Before We Were Yours

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a hard book to review. I hated it, but I loved it. It is difficult for me to read about abuse, especially child abuse. It is heart-breaking. That’s the hate part. But this historical fiction tells about a dark secret our country holds. It is important. It is beautifully written. It is powerful. It presents a new literary hero who sacrificed everything to try and hold her little family together. That’s the love part. Am I glad I read it? Yes. Would I recommend it to others? Yes. Was it hard to read? Yes. You decide.



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The Desert in Spring

Ken took some beautiful shots on his hike up Webb hill the other day.  Even the dry desert offers beauties in the springtime.

Frameable

Ordinance code in our area allows chickens, but not roosters.  Someone released this unwanted rooster into the wild.  He will make a nice dinner for a fox or coyote.

Our artichoke bush is getting ready to produce a lot of artichokes.

One day, Kristen posted on our group text: " Post a picture of something that is bringing you joy today."  This is what I posted.  We love to sit at the table with our door open and watch and hear the birds.  They come and bathe in and drink from our bird bath.  We have a huge variety of birds come: robins, three kinds of doves, orioles, red-breasted nut hatch, Say's phoebe, house finches, house sparrows, etc. and hummingbirds to the hummingbird feeder.  

What Was the Date of the First Vision?

Our mission president sent the link to this movie where they discuss the actual date of Joseph Smith's first vision.  I admit when I started listening to it, I was quite skeptical, but by the end was pretty convinced.  Scientists and historians have independently decided that the most likely date of Joseph's First Vision  was Sunday, March 26, 1820.  If you are interested, click on the link and see what you think.  At the very least, it is thought-provoking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6MsQ6QBMMY

Same Kind of Different As Me

This was a moving movie, based on a true story.  We highly recommend it.  4 Stars from us.

We watched it on Netflix streaming, but I see it everywhere.

Other movies and shows we have enjoyed can be viewed if you click here.

Getting Out of the House- Easter Picnic

Easter Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day.  We decided to have a socially distant picnic and enjoy the beautiful day.  Traditionally, through the years, we have always picnicked on the Saturday before Easter, including our Easter egg hunt. This time of year was always busy for Ken as it was tax season at work, but he would always take a couple of hours off to picnic and have our Easter egg hunt.

  We wanted to continue the tradition-sans the egg hunt.  In our stake, they have recently completed a new stake center. It was scheduled to be dedicated in March, but the pandemic has prevented that meeting.  It is out on the egde of current civilization in our stake, but there are plans to build all around it.  In the back is a beautiful pavillion with picnic tables.  We decided it would be the perfect place.  We enjoyed a nice picnic, short walk, and then drove around through booming neighborhoods in the area.  You would never know there was a pandemic going on, as so many people were out enjoying the absolutely gorgeous day.  It was wonderful to get out for a couple of hours.

Scoop Colander

Several years ago, my sister, Pam gave me a scoop colander for Christmas.  I had never seen one before.  But it has become one of my most valuable kitchen tools. How did I ever live without it?  I use it to scoop pasta out of the water and put in the sauce, I use it to retrieve boiled eggs, potatoes, or tomatoes when blanching them.  What else?  It seems like it is the perfect tool for so many uses.
You can buy one here:
https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-10066-Colander-Strainer-Slotted/dp/B00LMCWL7A/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2EBIR0601ZZ6Q&dchild=1&keywords=colander+scoop&qid=1586811970&sprefix=colander+scoop%2Caps%2C586&sr=8-1


Thanks Pam!  To view other of my favorite things, click here.

Getting Out of the House- Zion National Park

On Monday, March 23, I was getting pretty discouraged being couped up inside.  It was time for an outing.  Ken was excited to go to Zion National Park because it was raining that day.  Zion National Park transforms when it rains.  It is just gorgeous:  cloud shrouded, the rocks that are always beautiful shimmer like jewels, and waterfalls form everywhere, spilling over the cliffs.  So, after waiting for a repairman to come, we made a simple picnic and drove the hour to Zion National Park.  We found it with very few people, allowing us to easily keep our social distance.  Please enjoy pictures of Zion National Park on a rainy day in March:

In Zion National Park are a pair of California Condors (endangered species) that live and nest there.  That is one of them on the crest of this cliff.

Another picture of the condor.  If you look, you can see his white tag on his wing, put there by park officials.

It was raining, so we picnicked under a covered bus stop.  We were entirely alone.  This was our view.

No, I didn't put on make up.  I haven't worn it for weeks!

Deer by the side of the road

A close up of a turkey vulture.  It was way bigger than it looks here.

It was just what I needed- to get out of the house!  They have now closed Zion National Park.  I'm glad we went before they did.