Cape Town Vacation!

The beach 3 houses down from where we stayed

Slangkop lighthouse

Aquarium!

V&A waterfront

Table Rock

Hike up Table Mountain (Platteklip Gorge)

Made it to the top! (after only 3 hrs of hiking)

Spot the dassie

Took the cable car down

Long Beach

Cape Point (national park)

Whale rib cage

Spot the eland

Cape Point lighthouse

Ostriches!

Baboons

Tide pools in False Bay

Penguins at Boulders Beach

Boat trip to Duiker Island....

...home to a colony of fur seals!

2017 Newbery Thoughts

As longtime readers know, we have made it a hobby to read all the 90+ Newbery medal winners and give our unsolicited opinion.  Click here for our ranking.  The books keep coming, so we keep giving our thoughts.

2017:  January 2017, Last Stop on Market Street won the Newbery Medal.  It was a shock.  It's a read-aloud picture book, utterly unable to be compared to other books.  Sometimes, Newberys have been short (e.g. Sarah, Plain and Tall), but a total read-aloud is a new precedent.  As you can see on the cover here, it not only won the Newbery for best story, but also a honor for the Caldecott for its illustrations (which are fantastic).  Was it good enough for the Newbery?  It's good, but it's not great, and so it was a very confusing choice.

One reason for the confusing choice could have been a lack of competition.  We also happened upon one of the 2016 Newbery Honor books, The War That Saved My Life.  It's a World War II story about a young handicapped girl that is sent out of London during the blitz, and it's fantastic.  Absolutely on par with some of the better medal winners throughout the year.

As an aside, roughly twice a decade, the Newbery medal departs from a standard novel to honor a book written in some other literary style, poetry, free verse, hip-hop rap, or the occasional non-fiction work.  Last Stop on Market Place seems to be one of these times.  Though we are generally fans of a fantastic tale more than anything else, these occasional departures have usually impressed us.  The Crossover, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, and Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices are some examples.

2017:  Because of our 2016 experience, we were eager to see the follow-up.  We procured a copy of the winner, The Girl Who Drank the Moon as well as the most-appealing Honor book The Inquisitor's Tale.  

Verdict:  Both Awesome.  The Girl Who Drank the Moon is 100% fantasy with truly original characters and a compelling style.  The Inquisitor's Tale is an imaginative yarn out of the Middle Ages that is sometimes silly, sometimes serious, always fun and always wonderfully illustrated.  Very difficult to know which of these two deserved the Medal.  They are both Medal quality.

DIY: Farmhouse Table Up Cycle

DIY: Farmhouse Table Up Cycle

Well folks, this project we totally lucked into. We happened into DI for a reason I can't remember. We always take a pass by the furniture in case something catches our eye. Well, something did. We picked up this table for  $50.

I know. It looks terrible. Trust me. It was even worse than the picture shows. We both seriously doubted the potential of this table.

We started sanding and we couldn't believe what we found.

All hard wood. No laminate. We realized what a nice piece of furniture we had after a day of sanding by hand.

Now, I had a vision of what I wanted this table to look like. So we headed off to our favorite DIY store, Home Depot. We bought ebony stain. We took it home and we were so excited to get started. As soon as the little was down for the evening, we went to work. We learned two things this night.

1. NEVER stain in the dark or even kind of dark.
2. ALWAYS test a small piece before you stain the entire thing.

In the morning this is what we found.

A black table. The intent was not to have a black table. Did you know ebony was black? I didn't. So, we went to work sanding again. But, did you know black is even harder to get off? So we had to borrow a sander. We also used paint stripper it was that difficult. Eventually, after much more work sanding than the first time around we got the table looking like a clean cutting board again.

We went back to the DIY headquarters and purchased another stain. This time we got espresso. We stained totally in daylight and we tested a small area firs to make sure it was the desired effect. It was! Thank goodness we didn't have to spend anymore time doing deep sanding.

This photo is from before we sealed it.

Did you know when up cycle a piece of furniture you should really seal it for longevity? This meant more sanding, but thankfully it was light sanding. So yes, you are understanding me correctly. We sanded the table after it was stained. But only after we had applied two coats of polyurethane clear coat. We used 220 sandpaper and lightly stained to take out the brush strokes from applying the seal. We then applied another coat of sealant and then we sanded this table to the last time using a 500 grit sandpaper. PS you can't find 500 at DIY Headquarters. You have to go to an auto store. Then after we sanded using the 500 sandpaper, we brought the table into the house and we applied the final coat of sealant. WAX. We buffed it on and then buffed it off. Now, we have a  beautiful dining set. Don't worry, I have plans to make benches to match!

If you didn't notice a recurring theme with this project it was this, I HATE SANDING. This is the most sanding we have ever done on a project. Mostly because of the error we made. But still, so much sanding. Most of it done by hand. If you decide to up cycle a table and have questions, leave me a comment!

Logan Adventures-Come to and End

Logan Adventures-Come to and End

I told Jared, I knew I wasn't going to cry leaving Logan. I didn't love Logan. There was no need to cry. Everything ahead of me was looking great.

Well, I cried. But not as we were leaving Logan. It was as I was saying goodbye to those friends we have made here. While Logan isn't perfect, the friends we have made here are.

When we came to Logan, it took me especially a really long time to adjust and to make friends. I didn't want to be here. I had just had my baby and left a job in Cedar City I had loved. Not to mention 6 years of memories and friends there. By the time I started feeling comfortable here, it didn't seem like there was any reason to make friends. We only had a little over a year left. What would it matter?

