Hair Cuts

Decades ago a husband and wife gave a talk in church. They stood at the podium together to deliver their message. I don't remember the topic. In passing the husband mentioned his wife cut his hair and it was very sweet time together. What went through my head was, "That's nice for them. We have different kind of sweet times together."  Joe's take away - "I want you to cut my hair!"

I resisted his entreaties. I didn't have much confidence; I'd never cut hair before and didn't really have a desire to learn. Joe and I could have sweet times together in other ways. 

Then we decided to go on a mission for Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Money was going to be tight. It made sense that I should learn how to cut Joe's hair. One of our friends was a beautician. She agreed to teach me how to give a haircut. Joe eagerly told her he wanted to cut my hair. The evening arrived. We went over to their house for our lessons. She instructed me as I cut Joe's hair. Then it was Joe's turn to try his skills on my hair. I was wearing it pretty short so there was more involved than just cutting around the bottom of a bowl so to speak. After a few minutes, Amy gently said to me, "You might want to find someone in Nassau to cut your hair." Joe's fine motor skills have never been his strong suit - and where scissors and hair are involved you need more than a willingness to please. 

Amy advised me what to purchase. We packed our supplies and headed off to Nassau. I found someone to cut my hair. She did it much shorter than I was used to. A woman at church said I had a "man's haircut!"

I cut Joe's hair. He's very accepting and wasn't as worried about how it looked as I was. The haircuts were OK, not great. Each week the four younger missionaries and we met to discuss missionary work. At one of these meetings Joe announced that I cut hair and I'd be glad to cut everyone's hair. I have to admit I wasn't thrilled about this offer.  To make matters more stressful, the mission president and other church leaders were coming to the island the next week - and I didn't want to be responsible for 5 missionaries with bad haircuts!

Missionaries have what's called a preparation day once a week. This is 2/3 of a day to run errands, do laundry, clean the apartment, write letters, perhaps play a bit - and cut hair. By the end of our mission I had given a lot of haircuts on preparation day.

Picture on right - cutting a missionary's hair on our front porch in Nassau

That was about 17 years ago. When we came home, Joe wanted me to continue cutting his hair. I have fairly consistently, but my confidence hasn't increased all that much. Fortunately Joe still isn't picky about how his hair looks - and it grows quickly - nice to know in case I don't do too well. The last few years Joe's had a fair number of skin problems on his face and it's very tender. He prefers to have me around his face with scissors and a comb rather than some stranger. Sweet times together.

So - that's the story about me and hair cutting.

Observing and Serving

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." John 15: 12

We show our love for Christ and each other through our actions. Love is an action word. 

"First observe, then serve." (Linda Burton) As we pay attention to people and situations around us, the Spirit will help us know who needs what kind of service and what we can do to show Christ's love. 

As always Christ is our example - In the following scripture, Christ has been visiting with and instructing the people. He was getting ready to leave and meet with another group of people. He was returning to the first group the next day. Here's the "observe and serve" part.

"And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.  And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you. Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.

 "For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you." 3Nephi 17: 5-8

And He did.

Observe and serve.

Keepsake - Raggedy Ann

1952

I wonder if Susan and I got these Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for Christmas? I liked the dolls because they had red hair, just like many people in our family. My memory is that there was only one other boy in London (Ohio) with red hair. 

In the second picture I'm holding a Raggedy Ann book from my childhood. I signed "Julie H." inside the front cover. Inside the back cover "1.25" is written, probably the price for the book. Joe gave me the new Raggedy Ann doll for Christmas many years ago. 

From the National Toy Hall of Fame website – “One day in 1915, as the story goes, Johnny Gruelle’s daughter Marcella brought him an old rag doll. He drew a face on the worn fabric and called the doll Raggedy Ann. Gruelle, a cartoonist and illustrator, wrote a children’s book about Raggedy Ann in 1918. Publisher P. F. Volland arranged to sell Raggedy Ann dolls along with the books, and the tie-in between Gruelle’s Raggedy Ann Stories and the dolls proved a marketing hit. In 1920, Gruelle introduced the Raggedy Andy Stories. In them, when humans weren’t looking, Raggedy Ann and Andy came to life and embarked on many adventures. Gruelle averaged one new book each year for twenty years. The books and dolls have remained popular for the past century.” 

source

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-Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle; 1945; The Johnny Gruelle Company, New York 

-signed "Julie H." inside front cover; "1.25" written inside back cover. This was probably the price of the book. 

