Ken's Favorite Fowl Clients

Ken has some clients that come to his office every day to entertain him.

And though they never pay him a dime, they are his favorite clients.

Ken loves his 2nd story office window and it's view of a huge tree that brings in a lot of birds. He loves to watch them build nests, etc. Though it's a bit of a challenge leaning out that window, he keeps this hummingbird feeder fully stocked for their - and his- enjoyment.

"Hey, buddy! It's running a little low!"

April, 2010 Conference Report

I finished studying the April, 2010 conference report last week. Each conference, I read, then study the talks and tally the references made to the scriptures, quotes of apostles, hymns, and literature. For a more complete explanation, see my post of Conference report of October, 2009.

Here are the tally results of this conference: Speakers in this conference referenced or quoted:

The New Testament: 131 times

The Book of Mormon: 127 times

The D & C: 116 times

Apostles: 75 times

Pearl of Great Price: 75 times

The Old Testament: 58 times

Other works of Literature: 20 times

Hymns: 9 times

For the first time since I've been doing this, the New Testament was quoted more than The Book of Mormon. Usually the Book of Mormon is the most oft-quoted, sometimes by far.

There is a great new feature in this conference issue of the Ensign- at least for me, who loves this kind of thing. There is a list of the most used scriptural references in this conference. I've wanted to know that, but since I'm not a computer, the task of finding out was too daunting. It is just a list. So, I went through each talk and tallied how many times each of those references were used. Here's the results:

The most oft-quoted scripture in this conference was Joshua 1:9.

9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the ^aLord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

This is a slightly skewed result in that this conference issue contained the report from the Young Women's General Meeting. This scripture is the Young Women theme for this year, so it was quoted a lot- six times, to be exact.

The second most oft-quoted scripture was the one, I understand that is the most oft-quoted in all conferences: Moses 1:39

39 For behold, this is my ^awork and my ^bglory—to bring to pass the ^cimmortality and ^deternal ^elife of man.

I believe that there is a message to us that this is most quoted. Think of the message of this scripture. I believe it contains the very purpose of General Conference.

Actually, this one tied with Mosiah 18: 9

9 Yea, and are ^awilling to mourn with those that ^bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as ^cwitnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the ^dfirst resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

Next are several that were quoted three times each:

John 14: 6

John 14: 27

2 Nephi 2:11

Helaman 5:12

D&C 13

D&C 19:16

My unofficial , non-computer results indicate that the chapter of scripture most quoted from in this conference was John 14 (quoted 8 times.) There is a message there, I believe. If I had to choose my favorite chapter in the scriptures, it would be John 14. It's power packed. In Brother Andersen's talk, he challenged us to read the Book of John. That is the second time that I remember such a challenge being given in conference. Maybe we should read the book of John?

In my opinion, maybe the most "Aha!" talk was the one given by Dallin H. Oaks in the General Priesthood session. His talk was on giving priesthood blessings and contained much information on healing blessings.

For parents wondering what to teach for Family Home Evening, there is one talk that I highly recommend. That is Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk, "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus." He says, "We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be causal in how we prepare them."

He then admonishes us to teach our children the stories of Jesus: "The stories of Jesus can be like a rushing wind across the embers of faith in the hearts of our children. . . Are the life and teachings of Jesus Christ embedded in the minds and souls of our children? Do they think about the Savior's life when they wonder what to do in their own lives?" He says, "My counsel is to speak more frequently about Jesus Christ."

Here's the good part: Using his references to the stories of Jesus found at the end of the talk, you have your FHE's planned for the next umpteen weeks. Just teach a story of Jesus each week, using the church's picture library. He has them all referenced; so easy.

I love how Elder Andersen testifies of General Conference, "The Lord's way of course , is always the best way. He takes the individual prayerful efforts of each speaker and orchestrates a spiritual symphony full of revelation and power. Repeated themes, principle building upon principle, prophetic warnings, uplifting promises- the divine harmony is a miracle! I testify that in this conference we have heard and felt the mind and will of the Lord."

