One of Those Days & Evenings

I was walking recently on one of those days that makes you want to stand tall, spread your arms, lift your face to the sun, and just soak up all the beauty

These blossoms smelled heavenly

Peter Kirk Park - children were on the playground; people were playing tennis; youth were using the skate park

 below - a baseball game is going on in the distance

The dandelions were even pretty

These ladies were out enjoying the day too

Gossips by Louise McDowell

the next night we were treated to awesome colors at sunset

Hallelujah!

He is risen!

Food

We are aware that we blog about food frequently. Moving to a new part of the country gives us the opportunity to discover wonderful restaurants with their great food and fantastic staff.

The Market St. restaurant is one of our favorites. 

Those red chairs are on rollers and the floor is wood. 

This provides much fun for many children (and some adults)

Often we share fish 'n chips. 

These are the best French fries we've EVER had. 

(fish is good too)

Our favorite entre to share is braised pork shoulder served on polenta. Yummy!

dessert - gelato from Sirena

Joe's favorite combination - half dark chocolate & half Thai coconut

Seen At Costco

Did you know that the "Kirkland," as in Costco's Kirkland brand, refers to our new home Kirkland? Costco's corporate headquarters were in Kirkland from 1987-1996.

Items at our nearby Costco reflect the diversity of people in this area. Our Costco store seems perpetually crowded. I can't find any data to substantiate this but it would seem that different ethnic groups shop on different days. It's possible to go through Costco on some days and hear very little English (and none of those different languages are Spanish). The store, and parking lot, can seem a bit chaotic with all the people and cars and carts - and different ethnic groups seem to have different rules for the parking lot as well as inside the store - what side to travel on, how to approach all those free sample tables, waiting in line etiquette, ... Frustration and impatience could easily rear their ugly heads in the resulting traffic jams. It's much better to go with the flow and relish the differences. 

The other day I was cruising the aisles when I was stopped in my tracks by the "Columbus" brand. (We used to live near Columbus, Ohio)

As much as we love our healthy "happy foods," Joe has to admit that one of his favorite meals is a Costco hot dog and pizza - total price for what's pictured is $6.00. He often eats this in the car while I do the shopping. We don't take the "free" huge soft drink that comes with the hot dog.  That's our nod to moderation when it comes to this meal. 

Read here to see why Costco insists on keeping their hot dogs at $1.50 and rotisserie chickens at $4.99. Their chickens are larger and tastier than ones we've purchased from other nearby stores. We can get a whole week of meals from one chicken with chicken soup as a bonus - all for $4.99! I can't buy a whole chicken and roast it myself for that price!

Click here to read about Costo's strategy for keeping costs low. 

Plastic Bags Out!

As of March 1, 2016 carryout plastic bags are banned in Kirkland. 

You can bring your own reusable bags or pay 5 cents for each paper bag (image)

stores can still use small plastic bags for produce as well as small paper bags

Not everyone was for the ban. In fact, a high percentage of Kirkland residents already use reusable bags, recycle quite a bit, and were against the plastic bag ban. Read more here and here. 

We reuse the plastic grocery bags numerous times. Sometimes a paper bag just won't work. I foresee having to shop outside Kirkland periodically to stock up on plastic grocery bags - or buy small plastic bags. 

Beauty In The Storm

Down at the lake one morning

It was so windy that all the ducks and birds were on the dock or shore

I was having trouble standing up against the wind

I was thinking about how this reflected life

We are facing some pretty fierce "winds" in our lives 

but we're still standing

and we're still noticing the beauty and blessings around us

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Speaking of beauty and blessings - Just as these thoughts were going through my head and heart on that windy morning, I received a text from someone I dearly love. "I can't get you off my mind. Are you OK?" This was not only a virtual hug from a loved one but also a message that God is aware of me. He put me into the heart of someone who knows and loves me and that person followed the feeling and reached out to me - exactly when I needed it. What a tender mercy from God. In my mind this is what it means to be God's hands, feet, and voice. 

When you get those nudges, please follow the feelings. You probably will never know how much it means to the person you text, call, email, or even snail mail!

Light Makes A Difference

These photos are of the same tree, taken about the same time of year, one in 2015 and one this year. Both are beautiful. Look at the difference the light makes. When I passed the tree recently and admired the Spring blossoms, I remembered how glorious it looked last year bathed in sunlight. Then I likened that to the difference Christ can make in our lives. We can have very good lives, being good people, doing good things without Christ. When we bring Christ and His light into our lives that beauty increases and can become dazzling and awesome. 

Google Car Sighting

Recently we sighted a Google Car not far from us in Kirkland. It looked just like the photo to the left. image

Google driverless cars are being tested in just three cities, Austin, Mountain View, and Kirkland.

The picture of the car in this article was taken about 1 1/2 blocks from us.

This video has quite a bit of information. It was filmed in Kirkland, including on the Google campus which is just a few blocks from us.

Kirkland's mayor lobbied Google to get self-driving cars in the city. Read about that here.

Click here to see Goggle's video about the car.

It's All About ...

The world surrounds us with messages that it's all about us as individuals - I, I, I. In many ways our culture and the media encourage us to be very self-centered. 

