An Author in the Book Club

One of my favorite "small groups" in our ward Relief Society is the Book Club. We get together monthly and take turns suggesting books to read and leading the discussions on the ones we have all read together. This broadens my horizons considerably as everyone has different tastes. I have enjoyed most all the books chosen.

In our ward is a relatively new author (front and center in the photo), whom we invited to lead the group on her second book. It is "Stoney Creek, Alabama" by Jennifer Youngblood and her mother Sandra Poole. We all liked the book so much that we asked her to do her first book at our next meeting. That one is "Livin' In High Cotton"

"Livin' In High Cotton" is based on the true story of her grandmother (or was that great-grandmother, I don't remember), but it is a very compelling story of the South during the years of the Depression and Prohibition. The fact that it is based on the truth drew me in even more that the equally well written Stoney Creek, Alabama. Stoney Creek is based on a story that takes place in a saw mill. A young girl returns to unravel the mystery of her father's murder.

For our book club I made refreshments of a Mississippi Mud Cake and Buttermilk Pie, both Southern specialities from the story. I had never tasted nor made Buttermilk Pie before so that was scary to try out, but Jennifer, who is a true Southerner said it was one of the best she had ever had. Wow!

Both books are available at Amazon.com and local bookstores. I recommend them. Jennifer's third one is due out shortly and will be called something like "Trailers, Pines, and Power Lines".

Improved Temple Readiness

During Sunday School I have started taking the Family History Class. This last Sunday we met in the Family History library adjacent to the Laie Temple. We saw a video about the new Church genealogy program FamilySearch. It is being introduced throughout the world with Utah being the last place so that it doesn't get too overwhelmed all at once and some of the bugs can be worked out before it get bogged down. Anyway, this new program will make genealogy so much easier. Get on the internet but do not go to www anything. Instead go to new.familysearch.org In order to sign in you need to know your confirmation date and your membership ID number which is found on your temple recommend or you can ask your ward clerk.

With this program you can look up your own name and get a pedigree chart then click on family names to see additional information on that person. Living family members will not show up other than the pedigree in order to protect their privacy. But if you want to do ordinances for any of your dead relatives you can just click on the person and the ordinance and print out your own sheet with the bar code necessary to take it to the temple and get the card necessary to perform the ordinances. The program will inform you of any duplications in materials. When you print the Temple ordinance page with the bar code the computer will mark that ordinance as "in progress" so that someone else can't get the same one. When you go to the temple the bar code will be read and the work you do recorded then the same day the computer program will read "completed" The program will also show you time lines of important events in the life of the person you have clicked on. It is really quite interesting and I have a lot to learn about it.
To my surprise I found a couple of uncompleted ordinances that I could print the materials for right away. One was having my deceased father sealed to his parents which I thought he had done. It feels like a really wonderful thing to do to get this paperwork straightened out and the whole program will be such a blessing to the Church.

On a sadder note however, the Laie Temple will be closing for one and a half years (18 months) on December 29th for remodeling. I've heard the interior remodel will make the building so different we won't even recognize it when it is done. I guess that will give me lots of time to work on records, but obviously to get work done I had better not procrastinate.

Pinto Bean Fudge

Our Relief Society Enrichment meeting is finally accomplished. It was a series of mini demonstration- discussions on preparedness. I gave the lesson at the beginning and as part of it thought it would be fun to get people interested in using their food storage in creative ways. I made a batch of pinto bean fudge that was a real hit. Everyone liked it so I thought you might want to try it too. Here's the recipe:

Mash together:
1 c. soft cooked pinto beans and milk to consistency of mashed potatoes
1 T. vanilla

Melt in double boiler:
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate
6 T. butter

Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the beans and stir until slightly thickened. Work in 2 lbs. of powdered sugar. Knead with hands. Spread into slightly buttered pan. Refrigerate. Nuts and raisins can be added. It will keep well under refrigeration.

So I was tagged

RULES: Answer the questions using only one word. Then tag four other people. Maybe you'll learn something new and with one word answers it will be short.

1. Where is your cell phone? recharging
2. Your significant other?married
3. Your hair? thinning
4. Your mother? heaven
5. Your father? heaven
6. Your favorite thing?postcards
7. Your dream last night? spacious house
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream/goal?skinny
10. The room you’re in? computer
11. Your hobby? crocheting
12. Your fear? Dark
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Mission (maybe sooner)
14. What you’re not? charitable-(but still trying to achieve that)
15. Muffins? chocolate
16. One of your wish list items? travel
17. Where you grew up? Iowa
18. The last thing you did? email
19. What are you wearing? sweats
20. Favorite gadget? Sonicare
21. Your pets? geckos
22. Your computer? Occupied
23. Your mood? tired
24. Missing someone? Mainland kids
25. Your car? Outside (because Amber's stuff fills the garage)
26. Something you’re not wearing?hat
27. Favorite store? Walmart (sorry Ben)
28. Like someone? everybody
29. Your favorite color? aqua-marine
30. When is the last time you laughed? reading
31. Last time you cried? movies

So, I tag my sisters: Vicky, Harmony, Melody, Angie

WOW, what a summer!

