Unshaken

 For the last several months, Ken and I have listened to Jared Halvorsen talk about this week's Come, Follow Me lessons on his youtube channel called "Unshaken."  We have been listening to these wonderful videos for our daily couple scripture study.

Each week, he puts out videos and a podcast, going through the week's reading assignment verse by verse.  He is an incredible scriptorian.  His insights and comparisons with other scriptures are most enlightening.  Each week's assignment takes him two to three hours to cover. We divide up that week's broadcast into six parts.  That usually is about 20-30 minutes per day.

We set up Ken's iPad on a small table between us and watch each evening after dinner.

Unshaken is available on a youtube channel called "Unshaken" or on a podcast called "Unshaken Saints."  So, if you'd rather just listen,  you can do so while you walk or run or do housework.  Our Kristen listens to the podcast each morning as she runs.

I know there are other podcasts and videos available with others doing this same thing.  I'm sure they are good, too.  It is such a wonderful service these people do.  May God bless them for their efforts.  They are sure blessing us!

The Keeper of Lost Things

 

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Now this is my kind of book. I loved the mystery, intrigue, romance, and characters. I loved the premise of the book and the idea of writing stories about items that are found. We didn’t get to read those stories, but it gives me an idea for writing a book of my own. This is a very good story, or stories, really, that all come together to a satisfying conclusion in the end. I listened to the very well performed audio version.

View all my reviews

Beneath a Scarlet Sky

 

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the true story of an heroic young man in Italy during WWII. He helped many Jews escape Italy, leading them over the mountains into Switzerland. Later, he was the driver for Hitler’s main man in Italy. That position gave him much opportunity to spy for the resistance, saving many lives with his passed- along information. I love the story of the book: when the author became aware of this now-aged man, and that his story had never been told, he found him and interviewed him extensively. He made many trips to Italy to meet with him and travel to the different locations with him. It is a true, authentic story, only fictionalized conversations and parts he couldn’t recall.
As are most stories from WWII, it is a sad story, even heartbreaking, but it is also a tale of courage and heroism. Though I can’t say I enjoyed the book, I am so glad I read it. Well, actually I listened to it. The audio version is well done.

View all my reviews

A Personal History: James L Hinton

 

Jim is Ken’s oldest brother. He is a wonderful and prolific writer.  He spends time each day writing and has written and published many books.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading his autobiography. I love Jim’s style.  He tells what happened in detail as he remembers it.  He has always been a journal keeper, so much of the information comes from the journal.  But he has such a wonderful way of not only telling what happened, but expressing his feelings about it.

Jim is an extraordinary person, worthy of emulation.  Jim is a listener.  He knows how to get people talking about themselves.  He is a master at that.  He often sits quiet in group settings, but when he speaks, everyone sits up and listens.  He thinks before he speaks.  He is self-disciplined, forward thinking, and thoughtful.  I very much wanted to read his autobiography and learn more about his life and philosophies.

It is a very long book – 338 pages- and it took me a long time to read.  I like to read a fiction book and a non-fiction book at the same time.  I read several fiction books while I was reading this one.  I will mention some of the highlights for me:

·        The part telling of his early life as it gave me so much insight to my husband’s early life. Though Ken is eleven years younger than Jim, his childhood was very similar. A childhood in Hurricane, Utah was a child’s dream.

·        His military experiences at boot camp and officer training school were painful to read and so poignant.  Only someone of Jim’s caliber could survive the abuse and come out on top, as he did.  He was honored as a leader.

·        Some of his mission experiences were also difficult to read as bullying was used to get missionaries to toe the mark.  Though I didn’t see bullying as we served our senior mission, I did observe that missionaries that were good at fooling their superiors and willing to take undeserved credit, were rewarded with kudos and leadership experiences, while more humble, harder-working missionaries were overlooked.  Jim also excelled as a missionary in his own, humble way.  His service had great impact on many, and continues to bless the lives of those he served. I appreciated his honest look at a culture that needed to change.

·        His work and church work were interesting to read about, but I especially enjoyed reading about his family life and interests and hobbies.  Jim and Leslie have raised a stellar family of seven children.  Each are remarkable individuals who excelled in scholastics, sports, and church and are kind, good, socially adept people.

·        The best part of the book was the beautiful tribute he paid to his wife, Leslie at the end of the book.  Though, curiously, the word “love” is never used, it is obvious that he loves and honors her.  I have always admired and looked up to both Jim and Leslie, and his detailed tribute was inspiring and deserved.  Throughout the book, he mentions times of conflict between them.  I think his intentions were to present a “real” picture of marriage.  Those incidents are disturbing to me.  But, in the end, his great love and admiration for her comes through.  Mention also should be made of Leslie’s work as editor of the book.

