Patience

Patience is something I’ll be working on my entire life. I like Dieter Uchtdorf’s perspective. 

“Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

Nevertheless, without patience, ... we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace.

Patience isn’t merely waiting. Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well! …

Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith.”

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 Joe is one of the most patient people I know. He is “bearing hardship with fortitude” and “enduring well.”

This is a fitting post for the last day of 2016. I think 2017 is going to offer many opportunities to learn more about patience.

Summary here; full talk here

The Stockings Are Hung

Over the decades most of us accumulate lots of Christmas decorations. When we moved out here we gave away all but what fit in these two bins. 

This year I went through the bins in the storage room and brought up just one bag of decorations - keeping it simple.

A friend made Joe this wonderful stocking out of glass

The felt decorations Mom made for an Advent calendar are just the right size for our little Christmas tree.

The camel & owl were Mom's & Dad's symbols

blue & green - Seattle's colors

We have a number of Nativities. This year we put out the one painted by three of our grandchildren in 2006. Two wise men from Joe's childhood and an elephant from India join in the adoration.

a gift from a friend

It wouldn't be Christmas without our stockings. My grandmother, Mildred Floyd, knit mine probably about 1953. My siblings have matching stockings. When Joe and I married, Mom knit a stocking for Joe. 

Potential

I noticed this tree - so bare, so lifeless

I smiled as I remembered how it looks every Spring

totally glorious!

I thought about how each of us goes through times when we might appear or feel like the tree on top. But, given the right season and the right combination of nourishing circumstances, we can bloom gloriously!

The potential is there. We are each a child of God. 

What? Where?

Where's our focus? What gets our attention?

"Many of our young people are more familiar with Google than with the gospel, 

more attuned to the internet than to inspiration, and 

more involved with Facebook than with faith. (M. Russell Ballard)

Did God say, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him Google!”  No. He said, 

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."  (James 1:5)

Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning - December 1956

Precious Memories

Merry Christmas

"Like the Wise Men, who sought the Christ child and offered Him gifts, we too should seek Jesus and lay before Him our most precious gifts—a broken heart and a contrite spirit, our love, and our willingness to take upon ourselves His name and walk the path of discipleship.

“I am the light of the world,” the Savior declared during His mortal ministry, and “he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). We follow Him as we remember Him always, emulate His example, and go about doing good.

At this Christmas season, may our faith be strengthened as we follow Jesus Christ. Truly, He is our Savior and Redeemer ..."  Thomas S. Monson, Henry B. Eyring, Dieter F. Uchtdorf

From the Past

When I saw these candies I felt like I'd gone back in time and walked into Catanzaro's Fruit Market in London.  All except the ALL chocolate NECCO wafers. I don't remember being able to buy a whole roll of chocolate. Chocolate was my favorite flavor and there weren't many of them in a roll. The rare times we had candy, we had to share. I remember having to take whatever flavor was next and there was no way to dig for the chocolate and keep the roll intact. 

Found all this at Rocket Fizz in Kirkland

Snow!

It doesn't snow very often in Kirkland. A few weeks ago we had a BIG snow - first time it's snowed in Kirkland in two years. To listen to the weather people you'd think we had a major blizzard on our hands. All this over a few inches of snow. Seattle has a lot of very steep streets so even a little snow can be problematic. Here's how the storm materialized in our neighborhood.

Jan and I came out of the Kirkland Performance Center into this beautiful snowfall.

It was great packing snow. We took a snowball to Joe. 

This "much" snow is a BIG deal in Kirkland!

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The next morning I was out early and decided to make a snow person for Joe

The Gift

“The light we love at Christmas emanates from the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. The story we cherish at Christmas tells of our Father’s great plan of happiness, which Christ made possible. The gift that makes the Christmas season sacred is the gift of His very life, which He gave that we might have everlasting life. 

May we receive this gift and share His love and His gospel with all the world, particularly during this wonderful season of the year.”    Craig Christensen

Seattle's Underground

The Pioneer Building was constructed in 1892, after the fire that leveled this area of Seattle

  Click here for information about the Pioneer Building, including a picture showing the 7th floor pyramid room that was removed after it was damaged in the 1949 earthquake.

Click here for pictures from another visit to Pioneer Square

Julia & Jan go on Bill Speidel's Underground Tour

Pioneer Square is Seattle’s oldest neighborhood. In 1889 most of downtown Seattle burned down. When the city was rebuilt, it was decided to raise the street level due to frequent flooding and problems with gravity-assisted flush toilets that backed up during high tide. The new stone or brick buildings were built on the original street level knowing that the streets were going to be raised and the second story would become the new street level. 

Check out the above illustration.  Walls were built on either side of the original street at the curbs and extended up to the new street level. Fill was added in the middle between the walls. Sewer pipes were buried in the fill.This left the original street level sidewalks and building entrances accessible - Ladders were provided so you could get from one level to the other. Eventually sidewalks were extended to the old second story. This finished the new street level and created the underground. Businesses continued to flourish in the underground until the city shut it down in the early 1900s out of fear of bubonic plague (lots of rats down there). Then illegal businesses took over much of the underground. Eventually they were shut down. It’s a very interesting story. 

remnants of the Otis Elevator which was installed in the Pioneer Building

Glass tiles were placed in the sidewalks on the new level to let light into the original older level of the city. Above - panel of tiles abandoned in the old level. Below - looking up from the original city sidewalks up to the new level of sidewalks. Allie (striped sweater) was our guide. She was fantastic - full of enthusiasm, knowledge, and jokes. 

Toilets were built up on platforms in an attempt to stop the geysers of sewage that erupted during high tide. The key evidently was to have your toilet higher than your neighbor's. More here

Couch is a prop left over from a movie filmed in the Underground. Note stencil painted on wall.

I wonder if this Sam's had any connection to Sam Israel, a "slum landlord credited with preserving much of Seattle's architectural heritage because of what has been termed his benign neglect." source

Jericho Inn Mission has two Facebook pages - here and here!

Click here for an earlier visit to the underground
Click here for a video about the underground
More information here

Joy in the Journey

This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. 

Opportunities come, and then they are gone. 

I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. 

I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. 

Instead, find joy in the journey—now.”  Thomas Monson

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We add a big AMEN! to this. 

Snow Every Night at 7:30 pm

 From Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve you can count on snow in Bellevue - every night at 7:30!

Snowflake Lane - “magical evening performance for the entire family. It’s a holiday spectacle of live toy soldier drummers, exhilarating music, animated snow characters, glittering lights all surrounded by snow falling every night along Bellevue Way.” 

Notice the lights - Seattle Seahawks colors

Several downtown blocks of Bellevue Way are closed 

for about an hour for this wonderful performance 

The performers interact with the children

This little boy tried to imitate the dancer's moves

He was so stuffed into his scarf and puffy coat that it wasn't easy for him!

Let it snow!

Bellevue Square Mall is beautifully decorated

If you look closely you can see Rudolf's red nose shining brightly!