Why do I spend so much of my study time in the study of conference talks? I believe the words we hear (and read and study) are scripture (see D&C 68:2-4) They are revelation from God to help us. They truly are a spiritual symphony. I believe we are responsible for what is taught in Conference. I am a Conference Junkie. Amen.

Return Thanks

This time of year, I always think of my Grandma Peterson. Grandma had a funny little way of asking someone to say a mealtime or family prayer. She was a widow for many years, so when we were in her home, she was the head of her home. She would say, "Lyman, will you return thanks?" And my dad would give the prayer. Where did she get that phrase? I didn't find out until long after she was gone. I was reading in The Book of Mormon in Alma, Chapter 7 and found this scripture:

23. And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive."

I still remember that "zing" in my heart when I recognized that phrase, "Returning thanks." She got it from the scriptures!

When we borrow something, it's important that we return it. We are constantly borrowing blessing from God, but He doesn't want them back. But he does want us to return something: Thanks. Just Thanks. I can do that.

Grandma was a good example of returning thanks. She had bad knees and I know she had surgery on them, but I was too little to know what kind of surgery (anybody know?") But I know her knees hurt. One time when she was visiting us, I walked by the room where she always stayed (the purple room) and found the door ajar. I looked in to see Grandma on those painful knees in prayer. I watched as she finished her prayer and painfully struggled to her feet. She never knew I was peeping. It left an indelible impression on me. Without speaking a word, she bore a powerful testimony of humility, submissiveness, and returning thanks. And for that great lesson and example, I now return thanks to her: "Thanks, Grandma!"

Flattered . . . or Offended?

Today, I had a great workout at the pool. Entering the pool at the same time as me was Paul (though I didn't know his name until later.) I've seen him there before, but haven't paid much attention. He chose the lane two over from me. Game on. You may remember an earlier post I did about how I motivate myself when swimming laps. I choose someone to "race," though they have no idea they are in a competition. Paul was probably ten years older than me, but he looked pretty athletic. I thought, "I can take this guy." So, we started swimming. I actually gained on him a little each lap. We were pretty even, but between you and me- I cleaned his clock. I was exhausted and sucking wind, but I pretty much creamed the guy. Paul swam for exactly one hour. I kept going for another half hour (but I take breaks and walk and work with water weights at times.) Paul got in the hot tub. He seemed to be hanging around. He got out of the hot tub and sat in a chair while I finished my workout. I had the distinct feeling he was waiting for me. Sure enough, as I got out of the pool he came over and said, "May I ask you a question?" "Sure." "I noticed as we swam that you have a good breast stroke. I'm guessing that you used to be pretty athletic?" I think he wanted me to say I used to be an Olympic swimmer or something. The "used to be" got to me. Let's face it, it's still getting to me. I guess I don't look very athletic these days. But I could tell he was impressed. He asked me my name, told me his and, as I left, said, "See you tomorrow." I'm sure he has high hopes, but no way, Paul. You're going down tomorrow (if you're there when I am), too . . and the next day, and the next. I've found my victim. Victory is sweet! I'm still a swimming fool. So what do you think, should I be flattered or offended?

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this book, death is our narrator. He introduces us to the main character, Liesel as she, as a nine- year-old child, watches her six-year-old brother die. Set in Hitler’s Germany, we see the events of that dark time from the eyes of Liesel and her lower class German family. We watch her grow to young adulthood and grow with her. The book is classified as young adult fiction, but certainly good reading for adult readers, as well.
What I loved about the book:
1) The characters. How I loved Liesel, Rudy, Max, and Hans, oh Hans. I even grew to love Rosa, but wanted to know more about her and why she was the way she was. I wanted her in more depth. I think we had depth with Liesel and Hans and Rudy and even Max, but I think that was lacking with Rosa. I wonder why? We understand even Ilsa, a seemingly minor character, better than we do Rosa.
I finished the book late last night, and woke up this morning missing my friends in the book. I feel sad I won’t hear about them any more. Quietly courageous Hans goes on my all- time list of literary heroes.
2) The relationships. I loved how we got to watch the relationships develop between the loved characters. As Liesel grew to love Hans, so did we. As she grew to love Rosa, Rudy, Max, and Ilsa, so did we. Brilliant writing! I love that their relationships make me want to hold those I love more dear.
3) I loved how much Liesel loved books. More than loved them, she cherished them. They were in a figurative and in a very literal way, her salvation. I love that books meant that much. I loved how the power of reading the books aloud healed, comforted, and transformed people throughout the book. Books are gentle power.
What I didn’t like about the book:
1) I’ m not sure I liked death as the narrator. I actually think it got in the way of the story. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of using an unlikely narrator. I was enthralled with “Miss Hickory" (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71760...) and have even attempted the technique in some of my own writing (see http://kenandkayhinton.blogspot.com/2010...) But in this case, I think the narrator hindered the story and caused inconsistencies in the story. I really didn’t like his voice and couldn’t see his purpose at all until the very end. I did think he helped wrap things up in the end, though I’m not sure any better than a third person omniscient narrator would have.