Reading someone’s personal history takes you on a journey through their life, getting to know them in a very intimate way.  What a blessing this history will be to his posterity for years to come.  I know it has blessed Ken and me.

My Favorite Nightgown

Many years ago, I discovered these Shadowline nightgowns:Shadowline Women's Petals 53 Inch Short Flutter Sleeve Long Gown at Amazon Women’s Clothing store .  I fell in love.  They are long and comfortable and wear forever.  I wear one every night, year-round. I have thrown away all of my other nightgowns.  These wash nicely and are not at all see-through, so are very modest. There are several beautiful colors.  I own two pink, sapphire (below), purple, red, and black.  The one I ordered first- a pink one- is showing some signs of wear (it's eight years old), but the rest still look like new.  A robe that matches is also available.

These nightgowns are definitely one of my favorite things.

The Best Years of Our Lives

 We enjoyed this Academy Award winning movie from 1946.  It showed, in the lives of three men, the difficulty of coming home from war and adjusting to life at home after WWII.  It was well done.  We watched it on Netflix DVD.  

Red Cliffs Temple Update

 We drove by the temple site again a couple of weeks ago.  The pictures we took are not revealing or stimulating.  A green fence surrounds the property, so getting pictures is all but impossible.  But we can tell you what we saw.  A hill has been created, presumably upon which the temple will stand.  It is a massive ground-moving project.  We hope to see actual foundation and building soon.  It is exciting!

COVID 19

 Raise your hand if you are sick of this insidious virus? 

I think everyone is.  It has changed our lives in many ways.  The worst part for us is that we haven't seen our children and grandchildren for several months.  

Ken and I were recently talking.  In the first few months of the virus, we didn't know anyone who had had it.  That has sure changed.  We wrote a list and counted them up.  We now know over 134 people who have had or now have the virus.  Really.  We know them all personally.  And I'm pretty sure I have forgotten some. We know of others who are friends of our friends that have had the virus and even two that have had relatives die from it.  But we don't know them personally, so I didn't put them on the list.  The sad part is that five of these 134 that we do know have succumbed to the virus.  

Those who have died:

Pete Baum- our long-time neighbor across the street.  Our kids called him Grandpa Pete. He was a huge part of our lives when they lived here.  He felt like family.

Phil Andrus- our optometrist for many years.  A good man.  After he retired, he and his wife served a mission to Berlin, Germany the same time Patty and Hal did.

Glen Blakely- an art teacher at Dixie State and a fine man.  The Blakely's were in our ward years ago.

Delila Rodriguez.  Lived less than a block from us.  

Shirley Last- Ken's longtime friend from childhood's mother.

Many of those we know who are no longer contagious are reporting lingering side effects.  

There are two stories from this time that I just can't get out of my mind.  We have all read and heard many stories, but, for some reason, these two are very poignant for me:

The first story came early in the months of the virus.  I read it on the Internet.  I did not know the people.  The writer of the story was a single mother, a nurse.  She contracted the virus, and then her thirteen-year-old son did as well.  She was very ill.  She did not want to go to the hospital and leave her son.  Because she was a nurse she had an oximeter and frequently checked her oxygen levels.  She kept getting worse.  One day, her oxygen levels dipped and she told her son she needed to go the hospital.  She contacted two of her friends before she left, desperate for some help.  They promised they would watch over her son.  And they did.  They took turns bringing him food and leaving it on the doorstep for him.  They took turns sitting out on the driveway so that he would not feel alone and contacted him frequently by text.  They took shifts and did this round the clock.  Day and night they sat in a lawn chair so he wouldn't be alone.  I was so touched by the service of these women and friends.  The mom did recover and come home and all was well.  The story of love and vigilant service stays with me.

The other story I can't get out of my head is of a couple that we know quite well.  They are a bit younger than us, but also grandparents.  Her father died of COVID early on in the pandemic after a large family gathering.  She wasn't there, but many of her siblings contracted it at that time too, but recovered.  At Thanksgiving, all of this couple's (we'll call them John and Mary) family gathered for the holiday.  Afterward, nearly every member of their family/ their posterity got COVID.  Mary got sick first, then a couple of days later, John followed.  They were horribly, horribly ill.  So ill, in fact, that they were begging God to take them and release them from this misery.  I think that is why this story haunts me.  This happy, healthy couple got so very ill they were begging to die.  She said the aching was unbearable and the suffering intense.  They did recover and are doing fine now.  But it was excruciating for awhile.

We are so grateful to the Lord for helping those producing the vaccine and pray it will work. 

 We look forward to when the majority of people can have the vaccination and we can have an end to this pestilence and suffering.  That is what we are praying for!

Christmas Favorites Family Zoom

 
We recently gathered with our family on a zoom chat.  Everyone shared their favorite Christmas tradition and, if they wanted to, a Christmas memory.  I tried to record them as they talked.  Here are the results:

Favorite Christmas Traditions and Memories

Caleb: Acting out the nativity.  Christmas morning

Lily: Getting to open pajamas on Christmas eve. 

