Word Myths – a book review

I don’t know if the title is an intentional play on words (wordsmiths in this case) but I found “Word Myths, debunking linguistic urban legends” by David Wilton a delightful and easy read.

Wilson begins by explaining how word myths come about and that they are really a significant subset of all urban legends and e-mail hoaxes which themselves come from a line of tall tales and Xerox fables. He also explains that debunking word myths is a thankless task since so many of the tales we hear, we WANT to believe and do not easily forgive those who attempt to correct our beliefs.

“Word Myths” covers such diverse topics as whether picnic refers to a Southern lynching party, whether pumpernickel has something to do with Napoleon’s horse, and whether a tinker’s damn should really be spelled ticker’s dam. Most cases in the book are selected because they are wrong or highly suspect. But a few are verified as possible or even probable. Like a good scientist, Wilson doesn’t like to ever conclude that something is definitely proven. He does feel that some word myths can definitely be disproven –usually because the chronology of when it first shows up in the language.

This would be a fun coffee table or back of the toilet type of book. But it even makes for good armchair reading.

Mrs. Henderson Presents - a movie review

You may have noticed that I don't do a lot of movie reviews. The simple reason for that is that I watch very few movies. I'm not bragging or complaining. It's just a fact of my life. Also, I have no idea what makes a movie great or mediocre so I can't pretend to be a real movie critic. That being said, I can describe a movie and talk about what worked for me and what didn't.

Mrs. Henderson Presents is based on the true story of London's Windmill Theater. According to the movie, the Windmill is closed when a wealthy widow (Judi Dench) with both time and money on her hands buys it and restores it to its former glory. A friend of a friend Vivian Van Dam (Bob Hoskins) is brought in to run the place. This is the late 1930's, England has escaped the Victorian era but is still uptight about many things including nudity on the stage which is one of the ideas that Dench's character, Mrs. Henderson, presents. However, it turns out to be okay as long as it is done "tastefully" and the nudes don't move. That makes it like "fine art". And it works. There is absolutely nothing raunchy, pornographic, or even very arousing in the many nude scenes that follow.

Instead one is shown how the Windmill becomes a significant part of the London entertainment scene and, as WW II begins, the Windmill becomes a significant factor in building and maintaining troop morale. The singing and dancing are entertaining as well as the nude tableaus. There's just enough drama and tension between Mrs. Henderson and Vivian Van Dam to keep the story moving so the movie doesn't become just another musical revue. But it's not really a war movie either.

We found it fun and entertaining - for the whole family (which IS unusual for an R-rated film).

Grandkids II - June 2006

During our recent trip to Southern California we got a good chance to visit with our grandchildren. It is fun to see them growing up and developing their talents. We brought down a scooter that we had purchased at the Home and Garden show several months ago. It is the kind that you propel by turning the steering wheel back and forth slightly. It worked great on Jessica & Jon's bamboo floor. I was amazed at how quickly the kids picked up the technique of using the steering wheel for both propulsion and steering.

Even little Jillian managed to learn how to handle the scooter. She would use her feet when absolutely necessary. It was also gratifying to see that the boys let her have a turn.

Michael and I enjoyed taking pictures of each other taking pictures of each other. Digital cameras are really wonderful for kids since you can let them take as many pictures as they want without it costing a penny unless you print them out. And it could be a great way to introduce them to graphic arts programs. I think as much as anything Michael liked the instant gratification of seeing the picture he took.

Convertible experience

A few days ago, Tiffany had to have her van in the garage for several days for repairs. She couldn't do without a car during this time so she got a rental. Of course, no one ever said a rental has to be boring. She ended up with this Toyota Solara convertible.
Not only did she use the convertible to take the family to southern California for Steve and Lisa's wedding, she also took Carolyn and me for a spin around east Sacramento. I really can't remember the last time I rode in a convertible unless you count the army jeep I rode in 30 years ago as a young lieutenant.

A Question of Torture - a book review

"A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror" by Alfred W. McCoy is indeed a lesson on torture, war, and terror. With detail after detail, this heavily footnoted book describes the ungodly morass that we find ourselves in by succumbing to the terrible temptation of torture. The first half of the book describes carefully what various definitions of torture are and how, for the most part, the U.S. has avoided the kind of torture which includes pulling out of fingernails and other physically maiming activities. When we want that level of torture, we export our prisoners to foreign "friends" who have even less scruples than we do. No, we use less visible means such as "dietary adjustments", isolation, "sensory overloading or deprivation", near drowning, sexual humiliation, and genital electroshock. What's more, a presidential directive has made all this legal as long as it is for the purpose of obtaining information. We can't do it just for fun.