Gosh, it's been too long. I've forgotten how to do this blogging stuff. Anyway, we are back in Hawaii after a fabulous month and a half in the Mainland. We saw all of our children and their families and our siblings and folks. Our travels included Utah, Idaho, and California. I celebrated a great birthday although so many candles nearly burned down the house (see picture). Timothy and Amber created these "cows in the pasture" birthday cake by standing loaf angel food cakes on their sides in a platter of coconut colored green for grass. The coloring on the cows was melted chocolate chips, mixed with peanut butter. The eyes were blueberries with horizontally sliced strawberries for the mooing lips.

We saw so many fireworks this year at Timothy's neighborhood and those at Disneyland just went on and on. My favorite, new for me, ride at Disneyland was the Indiana Jones one that I had never ridden before. Of course "Pirates of the Caribbean" and and the Haunted House are old favorites. Ben's lawyer-magician friend got us into the Magic Castle in Hollywood for a fun evening of astonishing magic. Other highlights included a family reunion in Idaho and at Bear Lake with my sisters. Greatly missed was Harmony who did not come up from Texas this year. We had lots of fun activities with Timothy and Kristin in Utah and Peter and Eileen went with us to California to see Ben and Rebekah. Sandi and Amber celebrated their anniversary while we were in Utah and were able to attend a session at the Salt Lake Temple while I strolled around with their two children in the Visitor Centers.


Back at home now in Hawaii, the vacation memories will hopefully not fade. The complications are piling up at home. Sandi and Amber, Topaz and Emerald are living with us in our small two bedroom town house. Sandi was unable to get an early renewal to his green card so that he could ship out with the Army on Aug 20, so after much hassle, the Army has changed his ship out date to Jan. 14. Meanwhile that leaves him unemployed and them homeless. They have found an apartment (brand new) in Hau'ula that they hope to rent but with what for money. When it rains it pours so they say, thus not only are they unemployed and homeless but Hawaii Quest insurance canceled their coverage in July because they said they couldn't find their correct address. Obviously the caseworker was a little behind on her updates, but now they have to get that straightened out too. We shall see how it all works out in the next couple of weeks. Let this be a lesson to everyone to make sure the tithing check is paid before the vacation, not after, as those windows of heaven can stay tightly shut.

Getaway to Zurmatt's in Midway, Utah

My sister Melody won a two night stay at Zurmatt's Spa and Resort for four people to share. She, Vicky, I and our step mother Judy spent the time on the 25th and 26th of July. It was such a luxurious place all done in the Swiss style of the whole community. We swam in the pool with a waterfall into the hot jucuzzi, rode the carousel (twice), had gelattos at the bakery and played golf on the putting greens, and had sumptious meals at both Matty's Bistro and Schneitter's Sunday Breakfast Brunch. A very expensive place but worth every penny. Relaxing in the health and meditation rooms, sweating in the steam room ,and working out in the gym were all fun and rejuvenating. We stayed up past midnight and the coupon included pizza to eat while we played games. We also enjoyed two other activities while staying there. On Friday we rode the Heber Creeper Hay Train. That included the train ride with a barbeque dinner on board. Then we stopped at a small makeshift ranch where two Amish horses were used to pull the hay wagon around the area. Here we also had peach and blueberry cobbler for dessert and listened to Cowboy poetry. Back on the train, we returned to the train station. On Saturday my sisters and I toured three open houses in Midway looking at the architecture and furnishing of the homes ranging from 450,000 to 1.3 million dollars. After such a perfect relaxation you would think we had everything under control, but coming home we took the wrong highway and drove 50 miles in the wrong direction. No crossroads were available to fix the situation so we had to drive all the way back to Heber and get on 189 to get to Orem/Provo where we stopped by Mom and Dad's grave before touring Timothy and Krisitin's house where me parted ways until the family reunion at the end of this week. Such a fun vacation deserves a repeat next year if we can find a place we can afford without having to win it.

The birthday girl

Wow, what a party today has been. Today I turn 59. Timothy and Kristin and Amber and Sandi paid for lunch at Tucanos Brazilian restaurant where we had so many things to eat I'm stuffed. The waiters played their Brazilian drums and made me stand up while they sang. I was supposed to dance while they sang , but afterall I was holding Topaz and it was a little embarrassing in the crowded room. Then we polayed arcade games at Trafalga and right now Timothy and Amber are upstairs creating some birthday cake masterpiece surprise (while Sandi copped out of the festivities and went to see Batman's Dark Knight movie by himself at Scera theater)
The presents have been phenomenal too, including a new phone, books, candy, charm bracelets, foil scraper art, and lots of fun stuff. Thanks everybody, it has been a great day, even if I am getting old.