-also have a 1993 printing of the book

-Raggedy Ann doll - has "certificate of Authenticity" Holiday Keepsake Raggedy Ann Dolls (Applause) #2401

Book - Annie's Ghosts

Annie's Ghosts : A Journey into a Family Secret - by Steve Luxenberg

"Traces the author's surprise discovery that his late mother had had a sister who was sent away under mysterious circumstances and never mentioned by the family again, his efforts to research his long-lost aunt's story and whereabouts, and his struggles to understand the secrecy of her existence." (image & summary from WorldCat)

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My comments - 

As his mother is near death from emphysema, the author learns from a social worker that his mother had a sister. He decides not to ask his mother about this because of her mental state as she was dying. "Annie’s Ghosts” is Steve Luxenberg’s quest to find his mother’s sister. The author is about my age. He grew up in Detroit, the grandson of Jews who came to America from Ukraine in the early 1900s. 

I was fascinated with the author’s story of how he finds his lost aunt – and all that he discovers during that journey. Each conversation leads to another place, another person, another clue. Along the way he asks many rhetorical questions as he tries to understand his mother and her motivations. 

The author spends a great deal of time exploring and explaining Detroit’s mental health system in the 1900s. His aunt was institutionalized when she was 21 and the author’s mother was 23. He discusses prevailing attitudes about mental illness and disabilities in Ukraine and in the States. 

I enjoyed the genealogy, the search for family and stories, historical events and how they affect people's decisions, immigration and life in the States. 

We can go through childhood and adulthood and ask only superficial questions of our parents and grandparents. Do we really know what motivated them? Have we heard their stories? Did we listen and ask questions? Did they give us any clues about untold stories? 

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Here's a review of the book. Click here for goodreads.com summaries

Delicious!

Trader Joe's has the most wonderful selection of stuff covered in dark chocolate

this is our current favorite

what a wonderful combination of flavors & textures

Book - What Would a ....

What would a holy woman do? This question was posed by Wendy Watson Nelson to a few friends. Each day the women chose one of their normal activities and asked "how would a holy woman" do this task? She writes about their experiences in the book "What Would a Holy Woman Do?"

What would a holy woman do? This could be seen as a cliché much as “What would Jesus do?”

In reality it’s a question I want to ask myself every day. I want to turn it from a catchy phrase to a guideline for my life.

“Holy - Sacred, having a godly character, or spiritually and morally pure. The opposite of holy is common or profane.” (Guide to the Scriptures) 

How would a holy woman, a woman who is a disciple of Christ, handle the ordinary events of daily life? Running errands and the resulting interactions with people? Handle a conflict? Decide what to do about a lengthy to-do list?  This doesn’t mean that I’m adding more things to do in my life, but I am choosing a Christ-centered approach to the people and events that are already part of my life.

The scriptures abound with counsel on what kind of people we can, and are, to become. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are our examples.

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 48) Perfect, as used when the King James Bible was translated, means complete.

“Be holy, for I am holy” Leviticus 11: 44–45

"Teach my people the difference between the holy and profane” Ezekial 44: 23

“God hath called us with a holy calling” 2 Timothy 1: 8–9

 “I am able to make you holy.” Doctrine and Covenants 60: 7  

"Ye shall bind yourselves to act in all holiness” Doctrine and Covenants 43: 9

"Ye must practice … holiness before me.” Doctrine and Covenants 46: 33 

What would a holy woman do? Any time I’m stumped with an answer to this question I can go to the scriptures and go to God in prayer. They are here to help me in my becoming.

