David's Quilt--Finished!

I finally finished David's quilt! Here is the progress, from start to finish.

Come and Get Your Happiness

In the midst of all the angst and uproar of the times we live in,

A little happiness for your day:



Turn up your speakers and read along, if you wish:

Come And Get Your Happiness

Lyrics/Music Yellen/Pokrass

Why are grown up peoples faces
Wrinkled like a lot of prunes?
Money, money, that's what chases them
Around like crazy loons.
I think they make a big mistake;
Wealth and happiness that counts
Are free to all in large amounts.


There's millions worth of golden sunbeams
That everybody can possess.
All God's children got success.
Come and get your happiness!

There's billions worth of silver moonbeams,
Enough for everyone I guess.
What's a million more or less?
Come and get your happiness!

Among the wildwood of your happy childhood
Where you were Jills and Jacks
In raggy britches, there's a lot of riches
On which you don't pay any income tax.

So get under that blue heaven
Away from trouble and distress.
Just find Mother Nature's address,
And come and get your happiness!

The Furious Wind Blowing Toward the Promised Land

The other day I was reading in the Book of Ether, specifically the 6th chapter. I was reading about how the Jaredites got into those barges, commended themselves unto God, and launched forth into the seas. Then God caused "a furious wind" to blow them to the promised land. As I read, I tried to put myself in their place. What would that have been like?

OK, you're in a large, dark barge. True, there are the lighted stones prepared by the brother of Jared and touched by the Lord. But there are only two, maybe with about the light power of a couple of 40-watt bulbs. I doubt they are like flood-lamps.

Then there is that "furious wind" and "great and terrible tempests." Mountain waves crash over the barge and you're "buried in the depths of the sea." Over and over. Are you seasick yet? This goes on for virtually a full year!

There are also "flocks and herds." How do the animals deal with all this? What does the place smell like?! When there is a brief period of calm (or at least not "mountain waves" crashing upon you), how glad you must be to go up top and open that hole in the roof!

Now here is the amazing part: This whole time, while all this scariness and mess is going on, all these furious winds and mountainous waves, you "thank and praise the Lord all the day long."

I wonder, did they ever start to doubt? Did they ever think: "Well, this wasn't such a hot idea after all! I'm going to pound that Mahonri! As soon as I quit throwing up." Or: "Has God forgotten us? This can't be the way a loving God would treat His children!"

I wondered what application this has for our lives. Do we ever find ourselves in dim places, with mountainous waves crashing over us, pushing us down and down? Do we think things stink sometimes and feel sick to our stomachs with worry and doubt? Do we see no end to the plight we are in? Do we feel that God has forsaken us and left us to the fury of the cold world?


Maybe He's just blowing us toward the Promised Land.

Tagged--Four Things...

My good friend Lea Anne tagged me... My first tag! I'm so honored. :-D

So, here goes:

Four things I love about my husband:

• He's funny--even when he doesn't mean to be.
• He has a tender heart--even cries at movies.
• He thinks I'm cute.
• He is diligent and faithful in all he does.

Four movies I would watch more than once:

• Star Wars: A New Hope (the real Star Wars movie)
• It's a Wonderful Life
• Lilo and Stitch (I love the music--especially the Hawaiian songs)
• Arsenic and Old Lace

Four TV shows I watch:

• Gosh, at our house we mostly end up watching PBS kid shows!

Four places I've been:

• Cologne, Germany
  
• Hawaii
• New York City
• Niagra Falls

Four places I'd like to go:

• Hawaii
• England
• Caribbean
• New Zealand

Four people who email me regularly:

• Lea Anne
• Doffy
• My Dad
• My friend ArLynn

Four things I would like to eat:

• Pizza
• Fried chicken
• Potato salad
• CHOCOLATE

Four things I look forward to next year:

• having the elections over
• trying again to have a (semi) decent garden/yard
• a new calendar
• summer vacation

Four people I tag:

• Jamie B.
• Lisa W.
• Susan F.
• Rachel H.

Another Chance to Win a Freebie

Hi! The people at Crock-Pot are giving away 5 free eLume Programmable Slow Cookers this weekend. To have a chance to win one, you have to go to A Year of CrockPotting and enter a comment with your email address. This sounds like a nifty crock-pot. Here is a review of it. After it becomes available to the public, it's supposed to be about $99 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Here is a link to the company's web site. Do you like your crock-pot as much as I do mine? (In fact, I'm making taco soup in mine right now.) I'd love one with all these extra features!