Having sickened the reader with the reality of currently practice torture by good Americans, the author then treats us to the charade in Washington where the administration and congress seem to fall all over themselves in claiming that torture is practiced "by only a few bad apples" but can't seem to pass a meaningful law that makes torture illegal. That would "tie the President's hands" they claim.

Finally, Professor McCoy addresses the question of the effectiveness of torture. It appears that for thousands of years it has been long known that torture of a few is very unproductive. Torture of the masses is effective in rooting out dangerous troublemakers but at great political cost as it tends to very effectively recruit for the other side. The hypothetical "ticking bomb" case is easily dismissed by McCoy as a case of using 20-20 hindsight to show that if the right person were interrogated by the right people at the right time with the right questions there is a slight chance of some useful information coming out. The chance of that happening in our government bureaucracy is next to nil.

So why do supposedly rational and sane leaders such as Bush and Rumsfeld succumb to the use of torture? Because it is empowering. It makes them feel good, feel like they are doing something that will have concrete results. Like a bully who is not successful on one battlefield, he can be successful at beating up the weak and (for the moment at least) the powerless. Bush and friends just can't believe that when this is all over the world won't profusely thank them and excuse their excesses as necessary in such difficult times.

An excellent book if you have a strong stomach. Not recommended for those who are sure our government can do no wrong.

Father's Day - a week late

Happy Fathers Day

My cousin Neil stopped me in the church parking lot to give me a CD of family pictures he had come across recently as well as a clipping of a Fathers Day tribute that my sister Revabeth had penned for our Dad that had appeared in the Provo Daily Herald many, many years ago. I may sprinkle some of the pictures in my blog from time to time. This time I’ll only include the tribute and a picture from my collection of my sister canning peaches with my Dad – the subject of the tribute:

Happy Father’s Day to the father who
Paced the floor when I was born,
Stood proudly and gave me a name and a blessing,
Walked and rocked me when I had the chicken pox,
Trod many a church aisle to quiet me,
Raced thru numerous stores looking for a bathroom for a little girl who “didn’t have to go” before we left home,
Ran and walked up and down the street to teach me to balance on my long-desired bike,
Stood in long lines so he could take me on the Tilt-a-Whirl,
Paced the floor during noisy pajama parties,
Hiked around the block and back again when I had my tonsils out,
Paced the floor when I took the car out, alone, for the first time,
Trod the floor when I didn’t arrive home from a date on time,
Walked thru aisles of clothes until he found a dress that was “just right”.
Hiked back and forth to the car, carrying various items in and back out again when I went to college,
Stood and sat and sat to watch me graduate from college,
“Walked down the aisle” with me at my wedding,
Walked, carried, and packed so that we could move out east,
Paced the floor until he got our call saying that we were fine and had no trouble,
Trod the airport floor waiting for us to fly in for a visit and then back home again,
And who is loved very much by his daughter.

Beth Russell
Urbana, Illinois

Framed

The story of my life - or what do I do now? Maybe we could have a caption contest for this picture: What do you get when you cross a nail with a screw?

Seriously, the above pictured "screw" came from a Home Depot plastic packet which we purchased today as part of a repair project. Fortunately, because of other screws lying around the garage tool bench, I didn't have to interrupt my feverish pursuit of the repair job by making yet another trip to Home Depot.

The story behind this particular repair? Tiffany's parents gave us a beautiful wall mirror for our dining room several months ago. We thought the biggest problem would be hauling it from Simi Valley to Carmichael without breaking it into a million pieces. Miraculously, we got it here and even got it hung without damage.

However, in the middle of the night a couple of weeks ago, one of the wooden cleats on the back of the mirror came loose. The chain we used to hang the mirror on the wall was attached to this cleat. So the mirror was left hanging by one side of the chain only. It slid relatively gracefully to the floor damaging only the corner that hit the floor first. The mirror itself was unharmed.

We removed the mirror, reinforced all the corners, and reattached the hanging cleats with large screws.

We also glued some of the frame together in the corner that had suffered the damage. As soon as that sets, we hope to replace the mirror then hang it up again.

Grandkids - June 2006

It's hard to believe how quickly our grandsons are growing. We took these pictures of Grandma playing with Nathan and Joshua on our most recent trip to Southern California. Nathan is just barely 3 years old and Joshua 6 months when these pictures were taken.

