The week in review:
Terry and Linda stayed with us from Saturday to Tuesday noon. They got to break in a new mattress in our guest room. On Sunday we went to Ward conference at Mike’s ward, Buckeye 2nd to support Mike who conducted the PH-RS session. He talked about following the Spirit and how it applied to their move to Arizona. We went over to Mike and Ayesha’s home for dinner afterwards
On Monday we drove over to Quartsite AZ to see their famous flea market. It was winding down but there was still a lot to see. Merle fell in love with a 3-1/2 foot crystal stalagtite that was marked down from $1000 to $500–a real bargain! He could just see it as the main yard decoration in front of our home. Fortunately we didn’t get it! I don’t know how those vendors got the stalagtites but wondered if they came from an Indian reservation, since they can break some of our laws. He also liked a 300 pound piece of petrified wood that was big enough to sit on. It was too big to put in the car!
We met another neighbor this week–Jen, and her 5-year old daughter, Emma. Jen brought me back a publication with pictures of desert landscaping plants. She told us how to spray for scorpions, spiders and termites. Did you know termites like to eat cardboard as if it is candy?
Traffic reports here make the Portland traffic reporters sound like they’re having a picnic. Any 7:30 broadcast on weekdays will have 10 or more accidents. With big wide streets and turn lanes and one-way parkways, I don’t understand why so many accidents, except for speed. The freeways out in the open spaces say 75 mph speed limit, and in town, about 65 mph, but if we drive the limit we look like we’re standing still. People make left turns on red lights too.
We went to Peoria Stake Conference today. Elder LaSeure was the conference visitor. The mission president told about a native missionary from Tonga who was serving in Fiji. He and his white companion were sent up to a remote island. The Tongan told his companion, “Tomorrow we go to the beach.” The companion told him missionaries don’t go to the beach.
As it turned out, the Tongan walked up to a group of fishermen who were cleaning their nets. He said, “You are fishermen, I am a fisherman. Why do you catch such small fish? We Tongans catch big fish. We eat big fish.“ He told them they caught small fish because they worked on Sundays. “Now do you want to hear what I have to say?” They did.
I did one more thing this week. Filed our income tax with help of Turbo Tax. Yea! We get a full refund.
I've been fascinated by the native cacti. The one I liked this week is a barrel cactus with long spines all over like a porcupine. They're round and about as big as a watermelon. For one week they have yellow blossoms in the center of the top. I've also noticed some real songbirds that can warble a whole song. The pictures I'm posting show T & L at a restaurant called Black Bear, and one of Merle squeezing orange juice and one with Merle and all three of Karen's cats. A difficult shot to take!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Arizona - Things to Wonder About
Cactus - what makes a seguaro plant decide to put out an arm and how long does it take to grow the arm?
Are there two colors of prickley pear cacti, green and purple, or do they change from green to purple?
The is a real art in the field of masonry. Freeway walls have aztec and Indian patterns of various colors and designs. People's driveways have swirls in the concrete. Yard landscaping is done with bricks, tiles, rocks of different colors plus desert plants and I've even seen yards with their rocks painted green.
Some people have orange and grapefruit trees sculpted as topiary trees yet they still bear fruit. But why do they paint the first five feet of the trunks white?
Palm trees come in all sizes from short to very tall but I haven't actually seen any coconuts. I have seen a date palm. I would not want to be under either one when the fruit starts dropping.
We drove up Pinacle Peak road where we saw the site for the new Phoenix Temple to be built. There is a wilderness hiking trail nearby. Last Friday the local newspaper ran an article about local protesters. There are hardly any homes close enough to be affected by it. It reminded me of Sonia Johnson chaining herself to the Seattle Temple gate and the big flap over lighting at the Portland Temple. It will all blow over when it is built.
I never expected to see a boat in the desert. Well I did see one being towed on a trailer, probably came from Lake Powell. In this area there are man-made shallow lakes with big, expensive homes lining the edges, having real green grass in the yards. They each have a big porch where folks can sit and look at the water. Each home has its own boat dock and sitting on the water at the docks are these boats that look like 2-seater sedans with open sides and multi-colored striped awnings for sun covers. It looks to me like they have to be pedaled to move them. I can hear in my mind the tune: "Cruising Down the River on a Sunday Afternoon."
Why was it 80 degrees here today, and in the 50s in Washington? We missed out on last summer due to our surgeries, and now we'll miss one of my favorite seasons, Spring. Pink flowers look so out of place here.
