June 2014 Report

Since when did June become a month with only 5 days in it? I'm sure the other 25 are missing, floating around somewhere in the universe. This month went by so fast! Here's my report:

1. First Things First: same as ever. Working on eating better. I'm exercising regularly but might have to step up my efforts a notch while I'm exercising. Still trying hard to keep up on daily prayer and scripture reading.

2. Personal History: I have scanned hundreds and hundreds of slides this month. In truth, that's where June has gone.

3. Temples: see the last two months of reports: still no new temples.

4. Home Projects:
Cleaning for June: library and music room. Does vacuuming count? Yes, yes it does. I've spent a lot of time in the yard. Last Saturday Joseph and the boys helped me clean out all the mile high weeds in my vegetable planters and Joseph tilled it and dug the holes and planted my tomatoes and herbs. Ray and I cleared two trees and a large bush and several shrubs from a small side yard. We will be putting in grass there instead. It will look nicer, and can be groomed in 5 minutes instead of 5 hours of weeding.
Emergency binder update: almost done. Still working on it.

Goals for July: keep up on the yard. Clean the downstairs bathrooms. Actually that's a job that gets done pretty thoroughly pretty often. Especially when we have company, which is frequently.

Love's Banner by Holly C. Metcalf

I have no photo of this book. It is the story of Elaine Cannon's life. Elaine's daughter Holly wrote it, and gave the book to my daughter Debra. Debra passed it on to me.

Elaine Cannon was the General Young Women's President for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) from 1978 to 1984. It was a time of a lot of structural changes. For example that was when the church went to the consolidated schedule.

Elaine was a woman with boundless energy and ideas. It was fun to learn more about her.

The Pick and Flower of England by David MW Pickup

Ray's parents sent this book to us so we can read it in preparation for our trip to England in August. We will be touring various places, and included will be some LDS church history sites. This book gives the history of LDS missionaries in England during Victorian times.

It was interesting. Some of the information I knew already but there were a lot of new things I learned too. It will definitely enhance our trip.

O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King

This is the fifth book in the Mary Russell - Sherlock Holmes mystery series.

I liked it, and have the next one on my nightstand ready to read after my next book.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I loved this book.

I zipped right through it, captured from the very first.

It was especially fun for me because it takes place in Seattle and she captured the area and its residents so well.

I laughed out loud in parts. I was enthralled with the book the whole time.

It's about a mom who disappears, and how they go about trying to find her. Sort of. It's about people and self awareness too.

Warning: there are about a dozen f-bombs in the book, in case that makes a difference to you. While I personally never condone the use of that word (it's hard for me to think of a word that is more offensive), these did not seem gratuitous.

A Wilder Rose by Susan Witting Albert

I have been reading Susan Wittig Albert's books for years. In particular I really enjoy her China Bayles mystery series.

This book is not a mystery. It is a fiction book, strongly based on fact, about Rose Wilder Lane. I found it very interesting and disconcerting at the same time.

Rose Wilder Lane is the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I have been in love with the Little House books since I could read. I've read them countless times. We all know that the Little House books are the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder's life. Wilder basically wrote the first draft of each of the books. However, Rose Wilder Lane is the one that edited them and made them the books that they are. That was the disconcerting information for me.

I had to completely rethink how I felt about the Little House series. At first I felt betrayed that what I've thought all along isn't really the truth. How many times does that happen in our lives? It might seem silly but the stories and author were all tied up together for me. I finally came to the conclusion that I love the books no matter what. And they are still Laura Ingalls Wilder's story. If her daughter helped make them even better, okay.

I thought this book gave good insight into the whole situation. It's really told from Rose's side of the story and didn't start out very sympathetic to Laura. By the end of the book I felt like we had a better picture of both of them, and that it was not so one-sided as it seemed at the beginning.

I liked it, and felt like it was well worth reading.

Grace Takes Off by Julie Hyzy

Another Julie Hyzy book. This is the latest in her Manor House Mystery series. I used to like the White House Chef series a little better, but now I like this one just as well, or perhaps even a little better. Perhaps.

If you like light mysteries, these are for you.

My Name Used to Be Muhammed by Tito Momen

I busted my tail to finish this book for book group, then completely forgot to attend! That's how my life has been lately.

This is the story of a man who was raised as a Muslim. He eventually converted to Christianity (Mormon, as a matter of fact), and was persecuted because of it. It is simply written, and I enjoyed reading about his life.