I don't know that I've seen a little boy that smiles more than Joshua. He just seems to have a perpetual smile on his face.

The Founders on Religion - a book review

The Founders on Religion edited by James H. Hutson is, like most books of quotations, not exactly a book that is fascinating to read straight through from cover to cover. It is more a book that you keep on the shelf to be used as a reference when preparing correspondence, a talk, or a blog entry on a particular topic. To that end, Hutson has simplified matters by categorizing the quotations by topic instead of by Founding Father. The drawback of such a sort is that you do not see the philosophy of any of the Founding Fathers. You could, on the basis of many of Thomas Jefferson's quotes for instance, consider him a devoutly religious man. Other quotations wherein he details his "picking and chosing" of bible selections, literally cutting some verses out of his bible while keeping others, indicates that his religion was one-of-a-kind. You also cannot see the changes in a particular person's viewpoint through their lifetime or to particular politically charged situations. We certainly see the politicians of our day emphasize different beliefs to fit the situation and there is no reason to think it was otherwise 200 years ago.

One of the things I found exceedingly interesting was how many of the ideas and beliefs that I had assumed were new and fundamental to the newly organized Mormon church in 1830 were, in fact, very much the topics of the day in the early 1800's. These were such things as the end of the world, the restoration of Israel, the return of the Ten Lost Tribes, and the origin of the American Indian. Growing up, Joseph Smith could have even heard discussions of these topics from John Adams himself, an idea I had never considered.

This book, although only mildly slanted in favor of Christianity and godly belief, is not comprehensive. It would be a useful addition to a reference bookshelf but certainly wouldn't be my first choice for Founding Fathers' quotes.

What's that you say?

As reported on this blog, several weeks ago I received a hearing exam from my daughter-in-law Tiffany who is studying to be a speech pathologist. I didn't do well. Tiffany recommended that I get a second opinion in the form of a audiology exam from Kaiser, our health provider. It took a while to get a referral and appointment (although it turns out I could have called Audiology directly and save a couple of weeks).

This morning I had a nice visit with the lovely Tara Roberts, MS, CCCA who administered a battery of tests while I was comfortably seated in a soundproof room decorated with Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh, and friends. Unlike the test that Tiffany gave me, Tara's used a warbling tone that was easier for me to distinguish from the constant low level ringing I've had in my ears for years. So I thought I was doing great. Tara also read lists of words to me and had me repeat them as her voice got quieter and quieter. She also did a test where static was fed into one ear while I attempted to identify a sound in the other ear. It probably took close to a half hour for the whole test.

The results show that I have a mild to significant loss of hearing in both ears - from nearly normal at 250-500 Hz, to 10 dB loss at 1,000-2,000 Hz, to 40 dB loss above 4,000 Hz. Its no wonder that I don't enjoy hi-quality music as much as I used to. I simply don't hear a large portion of it.

Hearing aids aren't covered by our medical plan so we'll have to decide if the $3,000 to $6,000 investment in aids will make that much of a difference in the quality of my life.

On the other hand, I could simply try to change the world by doing such things as handing out the following which Tara gave me as I left her office:

SIXTEEN COMMANDMENTS FOR TALKING TO HEARING-IMPAIRED PERSONS.

1. Thou shalt not speak from another room.
2. Thou shalt not speak with your back toward the person with a hearing problem (or their back toward you).
3. Thou shalt not start speaking and then walk or turn away from the person with a hearing problem.
4. Thou shalt not speak in competition with background noise (turn off the radio/TV/running water, etc.)
5. Thou shalt get the attention of the person with the hearing problem (do not start speaking while they are reading or concentrating on TV, etc.). Call person by name or tap on their shoulder to get their attention.
6. Thou shalt remove obstructions when speaking (your hand from your face, the cigarette From your mouth, etc.).
7. Thou shalt speak distinctly and at a normal or a little slower rate. Do not over articulate since this will distort speech sounds and visual cues.
8. Thou shalt speak face to face at all times with proper lighting and no sun shining in the listener's eyes.
9. Thou shalt speak at a conversational level of three to six feet. Arrange the room for better communication distant of three to six feet from the speaker to the listener.
10. Thou shalt use visual cues such as lip reading, gestures, and facial expression to help understand conversations. Also repeat what you thought you have heard.
11. Thou shalt never, under any circumstances, speak directly and with a raised voice into the person's ear. The listener cannot make use of visual cues. This may also cause an already distorted auditory system to further distort the speech signal.
12. Thou shalt rephrase the statement if the listener did not understand the first time rather than repeating misunderstood words.
13. Thou shalt include the all persons in all discussions about him or her. Hearing impaired persons sometimes feel quite vulnerable. This approach will help alleviate some of those feelings.
14. In meetings or any group activity where there is a speaker presenting information (church meetings, civic organizations, etc.) make it mandatory that the speaker(s) use the public address system. One of the most frequent complaints among persons with hearing difficulties is that they may enjoy attending meetings of various kinds, but all too often the speaker, for whatever reason, tries to avoid using a microphone. Most persons begin to avoid public or organizational meetings if they cannot hear what the speaker is saying.
15. Above all, treat persons with hearing difficulties as adults.
16. Thou shalt take the time to help the hearing-impaired by respecting their hearing loss and to use steps as stated above. Thou shalt be PATIENT, PATIENT, PATIENT.