Jesus Christ teaches a different message. We have a responsibility to become the very best persons we can be and we do that by concentrating on others, not ourselves. As we serve others we can become more like Jesus Christ. 

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."  Matthew 5: 48

 "... now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, ..." Mosiah 18: 8-9

While the TV commercial touts it's "all about you," the fuller and more meaningful life is one that is patterned after Christ - a life centered on serving others and doing the Lord's work here on earth.

Cake With A Reputation

Can you smell the chocolate? Can you taste the deliciousness? 

This is cake with a reputation! It's the kind of cake that comes into my mind periodically and I have to chase it out of my thoughts for days, weeks if I'm lucky, before deciding the restaurant is on my way to or from someplace else. 

When the topic of cake comes up with people in Kirkland, they are likely to say "Have you had the chocolate, chocolate cake from Deru?" That's accompanied by nodding heads and expressions of delight. Not long ago I was lunching with a group of women from our condominium complex. One of them announced that Deru is opening a second restaurant just a few blocks from us. We discussed whether or not it was a good thing to have something this tempting just two blocks away. 

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This is truly the best chocolate cake we've ever had. It's very dense. One piece actually feels heavy in the box. It's so rich that it's takes Joe and me two days to eat one shared piece. The other night this cake came up in a conversation with friends. The woman asked how we sliced the cake to share. Evidently her husband had recently done the dividing and she felt she didn't get her fair share of the luscious icing :)

Messages

One of the very interesting things about communication from the Holy Ghost is that you never know when and where it's going to happen - or that we'll recognize it for what it is. For me, often I don't initially recognize a thought as coming from the Spirit. It's only later that I realize the origin and reason for the feeling. If I'm fortunate, I've followed the prompting, and done what the Spirit was telling me to do. Sometimes though I don't follow though on the feeling and then, when I realize the reason for the communication, I am sorry and disappointed in myself . The Lord wasn't able to use me as His hands, feet, and voice because I wasn't listening. I resolve to do better the next time. 

Back here I wrote about my trip to Ikea to purchase bookcases. While wandering the maze of the store, I was reminded that I needed to purchase a wedding gift for some friends. I wasn't coming up with any good ideas and was getting a bit discouraged. If I could buy something at Ikea, that would save me another shopping trip to purchase a gift. Then I had the feeling I should get things for the kitchen. Initially I resisted the feeling because I knew the couple was combining two households and probably wouldn't need kitchen items. But the feeling persisted so I purchased miscellaneous items. Some of them are pictured below. 

The next morning I was on my morning walk when I felt a very clear message, "Those things aren't for [the couple], they're for ... ." It became very clear to me why I'd been guided to these items. The previous day, after I got home from Ikea, I received a call from the Relief Society president. She told me that a woman and her little children had to quickly leave where they were living and were moving into an apartment with practically nothing to their names. They needed kitchen stuff! Amazing how that works. 

Now - I still needed a wedding gift! Thankfully the Spirit helped me come up with a fantastic idea - something that I hadn't even considered. 

Sometimes the Spirit helps us with BIG things, like the meaning of life or major life decisions.  Sometimes He helps us meet the needs of others. The key is listening and then doing. 

Sunshine Hymns

On a rainy Sunday we sang two hymns about sunshine. Don't know if that was a deliberate choice on the part of the person who selected the music or just coincidence :)

Scattering sunshine might sound a bit trite - but it can make a huge difference in someone's life. 

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Scatter Sunshine 

In a world where sorrow
Ever will be known,
Where are found the needy
And the sad and lone,
How much joy and comfort
You can all bestow,
If you scatter sunshine
Ev'rywhere you go.

(Chorus)
Scatter sunshine all along your way.
Cheer and bless and brighten
Ev'ry passing day.
Scatter sunshine all along your way.
Cheer and bless and brighten
Ev'ry passing day.

Slightest actions often
Meet the sorest needs,
For the world wants daily
Little kindly deeds.
Oh, what care and sorrow
You may help remove,
With your songs and courage,
Sympathy and love.

................

(Chorus)
Scatter sunshine all along your way.
Cheer and bless and brighten

Ev'ry passing day.
Scatter sunshine all along your way.
Cheer and bless and brighten
Ev'ry passing day.                                    Text: Lanta Wilson Smith; Music: Edwin O. Excell, 1851-1921

Here's another wonderful hymn, whether it is rainy or sunny! Having Jesus in our lives can brighten our total beings - and then warm and light those around us. 

There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today

There is sunshine in my soul today,

More glorious and bright

Than glows in any earthly sky,

For Jesus is my light.

[Chorus]
Oh, there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine

When the peaceful happy moments roll.

When Jesus shows his smiling face,

There is sunshine in the soul.

............

There is springtime in my soul today,

For when the Lord is near,

The dove of peace sings in my heart,

The flow’rs of grace appear.

[Chorus]
Oh, there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine

When the peaceful happy moments roll.

When Jesus shows his smiling face,

There is sunshine in the soul.

............