Home of the Braised by Julie Hyzy

This book is the latest in Julie Hyzy's White House Chef mysteries. It's very fun, and I liked it as well as the others.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

This is the third of Kate Morton's books that I've read. The other two were The Forgotten Garden, and The Distant Hours. I liked this one better than both of those.

I've had this book on my Kindle for quite a while. I finally read it when we went to Hawaii. I think I've started it before because I seemed to remember the first couple of chapters. I don't know why I didn't finish it then. Perhaps I needed to get a book group book finished or something.

I really liked this book. I felt like it unfolded well, and kept me wondering how in the world it would resolve. I liked how she tied it up and made it work. It made me constantly rethink the characters as more of their lives were revealed. It's a good one.

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley

So far I haven't met a Susanna Kearsley book I didn't like. It's still true.

This book is set in the present, and doesn't really flit back and forth from the present to events in the past like many of her others. It is one of her early books, perhaps her first. It takes place at an archaeological dig in Scotland.

I really liked it. I would recommend any of her books that I've read so far. A couple of them I've read more than once, which is saying something. I used to reread books all the time, but now I don't have enough time to read as it is, so it's very rare that I read something over again.

Dreams of Lilacs by Lynn Kurland

Lynn's latest in her romance series. Clean and fun. I'm still trying to figure out where the title came from though.

Hawaii ~ May 2014

I love visiting Hawaii. I can never get enough of the ocean, so it's a prime target for my vacation desires. Add to that the fact that my sister and her family live there, and it's an additional bonus. 

The day after we arrived, we buried my mom's ashes at Punchbowl National Cemetery. Well, not really buried, more accurately we placed her ashes in a vault. My dad is a veteran, so they qualify to be buried at a National Cemetery. He served during the Korean War and spent most of his time in Pearl Harbor, working on submarines. So we chose Punchbowl. It was a quiet day at the cemetery. We were almost the only people there. It was very humid and hot. My mom would have hated it! We just laughed and laughed about that. My mom always insisted on keeping temperatures ridiculously low so that she would never be hot. Meanwhile the rest of us were always freezing. I call this poetic justice. 

me and Tweeter

Me, Jennifer, Tweeter, Mike, Christopher

 

me and Ray

The day we buried my mom was also my niece Jennifer's 17th birthday. We came home from the cemetery and had a delicious dinner and chocolate coffee cheesecake for dessert. 

Ray and my nephew Christopher out for some good lunch.

My goal while in Hawaii is to spend some time of each day at the beach, rain or shine. I think I made it all but one day this time. Pretty good. Here's a view of my ideal vacation: reading next to the ocean.

Mike and Tweeter have a nice boat for fishing. Ray went out a couple of times with them and spent the day on the ocean, fishing (meanwhile I had time all by myself - see the picture above).

Mike at the helm (sort of) and Chris

Chris and Mike

Mike took us to lunch and we had some poke. (Raw fish on rice.) Delicious.

Here's how it looked one morning when the boys took off fishing:

Ray and I made our usual trip up to the north shore. We stopped at Ted's Bakery and bought a chocolate-haupia pie. So delicious!

Of course we stopped at Kua 'Aina for lunch. So delicious again!

Usually we get their burger. This time I tried the Mahi Mahi sandwich. It was terrific.

We usually stop for shave ice at Matsumoto's - best shave ice on the island. But there was road construction and building construction blocking access. So we skipped it.

It was a great, relaxing vacation. Just what we needed. I got a lot of reading done, and spent a lot of time near the ocean. What could be better?

Lori's Quilt

Oh my. Every day I think: I have so many posts to catch up on--trips we've taken, photos in general, books I've read, and quilts I've finished. Oops. That last one I am caught up on, except for this quilt:

It's Lori's quilt. Lori, Marilyn, Jennifer and I have served together in Relief Society (our church's women's organization) for the last few years. Now Lori is serving with our young women. So Jennifer, Marilyn and I wanted to make a quilt to say "thanks for all the great memories we've forged together." We saw a sample of this quilt in our local quilt shop, and Lori mentioned that she liked it. The three of us took the hint and decided to make it for her. I made the squares (a challenge for me because they are paper-pieced). Jennifer put the whole thing together, and Marilyn quilted it. 

It was a joy to make, and a joy to have the opportunity to serve with Lori and learn to love and appreciate her many talents and wonderful spirit.