where we could find the nearest post office.  After a few minutes he called me back and told me to get off at the next exit and drive into the town.  Since I was already curious about the town (and it’s church that was visible for miles) I was more than happy to do that.

Except, well, there hardly was a town.

Seriously.  What I finally found was three or four paved streets, crossed by three or four gravel streets.  You would think I could have found the post office right away, given the size of the town, but it eluded me.  Perhaps because I wasn’t expecting it would look like this.  The only way I finally found it was to look for the flag…

And then I drove to the edge of town to see this.

I’m still shaking my head.  What on earth?  What would such a tiny town, seriously in the middle of nowhere (even if it was near the interstate there was nothing else remotely near it) need with an edifice like this???

Utah 2011—St. Louis Arch

 

A couple of years ago we stopped in St. Louis and went up into the arch.  I didn’t want to go in it again, but I did want to go see it and to go see the movie about Louis & Clark.

(Clarification: the official name of the arch is the Gateway Arch or the Gateway to the West and it was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States.)

We made our movie reservation for first thing in the morning and got up and got packed.  I loved driving down towards the arch, seeing it get closer and closer.

It’s amazing how much bigger it gets as you’re walking towards it.  You really have to be quite a ways away to be able to get a picture with the entire arch in it. 

And once you’re right up close, it’s HUGE!!

I LOVED the movie about Lewis and Clark.  Wow.  What an amazing feat their journey was.  The kids were kind of sad we weren’t going up in the arch again, but we’d done that a few years ago and I didn’t want to take the time/money to do it again. 

After the movie we walked down to the Mississippi River. 

I loved all of the bridges alone the river.

When we’d left our hotel that morning it was cool and very overcast, but by the time we were done with the movie the clouds had started to clear.  There was just enough cloudiness left that combined with the sun and the arch (and with the fact that I’d left my sunglasses in the van) the light was blinding!  I just hoped my pictures would turn out, since I couldn’t see much in the camera.

Before we left, the girls wanted me to take pictures that showed just how strong they are…

I love visiting the arch.  I love driving towards it, seeing it get bigger and bigger and bigger.  I love walking around it and realizing how massive it is.  And when we’re done, it’s really hard for me to drive away without looking back…