Friday, October 30, 2009

An Ode to Apples and a Restrained Shout-out to the Old Home State

Autumn in California may not be the cool, crisp, rainy Fall I had grown
accustomed to in the Northwest,
But Washington was good enough to export their delightful apples
to share one of the great pleasures of the season.
So I stood in my kitchen in shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops,
the sun blazing in the excruciatingly blue sky right outside
my windows.
And I bit into a Honey Crisp apple.
Autumn comes at last to the Golden State.

Note that these apples EXCEED US EXTRA FANCY...
Just plain old FANCY is not good enough for them.
Oh, and I've said it before:
They are better than candy.
Trust me.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Morning Glory

"In my pretty garden, the flowers are nodding...
How do you do they say, how do you do today?"


Friday, October 23, 2009

Favorites

I have always loved the scriptures--my first "very own scriptures" was a tiny, white New Testament that the Gideons handed out to us one day after school as we stepped off of school property onto the public sidewalk as we headed home.
I carried that little book around with me and read it.
Later, my Hansen Grandparents gave me a triple combination on the
occasion of my graduation from Primary.
I chose the white one and was thrilled to see my
name in gold lettering on the cover.
I carried that triple with me to church and back every Sunday and
kept it on my nightstand to read at night.
I eventually got scriptures for seminary and those got a good workout with all the practice and preparation we did for Scripture Chase competitions.
Those seminary scriptures served me well all through high school and up through the first 10 years of married life.
Then, one Mother's Day morning, my husband surprised me with breakfast in bed
and a beautiful, new set of scriptures:
These scriptures have been hauled around in a diaper bag and
show the wear and tear of those hazardous conditions:
From time to time a leaky baby bottle or sippy cup dripped on my scriptures


You can see I am a person of 'random' thoughts and ideas and my
scriptures serve as the receptacle for any prompting or comforting. The sticky note holds the words of a hymn that has been my anthem through challenging times. Below are
hurriedly scribbled notes of a Stake Conference when Russell M. Nelson spoke
as well a few scripture references.



Some of my sweet little children took the liberty of
adding their own thoughts and "art" to
my scriptures.





And someone even did some abridging.




But I work around all the battering and bruising of my
precious scriptures. I have read and prepared for many a lesson from Family Scripture study and FHE, Nursery to Gospel Doctrine, Youth Sunday School, Young Women Lessons, Seminary substitute, Stake Young Women Leadership meetings, Relief Society Lessons and
most of all,




Many a quiet morning has been spent immersed in these pages
and the words and the feelings and the light and the knowledge
and the peace and the comfort continue to pour out of them.
My cup runneth over.




Tuesday, October 20, 2009

In the Eye of the Beholder


I believe I have mentioned before that I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal. One of its useful purposes here at The Gale Academy of Classical Education, is as a resource for current event discussions. Also, from time to time, the Leisure and Arts section provides me an opportunity to share art and music appreciation with our scholars.
A few days ago, I opened the paper and this picture caught my eye. I have traveled to Amsterdam a couple of times and have enjoyed the Rijksmuseum's offerings. I happen to have a special place in my heart for the old Dutch Masters--specifically the family and domestic scenes. I am impressed with the way they capture a scene so perfectly and realistically. Almost like a photograph.
So I cut out the article intending to share it with the youngsters. They are reluctant patrons of the arts but I soldier on in my efforts to keep their lives well-rounded; and continually try to expand their horizons beyond the latest video game. In fact, when we lived in Washington we had a family pass to the Portland Art Museum and took in the amazing Rembrandt exhibit when it was passing through. Let me share a little snippet of our experience:
Spencer: "These paintings are priceless, but they have them hanging right here
with no protection--no Plexiglas covers or anything
Seth: "Yeah, you could spit on one of them."
This little exchange earned us the privilege of being tailed by security through
the ENTIRE exhibit.
But, I digress. Back to Vermeer and the Wall Street Journal. Luckily I decided to preview the article--I don't always do that. The art writer had some interesting perspectives on this innocent-looking little scene of domesticity that I cannot, in good taste, lay out completely in this family-friendly blog. But I think there is a lesson here about one's state of mind affecting one's view of the world. A couple of quotes:
"In the 'Milkmaid', erotic undercurrents are present in the
tentative dribble of milk; the scintillating light dancing across surfaces; the
tactility of glass, starched linen, wool, earthenware, crusty bread; the
electric-blue quiver and sway of the woman's apron. Yet the eroticism is never
overstated, even in the suggestive nudge of a hanging bread basket by a square copper pail."
Really? All I see is a sweet, modestly dressed young girl making breakfast.