Boy was I wrong. I remember very vividly the moment that changed my attitude to Logan and making friends. I looked up from snuggling baby girl to see the quote from President Monson that says, "The future is as bright as your faith." Which got me thinking of Elder Holland's quote, "Don't you quit. You keep trying. There is hope and happiness ahead." From then on I realized I needed to make friends. I wouldn't be lonely and despise Logan if I could just make a friend.

Flash forward to now. I made friends. Some of the best friends I have ever had. I have shared my soul with these friends and now I can't even imagine leaving them. Yet, here I am sitting amongst all my belongings in boxes, crying over leaving these friends.

It is just another reminder to me of how mindful the Lord is of each of us. He put these friends in my path when I would need them the most. He knew they could help to teach me things that would help me for the rest of my life. I will forever be grateful for these friends.

Not only do we have some of the best friends ever. Jared and I have learned so much together from our time in Logan. The biggest thing, as long as we have each other and our little family we will be just fine. The spirit whispered that to both of us Sunday night after we said goodbye to the fine folks in the picture above.

We have also learned that we can do hard things together and with Christ. Vet school is not easy.

We have had lots of great adventures while we have lived in Logan. Some of the highlights include























Pumpkin Walk

SUU Gymnastics vs USU

Feeding the ducks
























The Sand Park

Plus many, many more adventures! I mean I came to Logan with a three month old and I am leaving with a sassy spunky two year old.

I feel as if there is so much more still to say. But in the end, Logan has been good to us. It wasn't what we would thought it would be in some ways and in others it was so much more than we could have ever dreamed. So our time is Logan has come to and end. Pullman, here we come.

poetry picnic week 45, world peace year 6,

poetry picnic week 45, world peace year 6,

JP At Olive Garden

World Peace Year Sixth, counting from 2012, to 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, we are going strong and profound 

  

  eric trump, ivanka trump,

  donald trump, barron trump, and melania trump, donald trump jr., marla maples, tiffany trump


j. k. rowling, her favorite supporter

     
We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace. ~William Ewart Gladstone


If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. ~Mother Teresa


Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


One must look hard through history to find when a clear understanding of the truth moved anyone to fire the first shot. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com


If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots. ~Napoleon Bonaparte, unverified

short story slam week 68, google or yahoo, a question of impacts from microsoft, levono, apple, dell, t-mobile, and more

short story slam week 68, google or yahoo, a question of impacts from microsoft, levono, apple, dell, t-mobile, and more

Bluebell Books Twitter Club!

short story slam week 68, unexpected and runner up fitness, why we shall use google to maxmize our world views 

   larry page and sundai pichar, google





sundai pichar and anjali pichar, friends to joy gilbert and beryl schmidt








  A warless world will come as men develop warless hearts. ~Charles Wesley Burns


We shall never be able to effect physical disarmament until we have succeeded in effecting moral disarmament. ~J. Ramsay MacDonald


"Peace is not..."


For peace is not mere absence of war, but is a virtue that springs from force of character... ~Baruch Spinoza, Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, 1670, translated from Latin


Such "peace" often brings a cold war in which everybody is in hot water. Peace is not the absence of war, as a diamond is not the absence of carbon. Peace must have some positive concept, which brings us to the true concept of peace. ~Fulton J. Sheen, Life Is Worth Living, 1953


True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.
~Martin Luther King, Jr., 1955  [King, 1963: "...the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice." —tεᖇᖇ¡·g]


Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict — alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence. ~Attributed to Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961)


Genuine and lasting peace is not merely the absence of armed conflict — peace is the presence of justice and equality. ~Percival Noel James Patterson, c.1979  [a little altered —tεᖇᖇ¡·g]

short story slam week 69

short story slam week 69

Bluebell Books Twitter Club!

short story slam week 69, on Paisley Grovjaxiquzkerr Rodhamucrowfawnt, the piglet and her older brother Frank Snowflakes Shengbutow 


  

 

On Humor, friendship, and siblinghood between 

Paisley Grovjaxiquzkerr Rodhamucrowfawnt, the piglet 

and her older brother

 Frank Snowflakes Shengbutow , the pooh bear,

in adition to 

Emily  Marysethjodi Dickinson, the Bunny,

and Amelia WilliamBurns Sanders, the Tigger,

etc.

hello, let us watch, listen, and hear what a budding child can do and say when she and he 

are set on Disney world, and get pushed to know Amelia Island, Abbey Wood apartments,

and Samson PLaza near New York Times Square....

it is about how to win
despite the circumstances,
how to pull out the tiger's den
when dangerous things fall upon us,
keep moving,
keep smileing!
love you, Paisley, Frank, Emily, and Amelia,
way to go, Alex, Joy, Mary, Connie, Tom, Gabe, Eric, Braxton, Taylor, Alison, Chloe, Barron,
Tiffany, Ric hard, Jack, Stephan, Kathleen, Sundai,. Anjali, Anne, Susan, Dennis, and James!


 

zhao youting, mark chao, a famous movie maker, he does preserve world peace mood
  a movie star indeed feels the grace of peaceful world
  su li

  

left wings and right wings
we ignore
white doves and black crows
we let them fly

things go flat
when a few people trust their master enough to sit,
no quiet quarrels
but piercing fights among and against invanders

we do see our boundary
we do see tanglewoods
we do understand our freedom in earth crust
we do promise some production within a phoenix's knowledge