2) Though there was much foreshadowing throughout (and Death even admits in his narration that he’s doing that to soften the blow), I still felt the ending was painful and abrupt and a bit unsatisfying. I guess the author felt the story was over, and it was time for it to end, but I would have loved to know more of Liesel’s adult life and to watch her make sense of the tragedy of those terrible years. I didn’t think we even successfully got through the tragedy years. The ending was too abrupt.
3) Now, a message to Mr. Zusak: Why? Why pepper the language of these people we love with blasphemies and obscenities? It was difficult to read, especially out of the mouths of the young. That would be the third thing I would change about the book. For me, the language brought my rating down a full star.

It took me awhile to read this book. I was scared of it. I admit it. I would read for awhile and then put it down; afraid of what was next. I honestly think I would enjoy a second reading more, just for that reason. I wouldn’t feel so afraid. Also, it was a dark book. It was about one of the darkest periods of human history, so it’s going to be dark. But there are glimmers and even brilliant rays of light in this book and I feel that they make it worth stumbling through the darkness.

View all my reviews

Opera

Last night, my niece/friend Melanie and I attended the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor." Melanie teaches humanities at Dixie State and is writing her dissertation for her doctorate on English literature ( I know that's WAY oversimplified, Melanie. Feel free to expound) She is an amazing woman. As we compared notes, we both have been to several operas performed in English (Les Miserables, Phantom, etc) but this was only the second for each of us in Italian. They did subtitles on a small screen above, which helped.

The opera started a bit lackluster, but as soon as the soprano Lucia entered the stage, that changed. She was wonderful. She had a magnificent soprano voice. In one scene, she did a a duet with the flute where they "sang" back and forth. Here is what I read about that amazing duet online:

[The popular soprano and flute duet cadenza was composed in 1888 by Mathilde Marchesi for her student Nellie Melba's performance of the role, requiring ten weeks of rehearsal for the new addition and causing a critical reevaluation and surge of new interest in the opera.]

It was absolutely thrilling. When she concluded that part (which she sang mostly in a reclining position), the crowd went wild.