By Raymond H. Hull, audiologist, speech-language pathologist and director of audiology, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley

Fiscal checkup

Ron, our VALIC representative, called it a Retirement Income Strategies Plan but I prefer to call it a fiscal checkup, similar to the physical checkup you're supposed to get from your doctor every few years. Like the physical checkup, a fiscal checkup is better if you do it before a crisis arives so that you can do some meaning planning and/or change of lifestyle before it becomes critical.

Part of the fiscal checkup required us to look at our current spending patterns and assets as well as give some thought about what we see ourselves doing in the next 20 to 30 years. We certainly don't see ourselves as no longer traveling and visiting family or vacation sites. We also don't expect to take up any expensive hobbies but we might be faced with expensive long-term health needs that could eliminate our savings quickly.

Ron input all this data into his computer and with the speed of a computer tax calculation program, he had our Plan. The good news is that we have met our retirement savings plan goals sufficiently that there's a 99% chance that we should be able to live comfortably, if modestly, for the next 30 years without depending on the government or our kids to keep us fed or clothed. In fact, it appears that we won't have to significantly change our lifestyle at all.

Carolyn really enjoys her job and plans to continue working another 10 years if her health holds out. I'm seriously considering retiring this fall. I've already got a long list of things I'd like to work on so I won't be sitting around wondering what to do with myself. I might even spend some time back at the regional center if they can use my expertise. The idea of having a little more flexibility in which days I work and which projects I work on, is very exciting to me.

Carolyn and I spent another 2 hours with Ron yesterday, working on the necessary paperwork to consolidate our various retirement accounts so that they will be a little easier to manage. Some of the consolidation will also result in some short time increases in earnings but probably not enough to pay for the usual costs involved with transferring funds. The paperwork was similar to that required for buying a house with form after form requiring our signatures and initials.

About half of our retirement savings dates back to my time at Long Beach Community Hospital. I thought it interesting that for the past five years no one from Lincoln has bothered to call or ask if they can be of any assistance but as soon as we request withdrawal, they're all over us about how they can offer the same services. One would have expected them to be concerned a little earlier.

Home, sweet home

No matter how much we enjoy traveling and seeing friends and family, no matter how great the accommodations are (and we did have a very nice, though modest, hotel this trip), and no matter how much we'd like vacations to go on and on, we still enjoy coming home and sleeping in our own bed.

Fortunately, both Carolyn and I had taken today off so we could sleep in a couple of hours, eat a leisurely breakfast, and still get some of the outside work done before it got too hot.


The lawns needed mowing and the flowers needed watering. Things that we would normally have done last Saturday were screaming for our attention today.

Even the birds were upset at us for leaving them a bird feeder that was empty.

We really appreciate Ed & Tiff looking after our mail and newspaper so at least they weren't overflowing on our porch or mailbox.

Thanks to all of you who made our wedding/vacation a memorable event.

History of Beauty - a book review

This wonderful collection of art work History of Beauty edited by Umberto Eco attempts to answer the questions: What is beauty? What is art? What is taste and fashion? and Is beauty something to be observed coolly and rationally or is it something dangerously involving? With literally hundreds of reproductions of fine art works speaking to these questions, this book would be a joy even without the words. But of course the words tell the deeper story and attempt to give at least partial answers - sometimes directly, more often indirectly.

The chapters cover such things as the aesthetic ideal in ancient Greece, light and color in the Middle Ages, magic beauty between the 15th and 16th centuries, and romantic beauty. The reader and observer sees that the depiction of beauty has both changed and remained constant over the centuries. The symmetry, the color, the poetry might change with the art form while it is clear that the characteristics of the human bodies (both female and male) have not changed.