I'm going to get some yellow and orange gerber daisiea to put into blue pots. And I've collected some Mexican pottery art to put on our book shelves. It's fun to do something different!
Next week I'll add some more Arizona observations.
Are there two colors of prickley pear cacti, green and purple, or do they change from green to purple?
The is a real art in the field of masonry. Freeway walls have aztec and Indian patterns of various colors and designs. People's driveways have swirls in the concrete. Yard landscaping is done with bricks, tiles, rocks of different colors plus desert plants and I've even seen yards with their rocks painted green.
Some people have orange and grapefruit trees sculpted as topiary trees yet they still bear fruit. But why do they paint the first five feet of the trunks white?
Palm trees come in all sizes from short to very tall but I haven't actually seen any coconuts. I have seen a date palm. I would not want to be under either one when the fruit starts dropping.
We drove up Pinacle Peak road where we saw the site for the new Phoenix Temple to be built. There is a wilderness hiking trail nearby. Last Friday the local newspaper ran an article about local protesters. There are hardly any homes close enough to be affected by it. It reminded me of Sonia Johnson chaining herself to the Seattle Temple gate and the big flap over lighting at the Portland Temple. It will all blow over when it is built.
I never expected to see a boat in the desert. Well I did see one being towed on a trailer, probably came from Lake Powell. In this area there are man-made shallow lakes with big, expensive homes lining the edges, having real green grass in the yards. They each have a big porch where folks can sit and look at the water. Each home has its own boat dock and sitting on the water at the docks are these boats that look like 2-seater sedans with open sides and multi-colored striped awnings for sun covers. It looks to me like they have to be pedaled to move them. I can hear in my mind the tune: "Cruising Down the River on a Sunday Afternoon."
Why was it 80 degrees here today, and in the 50s in Washington? We missed out on last summer due to our surgeries, and now we'll miss one of my favorite seasons, Spring. Pink flowers look so out of place here.
I'm going to get some yellow and orange gerber daisiea to put into blue pots. And I've collected some Mexican pottery art to put on our book shelves. It's fun to do something different!
Next week I'll add some more Arizona observations.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Peaceful Sounds of Silence
My latest letter to the editor at The Columbian - printed Thursday, Oct 14
During the current political campaigns I have adopted the motto of "The Sounds of Silence." If ads are on TV I mute them. If they're on the radio, I turn it off. Mail goes into the shredder. News items become scanned headlines. Phone calls and surveys get a quick hang-up, and highway signs get the eyes left treatment.
I refuse to be swayed by all the propaganda. I will read the voters pamphlet and perhaps watch one debate, but I have been over-saturated with info, so in my rebellion I am fighting back.
Instead of spending huge sums of money on advertising, I would prefer to vote for someone who donated funds to the homeless, or to an orphanage in Peru, or socks for foster children, or Habitat for Humanity, or a school in Africa, or you get the idea. It's sort of like raising money to be called Mr. Columbia River High School. How about contests to see who does the most good for the most people instead of lining pockets of media corporations?
During the current political campaigns I have adopted the motto of "The Sounds of Silence." If ads are on TV I mute them. If they're on the radio, I turn it off. Mail goes into the shredder. News items become scanned headlines. Phone calls and surveys get a quick hang-up, and highway signs get the eyes left treatment.
I refuse to be swayed by all the propaganda. I will read the voters pamphlet and perhaps watch one debate, but I have been over-saturated with info, so in my rebellion I am fighting back.
Instead of spending huge sums of money on advertising, I would prefer to vote for someone who donated funds to the homeless, or to an orphanage in Peru, or socks for foster children, or Habitat for Humanity, or a school in Africa, or you get the idea. It's sort of like raising money to be called Mr. Columbia River High School. How about contests to see who does the most good for the most people instead of lining pockets of media corporations?
Monday, August 16, 2010
A TRUE STORY
I shared this incident from my life at our greater Family Home Evening last night so am retelling it now for at family members who didn't hear it.
I was 14 years old and a new Freshman at Roosevelt High School in Portland. I was invited to a party at the home of three girls who used to attend the same ward as as I did, only they had moved to west Portland. My friend Dolores and her boyfriend brought me to the party. As soon as I got there I could tell something was wrong--the parents were not home. (red flag #1). There were some boys from another school in another room who were drinking something that was't good for them. (red flag #2). Couples began pairing off and they started dancing in a dark room. (red flag #3). There was one other girl who didn't pair off. Standing by the potato chip bowl in the kitchen, I told her I decided to take a bus home and did she want to go with me? She did.