Hannah: Getting to open pajamas on Christmas eve.  Christmas morning.

Gabe:  Everything about Christmas.  Cried when they took down tree and decorations.

Shonna:  Loves the Christmas decorations.  Loves the lights as they remind her of the light of the world. She loves the nativities that she puts up around her house.

Blake:  Watching all the kids before Christmas making gifts for each other.

Jacob:  Opening presents. Seeing the faces of my family when they open their presents.

William:  Remote control car.

Gabbi: Acting out the nativity.  Christmas morning.  Watching Kenny open the remote-control car that she and Jaron got him.

Jaron:  Christmas cookies.  Watching Kenny open the remote-control car that he and Gabbi gave him.

Michelle: The spirit of giving.  Doing Secret Santa.  Watching her kids be so generous.

Brian:  Remote Control car (since everyone else in his family had said that!) Being with people- gathering together.

Sammy:  Opening and seeing the presents.

Bria: The Christmas music.  Especially playing the music.

Audrey:  Opening the presents.  Loved buying and wrapping gifts for everyone in family.

Kristen:  Music.  Finally having children who can play the music.  Filled their home and brought peace and joy.  Memory from when she was about 12:   She got a triple combination for Christmas.  After everyone was done opening presents, she went and sat by the tree.  She opened to scripture in Mosiah.  Jesus Christ came to earth and overcame death and took away the sting of death.  She remembers feeling the spirit testify of the truth of that scripture and it took away the fear of death.

Jared:  Christmas dinner on Christmas eve.  Loves preparing it and eating it.  Memory:  When he was 10 years old, he received a soccer ball.

Nathan: Nathan was not feeling well, so wasn’t able to join us.  His family said that his favorite gift would be his new bike.

Kenneth:  Many of yours resonated with me.  Secret Santa.  A tradition every year for many years.  The feeling of giving. Being in everyone’s homes on Christmas morning with technology.

Kay:  Music and Lights.  Memories:  Going with my dad to Evelyn’s to choose an outfit for my mom.  He loved giving to her and spared no expense.  Told of Secret Santa for Barbie’s family when I was in fifth grade. We bought gifts for each child in the family and wrapped them and filled a box with food for a Christmas dinner.  John got to be the one to put it all on the porch and hide.  We watched as the mom opened the door and pulled it all inside.  Such joy!  After Christmas, I loved seeing Barbie with her new Barbie doll that I chose for her.  She brought it to school.  

We love doing these Zoom calls with our family where each family member shares something or answers a question, so everyone participates.  

The Commuter

 This is an action thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat throughout.  We watched it on Netflix DVD.

Harris's Sparrow

 Ken is part of a birding Facebook group:  Birding in Utah.  People who love birds share with each other when they see an unusual bird and where they see it, sharing photographs of the bird.  One day, Ken got online and found that several people had seen a Harris's Sparrow- never before seen in southern Utah.  They described right where they saw it and shared pictures.  Ken had never seen one before and was anxious to add it to his life list.  The bird had been seen very close to our home -just about a five minute drive from here out into the fields.  In fact it was near the farm property of a good friend.  So he headed out to find it.  He looked all over that day, but was unable to see it.  A couple of days later, someone else posted a sighting in the exact same location.  Ken went to look again, but, again, was unsuccessful.  The third time, he contacted his brother, Don and they met out there.  As they arrived, another good birding friend was already there and called them over.  He and his son had found the Harris's Sparrow.  They were all thrilled to see it.  Don, a nature photographer, got some excellent shots of this rare bird.  It was a happy day for both of them.

Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

This pot truly is one of my favorite things.  The best food comes out of here.  I love to make soups, stews, roasts, and even stir fry in this pot.  Just seeing it up in the corner on my countertop makes me smile.  You can easily brown food on the stove, then put the lid on and transfer it to the oven.  It makes the best roasts.  It is my favorite soup pot, which I make often. I just love my shiny, red pot.  

2020 Books

 2020 was a big year for reading for me.  Goodreads.com said I read 42 books, but I actually read 49.  Many of the books I read were personal histories and other books that were not on Goodreads. 39 of those were fiction, and 10 non-fiction.  Here are the books I read during the year and what I *rated them,  in no particular order:

Fiction

3 The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith

3 There You'll Find Me by Jenny B Jones

2 Bucking the Sun by Ivan Doig

4 Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

  The Scholar's Charm by Bria Mackrory (our granddaughter- her debut novel!)