Now, I may have only seen two operas performed in Italian, but I've heard many, many more. Go back with me to my childhood kitchen, where every other Saturday, from an aqua blue radio, we listened to an opera broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera while we did our housework. I have such a glorious picture in my mind of my mother, standing at the ironing board, clutching her chest and looking up in ecstasy when the soprano coming through that little radio did a cadenza with trills and runs, ending on a high C . .. or D. . . or E . .. My mother loved opera. She came by it naturally. Her father, Charles O. Peterson was a fabulous basso singer. Every year, the community of Logan, Utah performed Handel's Messiah. The community would import from New York opera stars to sing the soprano, contralto, and tenor solos, but my grandfather always sang the bass solos. His fellow soloists from New York invited my grandfather (on more than one occasion, if I have the story right) to come to New York with them, assuring him he had a career in opera. I can't wait to ask my grandfather how he felt and what his thought process was in turning them down. I strongly suspect he realized it would be wonderful for him, but not what was best for his family. So, he went on selling shoes (though he hated stinky feet) in his little store in Logan, Utah, and sang and blessed his little community (he sang in over 200 funerals through the years.) What I'm sure he knows now, but didn't know then, is how much he and his talent live on in his posterity. Right down to his latest great-great grandchild, many of his posterity have an innate love for music and the arts. We feel something well up from inside of us when we hear beautiful music (just as my mom did when she heard that opera singer) or see a glorious painting or read a great book, and we think it's just us. As I'm around others, I realize they don't have that innate reaction, and I realize there is something different in me. It is part of our heritage, and may be even a nudge from Grandpa on the other side. He's saying, "This is good stuff. Pass it on." We're fulfilling his destiny. I know music and the arts are one my core values. They are a huge part of who I am, and I spend much of each week immersed in the pursuit of the arts and in helping others feel that "nudge," that joy. I think of Grandpa and Mom often as I am singing or teaching or playing or leading. I keep a little picture of my mom on my piano ( the piano I inherited from her) to remind me of her influence. So, posterity of Charles, next time you feel that "nudge" that inexpressible joy, whisper "Thanks, Grandpa. I'm fulfilling your destiny." And from me, thank you, Grandpa Peterson and Mom. And thank you, Melanie. Let's do it again!

Me singing in the Tabernacle

Dorothy Peterson Gabrielsen: My Mom

Charles O. Peterson with his wife, Libby: My grandparents

. . .worth a thousand words

Chair Choo Choo Train

Today is cleaning day. Today is mopping day. I don't want to, so I'm in here wasting time, putting it off. It's so much more fun to blog than to clean! Thinking about mopping day made me think what a challenge it used to be to get my floor mopped and house cleaned when my kids were little. I used to line the dining room chairs up in the hall (so I could mop under the table) and my kids would do just what these little ones who I stole from google images (Please don't tell anyone I've been stealing kids) are doing. My kids loved mopping day as they would play train for hours. They would climb from chair to chair and "choo choo" and pretend. My goal was to keep them up on those chairs until the floor dried so there wouldn't be little footprints on the floor. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Now I'd love to have some little footprints on my floor . . . Okay, enough reminiscing. Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's off to work I go!

How to Save the Family

Naaman, the leper, was angry that the prophet didn’t ask him to do something spectacular or fancy to rid himself of his disease. Just wash in the river. That’s all- just wash in the river. Are we like Naaman? We expect the prophet to tell us to do something spectacular or fancy like hike to Missouri or at least to the hills to protect our families from the evils of the world. No, just wash in the river of family home evening, family scripture study, and family prayer. That’s all . . .nothing fancy.

Techno Granny!

I've been waiting for years for this little guy to come into my life! It's a digital voice recorder. For Keynotes, we rehearse independently using demo recordings of songs I get from the publishers. This allows us to only meet once a week, but still get really good and memorize all of our music. But, only about half of what I choose for us to sing for each concert has a demo recording available. So, for years we've had "recording day" after a couple of months rehearsal and tape- literally cassette tape- ourselves singing the other songs. So then we have a cd and a tape with which to rehearse. It's been increasingly difficult for everyone to obtain a tape player as their old ones wear out. I don't know how many times I've said, "They need to invent a way to record onto a CD." Well, they skipped that step and invented this. I just turn this little baby on and it records. Using a USB connection, I plug it into my computer and download, and Wa LA I have Keynotes singing on my computer! Now if that ain't fancy, I don't know what is. Then I just made CD's for all of them with all of our songs on it. It's little, it's inexpensive, and it's pretty easy AND the sound is great. I plan to use it with my voice students, too. You can just call me Techno Granny from now on!

