Pumpkin Log

This Thanksgiving, for the first time, I made a pumpkin log or roll. It turned out really well so I thought I'd share the recipe. I believe I got my copy from Ben and it is called Bro. Brigham's Pumpkin roll and is the same as they use at Great Harvest Bread Company.

First you need to put wax paper on a cookie sheet and then oil that paper also before pouring on the pumpkin ingredients.

Blend together:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup flour.

Pour onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. ( I actually baked mine slightly longer until a knife test came out clean.) Remove from the oven and roll the mixture leaving the wax paper on at this time. Then allow to completely cool before unrolling and putting the filling on.

Filling mixture:
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
4 teaspoons of soft butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Carefully unroll the cooled pumpkin log and spread with the filling. Then re-roll the log removing the wax paper as you roll. Wrap in foil and refrigerate or freeze until ready for use. It only takes a short time to unfreeze so we set ours out while we ate Thanksgiving dinner and it was ready when we were ready for dessert.

Not Swayed By Popular Sentiment

It is not a stunning reversal by the Mormon Church to support city laws that would prohibit discrimination against gays in housing and employment. Peter Spriggs of the Family Research Council, as quoted in the Star Bulletin, one of Hawaii's newspapers, last Thursday, claims that the Church's support is disappointing and a setback that reflects a reaction to the attacks the Church came under over Proposition 8 in California. He sees the Church as bending over backwards to exhibit tolerance toward homosexuals in some way.

The LDS church has never been discriminatory. They have and do still oppose gay marriage, not out of a stance of discrimination, but because it is contrary to the moral laws of God. Since a prophet leads the church and he and the other apostles have access to direct communication with God in directing the affairs of the worldwide Church, it is a great blessing to know without a shadow of doubting that the position of the church is the same as God would do Himself if He were here.

The new city ordinances that make it illegal to fire someone or evict them from their housing for being gay, bisexual, or trans-gender are not really related to the morality of a gay marriage and therefore it only makes sense that the church support these laws.

Now after my mild tirade on this subject I will add into this blog one of my "pet peeves". I, personally (nothing on an official church basis here) do not like to have the gay rights movement using the rainbow as their symbol. I feel the rainbow was given by God to help us remember something different; that He would not again destroy the whole earth by flood. To me it is a visible sign that He exists, that He still communicates with man, and that He makes and keeps promises. This rainbow symbol usage is a perfect example of calling or making good things evil or calling evil things good. Amber had a T-shirt with a rainbow on it that she was uncomfortable wearing because she thought it indicated to the world something about her moral preferences. That is so sad, I think.

It's New To Us

After six faithful years of service our 1998 Honda Odyssey bit the dust. The problems, we were told, would cost about $4,000 to repair and because of age and other issues the car wasn't worth that much anymore.

So we traded it in on a 2007 Hyundai Entourage. The business department of the car dealership had listed this car at a good price to draw in customers and figured they would want a different color and they would give them the regular price for that change. That worked for them for a few people but we thought the red color was O.K. and didn't warrant the $8,000 difference in price.

Some of the interesting features include 4 captains chairs and the third row seats divide so that one- third can be laid down while two-thirds stay up or vice-a- vers. The car has temperature control so that you can pick an exact temperature, like 72 degrees, for each of the driver and passenger front seat separately, as well as for the back area separately. The doors are electronic and open for you at the push of a button.

A little compass reads out the direction of the car; and miles per gallon of gas is instantly and continuously computed and averaged. The dashboard shows a car picture that each tire can light up on if the tire pressure in that one is low. There is a conversation mirror in addition to the regular mirror so that front row people can see those in the back. There is a sunglasses holder built it on the top of the driver side. There is a CD player and radio with extra controls for the volume on the steering wheel.

The gear shift looks like a standard although it is automatic. The 1,2,3 drives are shifted to the side, while regular ones are straight up and down. There are 11 cup holders in the car with four in a fold down tray between the two front seats. All three rows of windows can be opened and controled by the driver. The computer display of the miles per gallon can also show miles per trip and outside temperature.

The car has a V-6 engine while our Honda was a 4 cylinder. There are at least three twelve volt power outlets (cigarette lighters) for plugging things like little DVD players into. The car has less than 30,000 miles on it. The lights in the car operate automatically so that they are on when it is dark and go off by themselves. I'm sure there are a number of gadgets that we have not discovered yet.

Your Daddy says it is so beautiful. I think he really likes it. I hope it lasts many years as cars are expensive these days.

Halloween Pumpkins

Amber and Topaz created the pumpkin with the lite brite cat face. It is lit by a
flashing light inside that causes the lite brites to glow. I carved the little monster pumpkin, but since I am no artist, I used a pattern. They were cute enough that people came and took pictures of themselves by our pumpkins.

Just the Girls and Topaz

While Tim was in Virginia for a week, Amber and I and Emerald and Topaz played. The Dole plantation has a train called the Pineapple Express that tours the pineapple fields. We thought the kids would enjoy that and had planned to do it while we were at the maze on another day. The weather was much more pleasant, even slightly sprinkling while we were riding the train. One of the things you learn on the train is that pineapples never get riper after they are cut, so it is best to refrigerate them if they are not being eaten immediately. Pineapple also acts as a meat tenderizer and aids in digestion so it is good to add to meat dishes.