3 On the Horizon by Lois Lowry

3 Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

3 The Bartender's Tale by Ivan Doig

4 Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

  3 The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick

3 The Lake House by Kate Morton

 5  So Big by Edna Ferber

   The Poets of Room 174 by Melanie Hinton Cox

3  My Grandmother Asked me To Tell You She's Sorry by Friederick Backman

4 Hearts of Resistant by Soraya M Lane

3 The Holy Secret by James L Ferrell

4 The Night Diary by Veera Hinanandani

4 A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner

3 Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig

3 Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

3 Nell and Lady by Ashley Farley

4 The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce

4 The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

5 The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor

4 Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

3 A Dog Like Daisy by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

5 A Man Called Called Ove by Frederik Backman

3 The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms

4 Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

4 The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

3 The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

4 The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

3 Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

3 Peter Pan by J M Barrie

2 The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle

4 Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

3 The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan

4 The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Non- Fiction

 Patty's Personal History by Patty Mickelsen

Grandpa's Stories by Jim Hinton

2 The Freedom Writers by Erin Gruwell

4 Insights From a Prophet's Life by Sheri Dew

2 The Minuteman: The Forgotten Legacy of Nat Arno and The Fight Against Newark Nazis by Greg Donahue

3 Our Harlem by Marcus Samuelson

3 You Ought to Know Adam Wade by Adam Wade

3 The Gathering of Zion: The Story of the Mormon Trail by Wallace Stegner

3 Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M Walker

4 I Will Lead You Along: The Life of Henry B Eyering by Robert Eaton

* Ratings are from my goodreads.com reviews based on a 1-5 scale.  For me, most books will receive a 3 rating.  If I really like it, I will give it a 4.  Very rare for me is a 5 rating.  It has to be really good and make me want to be a better person- be life-changing.  I didn't rate ones that were not on goodreads.com) 

It is a very thought-provoking experience to create this list and reflect on the books I have read and the ratings I gave them.  As I think about it, I would probably change some of these ratings now I have time between the reading and the rating.  Time gives perspective.

Tradition is that I mention my favorite and least favorite in each category.  That is always difficult.  

Fiction:  I gave three books 5 ratings in this category: So Big, The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter, and A Man Called Ove.  But maybe the one that impressed me most was The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.  I didn't give it a 5 because a couple of the characters frequently used the "F" word, so I gave it a 4.  But the story was unique, and definitely life-changing for me.  Looking back, I would say it and The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter were my favorites of the year.  My least favorite fiction book was probably The Good Liar.  I really disliked the main character.  He was evil.  I hated spending time with him.

In the non-fiction category, I really enjoyed the personal histories of my sister, Patty and Jim's Grandpa's Stories. That little book really inspired us and Ken and I are now writing our own Grandpa and Grandma's Stories book.  I think my least favorite was The Minuteman.  

I love to read and look forward to another great reading year in 2021!

If you would like to read my reviews of any of the books I read in 2020, please click here.

I Can Only Imagine

 This is a true story about the Christian rock hit "I Can Only Imagine" and the journey of forgiveness by the man who wrote it.  It is a powerful story.  We watched it on netflix dvd.

Christmas, 2020

 Despite isolation, we had a very nice Christmas together.  It seems blogger had it's own ideas about the order my pictures should be presented, so we will go with it.  

Michelle and Brian gave Ken this nice shirt

Brian's very Ute-fan parents gave them this cute sign for their new house. They tease each other back and forth.

Most precious picture of Christmas.  This little guy was so excited for Christmas that he awoke very early.  Gabbi and Jaron tended him from 3:30am on, but couldn't get him to go back to sleep.  He crashed mid morning.

Kristen and Jared gave us this new sign for our house.  We love it.  I need to take a picture without the Christmas light cord in it.

We had ham and ham sauce, baked potatoes, and green bean casserole for dinner.

We had our traditional Christmas breakfast: monkey bread, scrambled eggs, and hot chocolate

We made lemon meringue pie.  It was delicious!

A neighbor brought us some pretzel rolo bites.  Ken loved them.  So we googled the recipe and he made a big batch of them.

Lemon meringue pie

As we went out one evening, we got in the middle of this light train of decorated ATVs.

Our bishopric at our drive-through Christmas party

My absolutely amazing picture of the Christmas star!  ha!

The Saturday before Christmas, we attended Cameron's piano recital.

They all played so well.

Tradition has it that we watch ELF every year.  I snapped a few pictures this year.

Brielle helped me design these magnets that we gave as neighbor gifts this year.  I had them made at Walmart.

This is the poem I put on the back of the magnets.

Psssst

 Finally!  I found a dry shampoo that works for me.  I have tried many brands, but this is the first that has really worked.  This brand has many different varieties.  I can't speak for the other varieties because this is the only one I have tried.  But this one works for me.  My daughter, Shonna, told me about it.  Thank you, Shonna!

I Still Believe

 This was a very romantic and very moving show.  It is based on a true story.  We thought the acting in it was really excellent.  We watched it on Netflix DVD.