"A jumble of conflicting urges, she corkscrews, turning this way and that. And her white linen cap lifts slightly and spreads, exposing her face, her ear, to the light, just in line with the a small break in the window...The maid is a flagship--her linen cap and apron billow, as if she is setting sail. Whether she is carried by the winds of eroticism or those of the spirit; whether she is even making bread porridge--is immaterial. Vermeer gives her, and us, wide enough berth to travel wherever the painting takes us."

Vermeer's painting seems to take the writer on a trip to the gutter. (Mind you, I only shared the least offensive of his observations!) Personally, I prefer to travel the high road.

But now that I have read his insights, I am seeing the ordinary utensils in my kitchen in a new light. I opened a drawer and I'm pretty sure I caught the spoons suggestively nudging.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Fireside

There was a Stake Youth Fireside tonight so I was transporting our three Youth to the church for it. On the way, Shayla said, "Oh Mom, we have some jokes for you."
Sam jumped in with: "Where do you buy a cow?"
Me: "Hmmm...I don't know."
"A 'cattle'log"
(Hee, hee)

Then Shayla had one: "Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Boo."
"Boo Who?"
"You don't have to cry"
(Ahhhh--a classic--love it!)

Then back to Sam: "Did you hear the joke about the bed?"
"It hasn't been made yet."

I was laughing pretty good by then but suddenly Seth found that one funny and started to giggle and soon we were all laughing heartily.

Shayla wrapped it up with: "Why did the golfer bring extra pants."
"In case he got a 'hole in one'."

Yeah, yeah--I know "Mom Jokes". But it was a lot of fun laughing together and I was touched that they would keep an eye out for corny jokes because they know I enjoy them.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Good Times

This is the original and actual game we played--yes I saved it!
When Spencer was two to three years old, Seth was the baby.
Every day Spencer looked forward to naptime when the hectic
morning gave way to a peaceful, pleasant few hours spent playing
his favorite game:
Memory
Or as he called it: "The Matching Game"
(It happens to be a family favorite and each child in turn went through a stage
of obsession with it.)
I enjoyed our time together but didn't share his
thrill of playing game, after Game, after GAME, AFTER GAME.
He also happened to be very good at it--
I didn't even have to let him win.
When our children were little, I was told:
"The days last forever but the years fly by"
Now I know what they were talking about.
Boy, do I ever.
The little boy who mastered the "Matching Game"
will soon get to master the Hmong language.


We recently spent a peaceful, pleasant afternoon
getting him outfitted for his mission.



Now that's my kind of fun.

And we didn't even have to wait for Seth to take a nap.


Wednesday, October 7, 2009

An Over-due Birthday

Mom & Dad with Shanna on her Wedding Day
Our little girl had a birthday a few days ago...
She is our Conference baby.
While apostles and prophets were expounding on Eternal Families
and other Glorious Truths,
Shanna was making her grand entrance into the world.
We just wouldn't be the same Eternal Family without her.
And here's a Glorious Truth for you:
She is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
And always has been.

Friday, October 2, 2009

A Friendly Reminder

I believe the rules and regulations regarding grandparents state that every Grandma is allowed one incident of SHAMELESS BRAGGING per quarter. In spite of my exceptionally amazing grandchild I have managed to keep my gushing to a tolerable level. I think I am due:
I have the cutest, most adorable granddaughter in the world.
She also happens to be bright and smart and sweet as pie.
I'm really not saying this to boast.
Just stating the facts.

Happy Birthday Scott!

 It has been awhile since I updated this little family scrapbook on the internet. I like to pop over here from time to time and look at our ...