On Saturday we were planning to go to the Swap Meet in Honolulu, so Amber and I drove down. When we got there, the Stadium was closed for a University of Hawaii football game. So, since we were already in Honolulu, we wound around until we came to the Bishop's Museum. There is a new traveling exhibit there on dinosaurs. The dinosaurs are huge and robotic so they move and roar. They are both in the building and outside on the grounds of the museum and they looked a little too real to Topaz. He totally freaked out and had to be carried past them. He pulled his hat over his eyes because as long as he couldn't see them, they must not be able to see him. On the other hand he totally enjoyed the normal volcano exhibit. It seemed that as far as Topaz was concerned we couldn't get out of there fast enough. Imagine my surprise when we pulled out of the parking area and suddenly he began to cry in the most heart-broken fashion. This continued all the way with him begging "More dinosaurs pleeeese!" Finally in desperation we stopped at a Walgreens in Kaneohe and bought the child a small stuffed dinosaur to remember the occasion and the tears stopped. Children- no matter what you do it is tough to get it right!

Because I have given this story the title of the girls and Topaz, there is another experience this week that fits. There is a playground at the mall in Kaneohe where both Topaz and Emerald enjoying playing. This time Topaz was running around as usual and he came to the top of the green hill holding the hand of some little girl. Together they ran down the hill and when they came back up he had two girls by the hand. Once again he ran down and once again he came back this time with three little girls. It seems boys this age have no shyness around little girls.

The Pineapple Maze

After a long summer and early fall hiatus, I've decided I need and want to get blogging again. There were so many things I wanted to write about our summer in the Mainland but I didn't and now it seems like old news, so I will just begin again.

Yesterday, Amber and I took her kids to the world's largest maze. It is at the Dole pineapple plantation. The center of the maze is shaped like a pineapple and all the winding paths are tall hedges of hibiscus trees mostly. Topaz really likes to do mazes on the computer and on paper, so we thought he might like to see what a real one is like.

When we went in, I was a little concerned thinking we had to complete the whole thing correctly on one path before we could ever get out again. If you know me very well, you know I am easily lost and always end up needing a bathroom right when none is available.

In this maze we were often lost, but you enter and follow a straight line to the center pineapple. Eight entrances go off from the center and you wind around in them. Back in the bushes they overlap so that you might go in one gate and come out another. In each of the eight areas you can eventually find a machine where you can mark your little passport with a picture that indicates you found that one. We let Topaz tell us which way to turn most of the time so sometimes we repeated the rows. When you walk directly to each sign post you cover a total of 2.4 miles, so I'm sure we did a little more than that. It is not too stressful because you can always wind you way back to the center and sit down and think about it or rest and drink water, if you take water, which we did and I would recommend.

We were doing quite well and still had two sign posts to find. Topaz was having a great time. Emerald was happy in her stroller, but I had a bit of a struggle pushing her as the paths were rocks. Anyway we were going along very well despite the repeats and periods of being completely lost when Topaz exclaimed "Look only two more places to find!" He seemed totally excited to continue on when about three feet later he said "I'm done Mommy let's go". We all were pretty well baked in the 89 degree weather and my shirt was completely wet from sweat so we really didn't argue. We went back to the center pineapple and straight out to the gift shop and bought Topaz a Pineapple Maze finisher T-shirt to celebrate the accomplishment. Our punchout clock said it had taken us one hour and twenty minutes.

The Dole Pineapple Maze is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in both 1998 and 2001 as the world's largest maze. They still advertise it as the world's largest so I presume it still is.

Ward Camp

In a Mormon ward in Hawaii the yearly activity is a week at camp on the beach. Usually we miss this because we are in the mainland visiting our children when it occurs, but this year we were in town.

You would not believe the luxury camping that Hawaiian do. First of all they set their tents all up under "easy corners". These are sturdy pole and tarps arrangements that protect the tent and living area from rain, wind, etc. Being mainlanders ourselves we do not have easy corners so we just set our tent up. The first year we did this, about five years ago, our tent blew down a couple of times. This year we selected a spot a little more sheltered by trees for some shade and wind protection and did not have a problem. Some people hook up large double sinks to the available faucets. Our first time someone even brought a real china cabinet to camp to live just like at home. Unbelievable!

Hawaiian wards take huge generators to camp to power everything from lights and cooking stoves to TVs, etc. A staging area is used for group activities. This year the first one was a huge memorial dance for Michael Jackson with a performance of "Thriller" and pulsating lights. Other group activities included a Primary activity for the children one day, a Musical fireside on Sunday, nightly movies, and of course every ward camp ends with a huge luau including the kalua pork (pig cooked underground).

Topaz and Emerald went camping with us the first night. They loved scampering around in the tent and swimming on the beach. On the other hand, they did not love sleeping at night so it was a rather long night for me. It didn't help that the Michael Jackson Memorial dance loudly went until 11 P.M. and then some neighbors from another group played the radio nearly as loud until 4 A.M.

Since the beach camp was less than a mile from our house we luxuriously went home for showers and even slept at home a couple of the nights. We're not the campers we were when we were younger but all in all it was quite fun. Many of the locals make this their only vacation from work, but of course we mainlanders will go to the mainland to visit our families still too.