Cruisin'

We went cruising on Lake Washington. During the 1 1/2 hour tour, a narrator filled us in on the history of the east side of the lake - Kirkland, Bellevue, and other communities. 

Bellevue

Hunts Point

Seattle is on the west side of the lake

Bill & Melinda Gates' compound - It's a pretty amazing place. Check it out here.

The 520 bridge across Lake Washington is being rebuilt. It's about finished. At 7,710 feet, it's the longest floating span in the world. It's also the world's widest, 116 feet at the midpoint. Click here for history about the original bridge. Click here for information about the newly completed bridge. The bridge sits on 77 concrete pontoons which are secured by 58 anchors to the bottom of the lake. (Does that mean 19 of the pontoons aren't anchored?)

As we cruised the lake, I felt great gratitude that we can live in such a wonderful and beautiful place.

Carillon Point, Kirkland 

Kirkland - looking towards Marina Park in downtown Kirkland

panorama - at the Marina Park dock in downtown Kirkland

Childhood Memory

Do any of you remember eating honey AND the comb? A year or so ago I had a hankering (a Dad word) for a taste of this childhood memory. I started looking for it in stores and at farmers markets. Couldn't find it. Farmers market vendors told me it was no longer sold. Then I found it on the Internet and boy was it pricey!

The other day we went to the local farmers market. I asked one vendor who was selling honey about this product. She said it wasn't sold that way nowadays. We wandered some more. I received a phone call that I needed to take. As I talked with the person I realized I was in front of another honey vendor and I spotted containers of honey in the comb! I bought one.

Over the next few days we enjoyed eating the honeycomb. When we spread it on toast it softened up, became a nice consistency and was very tasty. When we ate it cold, the honeycomb tasted and felt like those waxy candies from our childhood.

If memory serves me correctly, we bought our honeycomb at the Deer Creek Honey Farms on Route 142 between London and West Jefferson. There are several references to it on the Internet but nothing in detail. I wonder if it's still in operation.

Peonies

Peonies always remind me of my mother. She loved her peonies. She'd cut them and then put them in the metal saucepan on the back porch hoping the big black ants would escape before she brought the flowers into the house.

I like the peony against this beautiful lamp that belonged to family.

I tried to capture several memories in this picture - Peonies to remind me of Mom; the vase was hers. The lamp belonged to Joe's parents. The table came from my grandparents' home. 

Convenient

I can plug the vacuum cleaner into this outlet and vacuum our entire place. The vacuum cleaner does have a long cord :) 

At one time in my life I would have thought this was a sign of a too small living space. At this point in our lives, this is a convenience that feels just right. 

Daily

“Thoughtful planning and preparation are key to a rewarding future, but we do not live in the future—we live in the present. It is day by day that we work out our plans for the future; it is day by day that we achieve our goals. It is one day at a time that we raise and nurture our families. It is one day at a time that we overcome imperfections. We endure in faith to the end one day at a time. It is the accumulation of many days well-lived that adds up to a full life” and becoming a Christ-like person. 

When Christ taught His disciples the pattern for prayer, He said, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11)

“I believe that we would all readily acknowledge that we have needs each day that we want our Heavenly Father’s help in dealing with. For some, on some days, it is quite literally bread—that is, the food needed to sustain life that day. It could also be spiritual and physical strength to deal with one more day of chronic illness or a painfully slow rehabilitation. In other cases it may be less tangible needs…”

“Jesus is teaching us, His disciples, that we should look to God each day for the bread—the help and sustenance—we require in that particular day.

Christofferson shared a long term challenge that affected him and his family greatly. “The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years taught me truly how to pray and get answers to prayer and taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God. I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer to achieve. I learned that daily bread is a precious commodity. I learned that manna today can be as real as the physical manna of biblical history. I learned to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I learned to walk with Him day by day.

Asking God for our daily bread, rather than our weekly, monthly, or yearly bread, is also a way to focus us on the smaller, more manageable bits of a problem. To deal with something very big, we may need to work at it in small, daily bites. Sometimes all we can handle is one day (or even just part of one day) at a time.” 

He then spoke of his mother when she had to undergo many painful radiation treatments after radical cancer surgery in the 1950s. She said to her mother, ‘Oh, Mother, I can’t stand having 16 more of those treatments.’ She said, ‘Can you go today?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Well, honey, that’s all you have to do today.’ It has helped me many times when I remember to take one day or one thing at a time.”