Text: Eliza E. Hewitt, 1851–1920; Music: John R. Sweney, 1837–1899

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Joe's Grandmother Neely, Mamaw, sang "You Are My Sunshine" to Joe. It's a memory that warms his whole being all these decades later. I gave this singing pillow to Joe years ago. It still plays "You Are My Sunshine."


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Bringing light into the lives of others. That's what Christ does. I want to be the kind of person who "scatters" sunshine and has sunshine in my soul. I want to be a person who radiates the light of Christ so that it lights and warms those around me. 

Contentment - Peace - Happiness

  ... learning to be content.

I think being content is a wonderful way to be.

Content in my life, content with my family, my children, 

my family size, with my body, 

my body size, with my life, my health, my heart.  

Content with my time, content with others, and content in my work.

Content certainly doesn't mean I'll settle.  

I will continue to push myself, work hard,

try hard, fight hard, but to be content as 

I move along is really a blessing.

I'm working on that.

Stephanie Nielson

The secret to happiness and peace 

is letting every situation be what it is, 

instead of what you think it should be, 

and then making the best of it.

 Marc Chernoff

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Active Discipleship

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: ... And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Acts 2:41-42

I like all the action here - received, baptized, continued, broke bread, prayed, fellowshipped. I also like the adverbs - gladly received and continued steadfastly.

These people were not passive in their discipleship. These people acted on the doctrine they had been taught. 

Big, Interesting World

Recently I was going through our travel files and was reminded of my life-long interest in places throughout the world. Mom and Dad did quite a bit to make us aware of the big, interesting world outside our small hometown. The New York Times came every day, along with the Columbus newspaper (Did we get both the morning and evening papers?). A great variety of magazines came into our home. I remember The New Yorker, Life, American Heritage, Scientific American, Boys' Life, Time. I especially liked National Geographic and the wonderful big, foldout maps that often came with it. I'm sure there were other magazines that I'm forgetting. 

At some point Mom or Dad pointed out to me that I could write for travel brochures that were advertised in various magazines. I remember sending off postcards and eagerly awaiting pictures and information about far away places. In the basement of our childhood home there was a huge world map on the wall by the chalkboard. 

I don't remember many trips as a family. I think time and money were factors. And I always had the idea that Mom didn't relish traveling with four children (in the days before air conditioned cars). Mom and Dad traveled more after they became empty nesters. After each trip they had stories and pictures to share. Dad usually made a scrapbook for each trip. Grandpa and Grandma traveled quite a bit - often to visit David, Dorothy, and family at their Foreign Service posts all over the world. Grandpa and Grandma also had a large floor globe in the living room at First Street.  I remember spinning it and trying to identify various places. 

I've been fortunate to do a fair amount of traveling - and hope to do more in the future. It's a big, interesting world out there. 

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photo - November 1954 - read about the photo here

Remembering & Repetition

“I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them” (2 Peter 1:12)

Scriptures contain much counsel about the importance of remembering. In the scripture above, Apostle Peter essentially tells the people he's going to remind them about something they already know. 

Sometimes we think we've already heard it all about gospel topics and we might tune out when the subject is something we've already heard many, many times. However, if we listen with open heart and open mind, the Spirit can teach us. 

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"... repetition is a basic principle of teaching and learning. The gospel contains truths, doctrines, and principles that we need to keep in our minds and hearts as we live our lives from day to day. We’re much more likely to remember these things if we hear them repeated often." February 2016 New Era  

1954 Flashback

With my father & siblings

about 1954

Book - The Improbability of Love

"Annie McMorrow, 31 and not recovered from the end of her long-term relationship, is an assistant to film producer Carlo Spinetti and then to his chilling wife Rebecca Winkleman Spinetti whose father started Winkleman Fine Art in Curzon St. Annie has spent her meagre savings on a dusty painting from a junk shop to give to her new, unsuitable, boyfriend who never shows up for his birthday dinner. The painting now hers, talks, but only to us. Shrewd, spoiled, charming, world weary and cynical, he comments perceptively on Annie, and the modern world and tells tales about his previous owners: Louis XV, Voltaire, Catherine the Great among others. The story unfolds through this voice and many others--unexpected, entertaining, and strangely authentic. Annie will have her apartment ransacked and be pursued by dealers, buyers and an auctioneer in an attempt to get back the painting. With The Improbability of Love, Rothschild has spun a dazzling tale--both irreverent and entertaining--of a many-layered, devious world where, in the end, love triumphs" image & summary from worldcat.org

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JHT's comments - Can't say I had any profound thoughts while reading this and I didn't copy out even one quote. But it was fun and interesting to read. I enjoyed reading about the world of art. 

Read reviews here and here as well as in goodreads.com. Check out this article about the author's family background and how it inspired the book's storyline.

Author's website

Last lines of the book - "All that matters is that artists keep reminding mortals about what really matters: the wonder, the glory, the madness, the importance and the improbability of love."

Our Former Home

Click here for a video about Worthington, Ohio

We bought our house in Summer of 1976 and moved out March 2011

Worthington was a wonderful place to call home!

We lived within a few blocks of the downtown area shown in the video.

More at visitworthingtonohio.com