2 Hearts

 A sweet story of a heart donor and recipient.  

A New Book Rating System

 As is probably obvious, I like to review and rate books on goodreads.com, then post those reviews here as well.  Goodreads ratings are from 1- 5.  What those ratings mean has been a little vague to me.  So, I've come up with my own rating system:

1- Waste of time, morally repugnant.

2-Meh.  Just ok.  May have objectionable content.

3- Glad I read it.

4- Excellent and recommendable.

5- Amazing and unforgettable.  A page turner AND makes me want to be a better person.

Bad language takes my rating down one step.  Really bad language takes it down two or even three steps.

This system helps me decide what to rate a book.  I truly want to help others choose good reading material and give them my humble opinion on a book's content.  

Cover Girl

 “Cover Girl” by Norman Rockwell (1941)

To assure a successful cover, Rockwell grabs the viewer's attention with a trick he matches the cover girl's face perfectly to the schoolgirl's body. By picturing a reader so engrossed in the Post, Rockwell emphasizes the interest and allure of the magazine, thus promoting its sale on newsstands. Beyond the gimmick, a story of growing up emerges in the simple scene of commuting to school. A young girl will soon leave behind her scuffed saddle shoes for polished heels and her cozy mittens for kidskin gloves.

In 1943 the original painting was given as a gift to Walt Disney, with Rockwell's personalized inscription "To Walt Disney, one of the really great artists, from an admirer, Norman Rockwell." In 2001 the painting was donated to the Norman Rockwell Museum by the Disney family.

The Alchemist

 

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a book I’ve heard of for quite some time. It is an allegory. I never really understand allegories very well, and this was no exception. I’m glad I read it, but I didn’t love it. I do like the theme that our treasure is where our heart is.

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Back to Our Roots

 

1.      Back to Our Roots by Patty Mickelsen  5 stars for sure!

I loved, loved, loved this book.  Twenty-five years ago, my sister Patty and Hal and John and Cindy went to Sweden and Norway to meet John’s daughter Ami as she finished her mission in Sweden.  They then, using our great-grandfather’s journal as a guide found his homes in Sweden and then the places where he served his mission in Norway.  Patty created a book about that trip back then.

In 2023, our whole family repeated that wonderful trip together.  We went a 2-week cruise of the fjords of Norway, then got off the ship and rented cars in Copenhagen and traveled through Sweden and Norway, finding our roots.  We felt the spirit guiding us and helping us along the way. 

When we got home, Patty documented this second trip and in August we helped put those books together, creating a treasured document of our beloved pilgrimage.  I am so grateful for ancestors who found the gospel of Jesus Christ and sacrificed so much so that I could have all the blessings I do now.  I will forever treasure this precious book.  Thank you, Patty!

My Sister's Keeper

 

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A novel that was thought-provoking and page-turning. The ending was sad, disappointing, and unrealistic to me.

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The Book of Mormon

 

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ by Joseph Smith Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just finished again the truest book on the earth, The Book of Mormon. I actually have read it a few times this year, and try to read from it every day. I love The Book of Mormon.
12/2023
I just finished reading this perfect book again. I read from it every day. I have already started again from the start

November, 2024 It's still true!

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The Prince Family Visits

 During the Prince's fall break, they went to California.  They stayed with us on the way down.  They left Fred here for us to tend.  They came back through on their way home and had Sunday dinner with us.

They spent one day in Disneyland.   They texted this picture early in the day, asking everyone in our family to guess how many "Go Cougars!" they would get during the day.  Everyone made guesses.  Total: 37.  Shonna won with a guess of 34.

This is the "before" picture, taken early in the morning on their way into Disneyland.

This is the "after" picture taken many hours later at the end of the day:

Kenny cuddled up with his mama.

The first day Fred seemed a little depressed with his family gone.  But he warmed up.

Fred is such a good, sweet dog.

They came back through on Sunday and had dinner (taco bar) with us and took Fred home with them.  We love when the Princes come to visit.

The Miracle Club

 This was quite slow moving, but had a good message.  It's all about friendship, healing, and forgiveness.

Jumping for Barbie Clothes

 

Jumping for Barbie Clothes

When I was a little girl, we swam often in our neighbor’s pool.  The Blackers were very generous to share their beautiful pool with us.  They used our water to fill it each summer as we had a well.  In exchange, we could swim whenever we wanted.  We went there most days. 