Half Broke Horses

Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel by Jeannette Walls My rating: 4 of 5 stars "That explains a lot!" was my thought when I finished this newest book by Jeannette Walls, author of "The Glass Castle." As I read "The Glass Castle," I continually wondered how a mother could be like Rosemary, Jeannette's mother was: selfish, without boundaries, free-spirited- In essence a half- broke horse! This book is the fictionalized biography of Jeannette's grandmother, Lily. Set in the wild west (mostly), it tells the story of living and growing up on a ranch in Arizona. The title suggests the setting, but also very much the spirit of the characters within. Since I have been to most of the towns referred to in the book, it made it even more interesting to me. I do, however, need to make one correction: Lily goes to teach school to polygamist children in a small town on the "Arizona strip." She refers to these children as Mormons. They were not Mormons. They belonged to a church which broke off from the Mormon church many years ago. This town and this group still exist. Mormons never lived the way described nor "married off" their thirteen year old daughters to much older men when commanded. Lily may have believed they were Mormons, but they were not. I enjoyed the book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has read "The Glass Castle" and if you haven't read either, read this one first. It will introduce you to Jeannette's parents and give you insight into who they are and why they act the way they do- like Half Broke Horses! View all my reviews

Wisconsin

What a wonderful privilege I had to travel to Wisconsin and meet baby Jacob Kenneth and spend a week with the Mackrorys. It was a crazy, busy week as they were also preparing to move into their beautiful, new home. But it was so fun to be there and be part of it all. I gained tremendous respect for young mothers. I don't think I've worked that hard since I was one! All the cooking, cleaning, dishes, nose and bum wiping, reading, laundry, sweeping, shopping, errand running, bathing, cuddling, rocking, and loving can wear a person out! We did a lot of box packing, too. But I loved every minute of it and treasure the memories made. Thank you, Mackrorys for letting me come and be part of one of the most special weeks of your life!

Time to check out and go home!

Baby Jacob all ready to go home

The Last Supper

It didn't take long for Jacob to find his thumb

Jacob's first bath (he loved it!)

The kids shooting rockets in the back yard

Jared and the kids made us fortune cookies

Bedtime story

This is one of my favorite pictures:

I love this one, too:

We asked Nathan to build us a temple with his blocks (trying to keep him busy while we packed) I think he made a marvelous temple:

Those stickers remind me of one of the sweetest memories of the week: For FHE, Jared gave each of the kids a page of those stickers and told them to put stickers on the things they wanted to move to the new house. He then asked them what they could take with them when we move to our new house in heaven someday. He then put stickers on all of us and said we can only take our families and that's all that's really important. It was such a sweet lesson and I felt the spirit so strong. Little Nathan sat right in the chair by me the whole time. I especially loved hearing those little ones sing "I Lived in Heaven" with all their might. They had sung it at FHE just one week before while still anticipating Jacob's arrival.

Welcome to earth, Baby Jacob! We are so glad to have you here!

Hinton Sibling Reunion, 2010

I took the shuttle home from the airport, went home and repacked for the Hinton Sibling Reunion in Pine Valley. The rest of the family was at Tuachan's "Crazy For You." Ken picked me up after the show and we headed for the Dixie cabin in Pine Valley. We had a great time with all eight Hinton siblings and their spouses. Mark and Lorene were in charge this year. We had lots of fun game show competitions including:

Fear Factor

Wizard

Minute to Win It

Kathy was amazing at getting the oreo from her forehead to her mouth with no hands!

and Singing Bee. We watched a movie, visited, reminisced, attended the temple, and ate great food. I came down with a cold and had to leave early, so felt bad to miss the end. As Jim and Leslie have their papers in to serve a mission, we'll see what next year brings. Thank you everyone for a great time.

Jacob Kenneth is Here!

Jacob Kenneth Mackrory made his appearance last evening, Tuesday, October 5 at 9:53pm. He was a whopping 9 lbs. 8 oz. and 21'' long. It was just a two hour labor (easy for me to say "just") and Mom and baby are doing well. He is grandchild # 5 for us: three boys and two girls. He tips the scales, so to speak, in the Hinton family. Always the girls have outnumbered the boys until Caleb's birth in January, when he evened the tally. Now, the boys outnumber the girls. That is a big switch to our original family of three daughters. We love him already! I leave early in the morning to fly to Wisconsin to meet this precious, little boy and help the family. They are moving into their new home next week, so this is a time of great transition for the Mackrory family. We thank Heavenly Father for Jacob's safe arrival!