My dad worked at The Journal Newspaper on Saturday nights. Mom was home with my younger sister and brother, and she didn't drive anyway. I didn't even know we had a home teacher. It was getting late and the busses only ran about once every hour.
I had to choose whether to get off one bus and wait for another bus that went near my home or ride around to Lombard Street and walk about eight blocks home alone in the dark. I decided to wait for the other bus. (Caroline had to take a different bus). There were no street lights when I got off the bus.
There was a tavern still open on the northeast corner where the second bus would stop. The northwest corner had a closed grocery store with one light hanging from a cord at the back of the store. The southeast corner had a closed gas station--no lights, and the southwest corner had a drugstore/fountain with a little night light in the back. The doorway was cut across the corner where I decided to wait because it would shelter me a little but I could still see the bus coming. I waited for what I would guess was about half an hour when a car pulled up alongside the curb by the pharmacy and two big guys (I think they were wearing trenchcoats but that might be part of my imagination). They started asking questions about the bus schedule. I edged out of the doorway and stood at the curb waiting for a car to make a left turn. I intended to go into the tavern where there would be other people for some kind of safety. The car stopped right in the middle of the intersection and a young male voice callked out, "Lois, do you need a ride?" I sure needed that ride! If they knew who I was, that was good enough. As I got closer, I saw that it was Dolores' older brother and his neighbor friend.
Maybe the Lord sent them like angels. If I had not been standing at the curb at that very moment, they couldn't have seen me in the darkened doorway. That was my blessing for leaving the party when I did.
I was 14 years old and a new Freshman at Roosevelt High School in Portland. I was invited to a party at the home of three girls who used to attend the same ward as as I did, only they had moved to west Portland. My friend Dolores and her boyfriend brought me to the party. As soon as I got there I could tell something was wrong--the parents were not home. (red flag #1). There were some boys from another school in another room who were drinking something that was't good for them. (red flag #2). Couples began pairing off and they started dancing in a dark room. (red flag #3). There was one other girl who didn't pair off. Standing by the potato chip bowl in the kitchen, I told her I decided to take a bus home and did she want to go with me? She did.
My dad worked at The Journal Newspaper on Saturday nights. Mom was home with my younger sister and brother, and she didn't drive anyway. I didn't even know we had a home teacher. It was getting late and the busses only ran about once every hour.
I had to choose whether to get off one bus and wait for another bus that went near my home or ride around to Lombard Street and walk about eight blocks home alone in the dark. I decided to wait for the other bus. (Caroline had to take a different bus). There were no street lights when I got off the bus.
There was a tavern still open on the northeast corner where the second bus would stop. The northwest corner had a closed grocery store with one light hanging from a cord at the back of the store. The southeast corner had a closed gas station--no lights, and the southwest corner had a drugstore/fountain with a little night light in the back. The doorway was cut across the corner where I decided to wait because it would shelter me a little but I could still see the bus coming. I waited for what I would guess was about half an hour when a car pulled up alongside the curb by the pharmacy and two big guys (I think they were wearing trenchcoats but that might be part of my imagination). They started asking questions about the bus schedule. I edged out of the doorway and stood at the curb waiting for a car to make a left turn. I intended to go into the tavern where there would be other people for some kind of safety. The car stopped right in the middle of the intersection and a young male voice callked out, "Lois, do you need a ride?" I sure needed that ride! If they knew who I was, that was good enough. As I got closer, I saw that it was Dolores' older brother and his neighbor friend.
Maybe the Lord sent them like angels. If I had not been standing at the curb at that very moment, they couldn't have seen me in the darkened doorway. That was my blessing for leaving the party when I did.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Question to Ponder
A commercial on TV promoting vampire movies asked this question -- "What part of Humanity do we lose if we live forever?"
My response is, we will lose the desire to sin, the anguish of pain, and broken relationships, and some the good things we experienced in this life as well. We are mortal to have mortal experiences so we can appreciate the joy we will feel of living after the resurrection. We can take with us our knowledge and family relationships if we have made and kept the covenants that govern them. What thoughts do you have?
My response is, we will lose the desire to sin, the anguish of pain, and broken relationships, and some the good things we experienced in this life as well. We are mortal to have mortal experiences so we can appreciate the joy we will feel of living after the resurrection. We can take with us our knowledge and family relationships if we have made and kept the covenants that govern them. What thoughts do you have?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)