Consistent effort in seemingly small, daily steps is a key principle in achieving any great work, including progress in the pathway of discipleship. 

 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:35, 47–51).  D. Todd Christofferson  (Read or hear entire talk here)

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Happy Father's Day

Ducks

Watching this family group above - There are six ducklings. The one on the far left had strayed pretty far from the group. Suddenly he noticed they were headed off in a different direction. He? she? skimmed over the water VERY quickly to catch up with the rest of the group. 

This mother was watching over one very chunky duckling. 

The father is to the right, out of the picture.

Ducks in a row - There seems to be agreement that this phrase means to have things organized, in order, and all the little details taken care of. There isn't agreement of the origin of the saying. It might have to do with pool (a ball sitting at the edge of a pocket is called a duck); boatbuilding (the ducks help guide wood being bent); or any of a number of other possibilities. 

Click here, here, here, and here for more about the origin of the phrase. 

Giving Thanks

"Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God's love."  Thomas S. Monson

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"Some of my sweetest moments with my Heavenly Father are when I kneel down, even for a quick little moment, just to thank Him for any little blessing I have noticed. I have come to know how much He appreciates every 'thank you."   Linda Reeves 

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"... live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessing which [God] doth bestow upon you" Alma 34: 38

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THWART

THWART

"My plan has been thwarted!" After I said it, I realized I don't use this word very often. As I thought about it, I felt like I was speaking in Shakespearian language. Then I observed how the word feels in the mouth while you're saying it. 

The word comes from the Middle English word "thwerten" which means to oppose or be at odds with - or to lie across something, thus interrupting it. (source)

That brings up a question about Middle English. According to the History of English website, the Norman Conquest in 1066 precipitated the transition from Old English to Middle English. We're now in the Modern English time period according to these people. 

I feel words like "dastardly" and "egads" go with thwart.

Girl With A Curl

Hero sculpture* in downtown Kirkland reminds me of this picture of my mother

Girl with a Curl - ca 1928

*Hero by Don Anderson

Compounding Effect

Compounding effect of daily disciplines -  what an important concept to remember, and to be aware of when making daily choices. 

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From Randall Ridd - "One of life’s early lessons should be that there is great power in the compounding effect of little things that we do each day. Small and simple things are at work in your life right now—working either for you or against you. Just as the Lord uses such things to build you up, Satan uses them to distract you and lead you slowly, almost imperceptibly, off the path.

…. As we always remember Him and keep His commandments, think how the compounding effect of always having His Spirit to be with us would impact every area of our lives. Imagine how it would influence our daily decisions and our awareness of the needs of others.

… Years ago I planted two trees of the same species and the same height in my back yard. I planted one where it got a little sun daily, and I planted the other where it enjoyed full sunlight. Over the next year I didn’t notice much difference in the growth of the two trees, but then my wife and I left on a three-year mission. When we returned, I was shocked at the big difference! The compounding effect of a little more sun each day made a huge difference—over time—in the growth of the trees. The same thing happens in our lives as we expose ourselves each day to the source of all light. We may not notice an immediate change, but be assured that a change is happening inside you, and the results will be apparent in time.

This simple idea of the compounding effect of daily disciplines, with purpose and real intent, can make a big difference in all areas of your life. It can mean the difference between struggling through an ordinary life or being immensely successful and filling the measure of your creation.

Start now. Live a purposeful life. Put the power of the compounding of daily disciplines in place in the important areas of your life."  

"... by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..."  Alma 37: 6

Read entire talk here

Keep Loving, Trying, Trusting, Believing, Growing

“Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive … to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. …

“… We are going to be blessed for our desire to do good, even as we actually strive to be so. …

“… The first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. … But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. …

“… So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.”

 Jeffrey R.Holland 

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I love the hope, the love, and the encouragement in these words of counsel. 

Book - Being Mortal

 Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

by Atul Gawande

"Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot. Doctors, committed to extending life, continue to carry out devastating procedures that in the end extend suffering. Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified." (image & summary from worldcat.org)

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The author, a surgeon, discusses the fact that old age and death have been turned into medical experiences. Sometimes we get so fixated on the "repair of health" (even when the "repair" can cause more problems than it fixes), that we neglect the "sustenance of the soul." (128) 

When you get older there are some things that just can't be "repaired." But we always can sustain our souls no matter what's going on physically. 

more reviews at Goodreads.com

author's website