Notes for my sister

When I was 14 my family moved to Las Vegas. My high school years were punctuated with soft porn on billboards and taxicabs, though we didn't go downtown very often. When we did walk The Strip, especially past The Mirage (remember it was the 90's and that was one of the biggest hotels in town), my parents cautioned us very directly, "Don't look down in the gutter and if somebody tries to hand you a piece of paper, don't take it! Don't even look at it." The streets of Las Vegas Boulevard were littered with papers, because people were paid to hand out smut. They didn't usually target little girls, but since we were curious and completely naive, my parents warned us and  especially my two brothers . This was before the internet. Back in the day, it was easier to caution kids not to look at stuff that would rot their brain. The Mirage hotel is a cool metaphor. The coppery shiny windows glittered from afar, easily seen from my neighborhood. Often we'd lo...

 January has lots of goals and good intentions. My weekly realization is voiced beautifully by  Sissel  in this stunning arrangement. It's called Slow Down. She sang it in July of 2019. Lyrics are by Chuck Girard, arranged by Sam Cardon and conducted by Mack Wilberg with the Tabernacle Choir. In the midst of my confusion In the time of desperate need When I am thinking not too clearly A gentle voice does intercede Slow down, slow down, be still Be still and wait, on the Spirit of the Lord Slow down and hear His voice And know that He is God In the time of tribulation When I'm feeling so unsure When things are pressing in about me Comes a gentle voice so still, so pure Slow down, slow down, be still Be still and wait, on the Spirit of the Lord Slow down and hear His voice And know that He is God And know that He is God Two things in the past week have made me realize that I'm doing too much. First was a simple accident involving an onion and my chef's knife. I wasn't...

I love the trees and plants in my neighborhood. Christmas is fading fast, and almost all the decorations are gone, but the berries on the holly bushes are lovely. We have holly bushes out front. One day last fall I decided to prune them myself. They were growing over the porch light and covering the number on the house. How hard can it be? Long story short, I didn't do so well. (In my defense, it was the week of the election and I was a bit stressed, so one sunny afternoon the combination of energy + pruning shears + little/no knowledge proved disastrous.) Next we called  12Tree to come fix my mess for me. They were awesome.   Let's talk for a minute about mistletoe. It's actually a very common parasite. During my first Texas winter, after all the leaves had fallen from the trees, I asked my good friend B about all the funny bird nests in the trees. Look closely, that's mistletoe.  Here it is again, up close. See that clump of green? Maybe next Christmas I'll get o...

Yesterday we took down the last of the Christmas decorations and put up red, white and blue. It looks like the 4th of July at my house. I wrote about my feelings during the election season over  here  and about our trip to  Washington DC  last year. But today I need to add my voice about how much I love my country.  A few years ago, my neighbor Grandma Terry taught me how to make bracelets. I didn't know anything about jewelry making or beads or whatnot, but she patiently took me under her wing and shared her skills and her time with me. I remember her when I put on certain earrings or see something she made. So today as I'm troubled (sad, shocked, disturbed, etc) by the unrest and protest and division in my country, I'm choosing to be patriotic in small and simple ways. I love that there are dozens of flags flying throughout my neighborhood on a daily basis, not just today or on holidays, but every single day.  Today we're listening to a lot of patriotic m...

Here's a recap of 2020 for us.  photo credit Rachel Lacy As Charles Dickens wisely penned, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."  This year has been unforgettable because of the contrasts. Each month has been filled with highs and lows. I haven't chronicled each of them, but in a nutshell: January was awesome because K went with me to  Universal Studios  in Florida. This girl has read the  entire series  of Harry Potter books like  seven  times. That's a lot of reading.  For her birthday last December, she got one huge gift: a one day ticket to this amazing place.   (I'm glad we seized the opportunity during the winter. If we had waited, it would not have happened!) Just for context on how much she loves HP, after we moved to Texas, I bribed her with getting her ears pierced. She got her ears pierced when she was 9 and 3/4.  We have an awesome memory for January,  but most of the month was really lame for me, b...

Remarks from Double Oak ward,  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints December is my N O month. My one rule for staying sane during a busy season is three simple words: Just Say No. You see, in September and October and November I was already operating at maximum capacity. I don’t mean to be a Grinch, it just means that during this season of my life I’m already spread thin. So I say no. If I see a sign up genius asking for $20 for this or that: NO. If I see a band email asking for parents to help do this or that: NO. If I see a sign up genius asking for people to help wrap presents and so forth, I think, “Yes, that would be so cool, I’d love to help.” And then I say NO.   If Norm asks me on a date I say No Way.   And then I say yes please.   Recently I was walking one morning and remembered a few years ago when I spoke in December in my old ward in Lehi Ut. That morning I thought to myself, “wouldn’t it be SO funny if I got asked to speak again, and then...

Just for fun, today I'm writing about Texas critters that are specific to my neighborhood. I'll save the longhorns and the horses and the birds for another day. artwork by Liz Bridgeman Bridlewood is a world class squirrel habitat. I've lived in a lot of places, but the squirrels here are the best. They run and jump from fence to fence, branch to branch. Enormous trees make for a constant party. Earlier this year we enjoyed Mark Rober's  squirrel ninja warrior course  because it's SO TRUE of this area. Norm and the boys actually built a squirrel launcher our first year here. It never worked but I think they had fun building it. Of all the Texas critters that we've grown to love, squirrels are the most entertaining. This little decoration just makes me smile. Something about gathering for winter and being prepared.  I guess you could say we're nuts about squirrels. Unfortunately, there are two mostly invisible critters that are also native to this territory: ...