History of Beauty would make a wonderful coffee table book in any home except maybe those who find the naked body distasteful. I was sorry to have to return it to the library.

Wedding Day

Finally, the reason for our trip to Southern California and the reason for several friends and relatives to come from as far away as Bountiful, Utah and Taylor, Arizona was the wedding on this evening. The celebration was held in the Holiston United Methodist Church in Pasadena. I had hoped to have some of the ceremony to share with you because it was humorous and touching. As soon as I can get hold of it, I will post it in a later posting on this blog.

As near as I could tell the ceremony went off exactly as rehearsed and, in fact, I didn't hear of any problems with either the ceremony or the reception afterward which was so graciously hosted by the Chenoweth's, Lisa's grandparents.

Wedding rehearsal

Rehearsal:
1. The act of practicing in preparation for a public performance.
2. A session of practice for a performance, as of a play.
3. A detailed enumeration or repetition: "a long rehearsal of his woes"

Steven and Lisa have been rehearsing marriage for the last several years. This evening they finally got to rehearse their wedding. They carefully kept the script a semi-secret since it contained a lot of the dry humor that Lisa and Steve are famous for.
In spite of a day that was much warmer than everyone expected and the impressive setting of the Holiston United Methodist church building, the bride Lisa and her maid of honor Kristi were cool as cucumbers in their summer dresses.

In fact, everyone was pretty cool about the whole rehearsal thing. It became obvious fairly quickly that this ceremony was not going to be stiffly formal. In fact it looked like it had been arranged to be as comfortable as it was meaningful to all the involved parties. The first part would consist of the minister walking into the sanctuary with the groom and best man in tow. It sort of looked like he had been giving them a good talking to.

After the bridesmaid, grandparents, mothers, and father of the groom had come down the aisle to join in the festivities Larry, the father of the bride, with his daughter the bride on his arm, marched down the aisle as serious as he could be while humming "Pomp & Circumstance". "Wrong tune, Dad!" muttered Lisa.

For a non-drinking crowd, everyone did their best to keep things light hearted.

Whenever it came to important parts such as the minister's advice to the couple or their mutual pledge of faith to each other, all the rest of us heard was blah, blah, blah, etc. and so forth. No reason to ruin a good script and the element of surprise in what was to be a good humored ceremony. But we could tell by the wedding couple's body language that neither was being pressured into this relationship.


Finally, when we had gone through the whole process three times (the third time at warp speed), everyone retired to Beckham Grill - a fine dining tradition in Pasadena and just a short drive west on Walnut from the Church.


There we were joined by family and friends for a relaxing rehearsal dinner. Entrees of Prime Rib of Beef, Broiled Chicken Breast, or Grilled Salmon seemed to satisfy almost all the attendees. (One couple had the misfortune of missing their flight and Lee managed to pick up some stomach ailment.) The piece de resistance of the evening was the Raspberry English Trifle. A wonderful end to a wonderful evening.

Ancestral family home

When we left Long Beach and one or more of our kids took up residence in our former house, there was some concern about what to call the place. After all "Mom and Dad's old home" or even "Grandma and Grandpa's old home" didn't seem to be quite right. I don't know who first started calling it the "Ancestral Family Home". I found it sort of ironic because the only ancestors to live there are all still very much aroundd and ancestral doesn't seem to fit a home that we moved into in 1980. But the name has stuck.

Now that Jessica and Jon have replace half the square footage with a much better built and better designed building, it probably should be called Jon & Jessica's house or Jessica & Jon's place. We were really impressed this time to see how nice the kitchen is now that it is complete. We also admired the front yard which has been completely redone in a lawn-free mode. Rather attractive and never need mowing. I don't know how much upkeep it will require.


We also admired the day care sign that Jessica has on the front door. She was tending so many of her nieces, nephews, and assorted in-laws that she decided to get certified as a family day care. It's really an ideal home for it and Jessica has already shown she has what it takes.

Glasses

Sometimes I forget just how dependent I am on corrective lenses. Last night, having no night stand on my side of the hotel bed where we're staying, I left my glasses on the floor without protection. Carolyn accidently stepped on them and "pop" goes the lens. Fortunately, nothing was broken. However, as often as I've been able to get Carolyn's lenses back in place when something similar has happened to her, I couldn't get mine to budge.