This is a very short book, more of a pamphlet. But it has the potential to change how I go through each day. It all depends upon what I do with the question “What would a holy woman do?”

image

Harmony in the Home

"What has helped develop greater harmony in your home?"* 

The gospel of Jesus Christ – learning it and living it – has resulted in greater harmony in our home. The change came when we actively committed to Christ, learned his gospel, and tried to live it every day. The focus becomes the other person. Love becomes more proactive and is a feeling we try to have in our home so the Spirit will be with us all the time. The gospel gives us an eternal perspective; that makes an immense difference because we’re looking far into the future. The problems, irritations, and challenges of earth life are put into perspective when we have the goal of being together forever – life with our family, Heavenly Parents, and Jesus Christ.

When you pray together multiple times a day, when you study scriptures together daily, when you attend church together, when you serve together - and do all these things because you love each other and love Christ - it’s bound to result in greater harmony in the home. It’s not a 100% guarantee but it’s a whole lot better than what we had before we made the commitment to be active disciples of Christ.

*This is one of the questions we answered in our profiles on mormon.org. Read more about that here. Click here for Joe's profile and here for mine.

Keepsake - Chicken Bowl

Joe remembers sitting in a high chair eating cereal out of this milkglass chicken bowl. His mother gave it to him when he was 2 or 3 as a way to encourage him to eat more oatmeal. It didn’t work. 

Later, Joe's father, Joseph Robertson Todd, always had the chicken bowl on his dresser. He kept keys and coins in it. 

Three Josephs about 1938 - Joe with his father & grandfather

Keepsake - Mom & Camels

I don’t know if Mom really liked camels or if she decided to “adopt” an animal because Dad had the owl. I remember Mom saying that camels are so ugly and foul-tempered that someone had to love them, so she would. 

Given that she liked camels, she received many, many camels as gifts – camel statues, camel stuffed animals, mugs with camels on them, camel jewelry, camel, camel, camel. 

One Christmas, not many years before she died, Mom announced that they had enough camels and owls and didn’t need any more  

When Mom died in February 2003, there were plenty of camels for everyone in the family. 

Mom & Dad rode camels when they went to Egypt in March 1982

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- 8" long 5" tall

- label on bottom "RED MILL MFG. / HANDCRAFTED USA”

- printed on camel "RED MILL '93"

- might be pecan shell resin as per Internet searches

Prayers and Answers

Sometimes our prayers are answered in unexpected ways.

"Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and resilience.   David A. Bednar

Read more about prayer here, here, and here. 

Energy Efficient

Our townhouse should be much more energy efficient

now that these old bulbs have been replaced

Puget Sound Energy people installed energy and water-saving equipment in our townhouse. This was part of a free program for apartment owners. They replaced incandescent light bulbs with Energy Star LED bulbs. These things are supposedly 80% more efficient and will last up to 20 years! They replaced one of the shower heads with a contraption designed for people who do things like make beds, brush teeth, or make phone calls while their shower water runs and heats up. When the water is the right temperature, it stops running until you pull a string hanging from the shower head to get a full flow of water. We’ve never been in a situation where the water took long enough to heat up that we had time to do any of those other things while we were waiting. That type of shower head was put in our guest bathroom. The master bath didn't get one because there's a handheld shower head in that one and that didn't get replaced. 

The PSE people also left a smart power strip for use with a home entertainment center.

Soccer Tournament

We enjoy going to our grandchildren's games and other activities. Recently one of them played in a soccer tournament in Bellingham, Washington. Bellingham is an hour and a half from here and 21 miles south of the Canadian border. Some of the teams drove 15 hours from Edmonton, Canada to take part in the tournament.

The soccer fields were beautiful

Mount Baker was in the distance

Throughout the day the mountain faded in and out of visibility

Bellingham's airport was nearby so the planes cast their shadows on the fields all day. Our granddaughter said it was distracting when a huge shadow descended on the field. 

Almost home - here's our ghost mountain. There's a certain place on I-405, just before our Kirkland exit, that you can see Mount Rainier for a few seconds - if it's a clear day. The mountain appears and disappears very quickly due to the change in the freeway's elevation. The mountain is in the middle of the picture between the bridge and the green sign. Click on the image for a bigger picture.

"Talking" Plants

Some people talk to their plants. I just look (listen) to mine and see what they have to say. Here's a recent lesson.

By the time a leaf gets yellow, there's not much that can be done. Problems have to be caught earlier. I need to be more attentive and notice when the color is just beginning to change. That's an indication that something isn't quite right with the plant - and I need to take action. 