Their daughter was Janis and she and I were very good friends while growing up.  She was three years older than me.  I was very frightened to jump off the diving board.  I would go and stand out on the end of the board and shiver and shake, trying to muster the courage to jump in.  Time after time, I failed.  I walked back off the board without jumping.

One day, after many failed attempts, I walked out there again.  I shivered and shook and tried to muster the courage.  The tipping point came when Janis said, “If you jump, I will give you that Barbie outfit you love.”  She and I played Barbies a lot and she knew I loved a certain Barbie outfit: grey pencil skirt, orange sweater set, high heels.  “Really, you’ll give it to me?”  “Yes, but you have to jump right now.”  That was an offer too good to refuse.  I gathered my courage and leapt off the board.  I remember when I came up for air, I said, “That was fun!”  and swam easily to the ladder nearby.  After that, I found I loved jumping off the board, and never was scared again.  All it took was a Barbie outfit . . .and a little courage.

I wanted to find a picture of something close to the outfit I jumped for.  I found the exact outfit on eBay.  Can you believe it?  It is the exact same one I jumped for!

 

This is me at the pool when I was older, watching my brother do a flip off the board.  You can see the end of the board in this picture.  The ladder to climb out was just a little bit to the right of the picture.  I was so blessed to get to swim in this pool frequently.

Freedom From Want/ The Thanksgiving Picture

 Freedom from Want, also known as The Thanksgiving Picture or I'll Be Home for Christmas, is the third of the Four Freedoms series of four oil paintings by American artist Norman Rockwell. The works were inspired by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address, known as Four Freedoms.

The painting was created in November 1942 and published in the March 6, 1943, issue of The Saturday Evening Post. All of the people in the picture were friends and family of Rockwell in Arlington, Vermont, who were photographed individually and painted into the scene. The work depicts a group of people gathered around a dinner table for a holiday meal. Having been partially created on Thanksgiving Day to depict the celebration, it has become an iconic representation for Americans of the Thanksgiving holiday and family holiday gatherings in general. The Post published Freedom from Want with a corresponding essay by Carlos Bulosan as part of the Four Freedoms series. Despite many who endured sociopolitical hardships abroad, Bulosan's essay spoke on behalf of those enduring the socioeconomic hardships domestically, and it thrust him into prominence.

The painting has had a wide array of adaptations, parodies, and other uses, such as for the cover for the 1946 book Norman Rockwell, Illustrator. Although the image was popular at the time in the United States and remains so, it caused resentment in Europe where the masses were enduring wartime hardship. Artistically, the work is highly regarded as an example of mastery of the challenges of white-on-white painting and as one of Rockwell's most famous works.

Joan and Tom Come to Visit

 A couple of days after the end of the Hinton reunion, Joan and Tom came for a visit. 

They arrived on Tuesday afternoon.  Our temple sealing assignment is Tuesday evening.  They signed up for the 7:30pm session where Ken was the sealer.  Pam and Roger came, too.  It was a sweet session.  Because it was the last session of the day, I was able to go into the sealing room with them and serve as witness as we sealed many ancestors from many of our lines.

Wednesday morning is my Keynote rehearsal.  Joan came with me to sing with the Keynotes.  She has been doing that for years.  I love having her come.  While we did that, Ken and Tom went on a hike.

A local hill has a distinctive name and shape.  The name alone makes you want to climb it.  So they decided to hike Mollie's Nipple.

It is a steep, rocky difficult hike,  . . .

But the views atop make it worth doing.

Joan and Tom are Pathways missionaries online with students from South America.  They hooked up their computers and had their meeting on Wednesday evening.  

Joan and I shopped on Friday and Tom golfed.

Ken, Tom, and Joan did another beautiful hike on Saturday.

After going out for dinner on Friday evening, we drove by the St. George temple.

That evening, it was so fun to cheer on the Cougars together.  Joan and I always text back and forth during the BYU games, but it was nice to share it in person.

Their son and grandson were at the game.

So was our granddaughter.

Elder Kearon and Elder Rasband just before the game.

Brielle and her roommates were on the jumbo tron during the game.

The game was won on a last second pass completion.  We were going nuts here and everyone was in the stadium.  What a fun ending to a fun visit from Tom and Joan.