It turns out that wearing just one lens was even worse than going without the glasses. If I ever had to do that, I'll need to wear an eyepatch over the lensless eye. We were able to find a optician (Dr. Leulinda Tomlin) with the nicest staff that fixed the problem in seconds.

Clean up detaill

One of the disadvantages of moving North is that we don't get a chance to help the kids and grandkids as much as we might have otherwise. But being back in town for a wedding this weekend, we did have a little time on our hands in between other obligations.

Sometimes we've been able to help with installing lighting or a sprinkler system. This time we were able to help organize things a little bit at our son's house. Or maybe I should say that Carolyn had a chance to organize. I'm not very organized myself, so I stuck with something a little more my style - sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming. That way Carolyn had more time to figure out what should go where.

We're hoping that we can get the grandkids to choose some of the organizing tools themselves such as boxes, labels, etc. so they'll feel more a part of organizing their lives. At least we can hope.

Gas guzzler??

This first picture of my gas gauge was taken by the side of the road after I had been traveling about a mile from home.

This picture was taken a little over a mile later. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was driving an SUV or that there was a hole in my gas tank. Fortunately, I know better and know that it is just one more thing that is starting to go haywire with my car. I've gone about 120 miles on a full tank so I'm probably just a little over half full but you sure can't tell from my gas guage.

Jawbreaker - book review

The jacket cover for Gary Berntsen's "Jawbreaker" claims this is "The book the CIA doesn't want you to read!" I find that a little hard to believe since the CIA has already apparently had their chance at redacting sensitive information leaving wide swaths of black ink on about 75% of the pages. Sometimes one black line apparently stands for several pages of redaction while at other times a small rectangle of black eliminates a single word that obviously wasn't very important to the story. The book's subtitle is "The attack on Bin Laden and al-Qaeda: a personal account the CIA's key field commander". That's another good hint that the CIA isn't too upset about the book being published. I personally think they rather enjoy seeing a successful book which details a CIA mission that was exciting, action-packed, and 99% successful. Only at the very end of the book do we find that second guessing on the part of the White House or Pentagon may have cost us the opportunity to kill Bin Laden at the end of the Afghan war.

The book is both detailed and moving. I got the feeling of being swept up with Gary Berntsen's "Jawbreaker" team, a small group of CIA agents pulled together from around the world with the express mission of coordinating the US and Afghan (Northern Alliance) forces in eliminating the Taliban and al Qaeda presence in Afghanistan. It is amazing what can be done with $8 million in cash and the air power of the most heavily armed nation in the world at your beck and call. I'm not downplaying the heroism and talent the Jawbreaker team displayed. But this is no rogue unit defeating the Taliban on their own. Once given the green light, they had tremendous logistic and air support for the daunting mission.

Berntsen has also given us a glimpse of the Northern Alliance and the difficulty of coordinating a group of warlords who are as interested in protecting their own power and turf as they are any loyalty to Afghanistan. Several of the warlords have a history of switching sides to whoever appears to be winning the battle. And several of the groups aided al Qaeda in the face of the US effort to capture or kill all members of that group.

Money, equipment, and weapons talk. All this was used in the war by the US directly as well as for hostage negotiations, taking over territory, and winning the "loyalty" of Northern Alliance armies. The book makes it perfectly clear that conventional warfare just doesn't work in situations like Afghanistan. You might not like your allies but you hate your enemies even worse.

Overall, an enjoyable book.

Father's Day work party

It's enough to make a fella drool. No, I'm not talking about all the very nice ladies sitting around our dining room table, deeply absorbed in their work and ongoing discussion about church and Relief Society matters. I'm talking about all those yummy candy bars in the middle of the table that are being carefully overwrapped with festive yellow, green, blue, and white wrappers declaring "Happy Fathers Day".

As everyone knows, anything goes better with cholocate and Father's Day is no exception. We're still a week away but I for one am happy to see that the women are ahead of the game already.

Tomato plant update - week 6

Our upside down tomatores continue to prosper. This is the beefsteak tomato plant.


A closeup shows that we actually have a few green tomatoes on the vine - the largest about the size of a raquetball.


Number 2 tomato plant, the Better Boy tomato, is also growing well.

It doesn't have any tomatoes that I can see but it does have lots of beautiful blossoms so I'm sure the tomatoes aren't far behind.

Obviously not a tomato plant, this is an example of the pomegranate blossoms on our bush in the back yard and the neighbor's tree which reaches over our fence. I'd say there was a good chance of our getting some pomegranates this year.