What are the warning signs that something isn't quite right with us? At what point do we need to get a bit more sunlight (or Son Light) or nourishment or change of environment?

Unlike this leaf, there's always hope for us.

Thank God for that!

Life's Journey

A while ago I was going through pictures taken in the late 1960s. At the same time I was pasting pictures from adventures with graduating grandchildren into Dr. Seuss's book "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" 

I was drawn to the books' message about life's ups and downs and thought about the ups and downs I was clueless about when going through the experiences recorded in those pictures from the 1960s. 

Sometimes we do come down "with an unpleasant bump." 

Sometimes we do find ourselves in a slump.

And - "un-slumping" ourselves is not easily done

"Bang-ups and hang-ups" are part of our life's journey

Christ and His gospel will help us get out of life's slumps and deal with the "bang-ups." 

Christ will sustain us during the difficult times. 

Living His gospel will help us find the "bright places" mentioned in Dr. Seuss's book. 

Observations

The first week of August I walked through the Nordstrom store on my way to a class in the Apple Store. (Quickest way from parking lot to Apple). Winter coats are on display ALREADY!!! It's too early for that kind of stuff!

As I waited for the Apple Store to open, 

I noticed that every person I could see on both levels of the mall 

was interacting with a device 

instead of the person who was right there. 

Topic of my class - the iPhone!

Remember When?

Remember when watermelons had seeds 

and you could accumulate enough seeds for a seed spitting contest?

As I remember, we Holtons had a distinct advantage in these contests because most of us could roll our tongues thus creating a chute for seeds and their propulsion!

On the Lake

Farmers' markets abound in this area. We have one in downtown Kirkland, right on the lake, on Wednesdays. On Fridays there's a market at Juanita Beach Park in northern Kirkland.

This beautiful park is on Lake Washington. There's a large beach area and a U-shaped board/cement-walk that goes out into the lake and encloses a swimming area. 

I love the flowers at the market

vegetables & fruits too

There's always music at the Friday Market

If you look closely you can see Joe through the middle of the tent. 

He's staking out a table for us. 

We shared a pulled pork sandwich, cole slaw and cherry cobbler - delicious

Transitions - Camera

You can probably tell that we take a LOT of pictures. I come from a family of picture takers - going back to my father's parents. Dad processed his film in the darkroom we had in our basement. Several of us learned how to print pictures at home. Some of my siblings and I were photographers for the high school newspaper. 

Our family has had many kinds of cameras over the years. We've done big, bulky cameras; film point and shoot as well as film SLR. Then we moved to digital, always point and shoot. We've purchased medium to high end point and shoot cameras. It took me quite a while to mentally adjust to the fact that the camera on my iPhone 5s takes better pictures than our point and shoot camera (except for zoom and macro functions). This past family reunion I took all pictures on my phone. That's a major transition for us. Some people at the reunion had digital SLR cameras. I don't know if we'll make that leap or not. One of my criteria for a camera is that it fits in my pocket. 

Will convenience or quality win out? Or will we go with both? Time will tell. 

Adventures Await

Dictionary definitions for adventure use phrases such as "exciting or remarkable experience." Another is "an unusual and exciting experience or activity." Another definition mentions exploring unknown territory.

When we commit to following Christ, we know the desired outcome - to become more like Christ and Heavenly Father and to have eternal life with Them. What we don't know is what we will experience during our individual journeys. That's where the adventure comes into play.

“When it is He you are following, pressing forward is the ultimate adventure.” Neil Andersen 

As we follow Christ, the Spirit is going to lead us in directions that might seem unfamiliar and perhaps even uncomfortable because we're stretching and being nudged out of our comfort zones.

This brings to mind what CS Lewis had to say about what God is trying to do with us and our lives. 

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” -  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

From a cottage to a palace. It's all about becoming and what we do during our journey to become more like Christ in this adventure called life. 

Our discipleship has taken us places we never would have guessed. We have met people and had experiences that have greatly blessed our lives. In the process our goal has been to become better people. We hope others can see and feel Christ reflected in our words and works. 

We are excited to see what is before us as our adventure continues.