To Mourn...And Remember

 We only mourn, to the degree that we do

Because of Love...a love cruelly taken

But always a part of us.

May we forever mourn

And remember

And be grateful for the memories.

A New Game Store In Town...Cards Of Ruin

 When you relocate to a smaller community, there are things you do without. Oh, we can get in our car and drive an hour to where we used to live and be back in the world where things are close and all those things you "miss" are within reach.

Ah, those were the days.

While surfing social media the other day, I found a new business opening in our little town. It's a game store, something I feel will be appreciated and hopefully allowed to grow. 

Funny thing about wishing things existed...sometimes you get your wish.

Before we moved, we lived in the thick of the state's most populated area. There were several game stores within a fifteen-twenty minute drive of our house. And these were big stores, stocked with the latest games, rows of tables for gaming, and so many miniatures...amazing stores. I lived close to them for years...

And I never went.

They were close and had everything and I didn't go. Sure, I can claim poverty as a reason, but even though I applaud these businesses and am glad they're there, I just don't spend a lot of money at them. So, when I found a new store in our town, I was thrilled. It is not big, nor is it stocked with the latest game. It's brand new and they're taking their business baby-steps. I want them to succeed to badly. I just hope there are more patrons willing to spend than those who don't. 

The store is Cards of Ruin. There's another Cards of Ruin in Hyrum in the valley to the east. Yes, it's a new store. Let's hope it will eventually lose the "new" and just become the store that's been there for a long time.

Almost As Cool As The Original...Almost

 We've been on a Lego kick as of late. It started last year, but really ramped up around Christmastime. In fact, our family gave and received more Lego products last Christmas than ever before. But, the other day my son ordered something amazing.

The Lego Atari Video Computer System.

It's hard to describe just what that big box and those little boxes meant to a generation...my generation. It was the start of an entertainment revolution. It literally changed the world. I'm not video game historian, but I do know that the creator of Atari worked at the same place I worked (Lagoon...), and attended the same university I did (U of U...). He went on to create "Pong," considered to be the world's first video game. From there, that little game became what you see on the box.

I can't remember if we had one of our own...it's been many decades, but I do know my friends had the console and several games. Let's just say, I had access. The games, by today's standards, are almost laughable. It's like comparing stick figures to AI art. But, oh...how wonderful were those stick figures. 

The industry has not only evolved but exploded. Every corner of the planet knows about video games. It's opened doors of creativity rarely seen in the history of humanity.

And now, Atari's received perhaps its greatest honor...it's become Lego-ized.

Once the kit is fully assembled, it will sit on a shelf as a work of art. I'll bet there are Atari game consoles sitting on shelves all over the world as reminders of an earlier time. My son's latest Lego kit is very cool...almost as cool as the original.

Give Thanks...For Another Winter Night In Garland

 I'd most likely heard of Garland, Utah before we moved, but I wasn't sure I knew where it was. I'm sure back in the day Garland was independent ,with a buffer of fields and roads separating it from the other communities in the area. It's no longer the case. Like so many communities, the line where one town ends and another begins is defined by a road, or a fence. On one side, the mail is delivered to one town listed on the envelope, on the other side of the street/fence, the town  listed on the mail is something else.

Even in this little valley.

By the time we arrived, Garland blends into Tremonton to the south. I'm not exactly sure where that line is, but I know the high school is in Garland, and by the time you hit Kents Grocery Store, you're in Tremonton.

So, when I snapped a picture of a beautiful full moon on a crisp winter night, from my perspective it hung directly over the small, quaint hamlet of Garland.

The landscapes are different here. It's been a while since we lived in a valley, having lived for decades on a hillside with a narrow valley separating one mountain range and a large lake. Everything was condensed, mashed, crammed in...homes, businesses, roads, parks, even trails. If you stay in your home and never venture out, you don't feel the outside world encroaching, but once you leave, it surrounds you.

I'm thankful to live in such an amazing place. I'm thankful for the people and for the land. I've fallen in love with the views, the openness, the fields where one day hundreds and thousands of homes will rise from the ground proving sanctuary for those inside.

But for now, a full moon shines below a valley, sparsely dotted with homes and farms and families...all praying for a safe night.

Getting Older...

Big deal...so I got my days mixed up. It happens. Actually, I thought it was funny. It happened during my second-to-last working day of the week. On the last work day of the week we gather all the trash in the house and take it outside. We then take the cans to the street for them to be picked up the following morning. I thought it was the wrong day so I got the cans ready a day early.

No big deal.

Humans made decisions based on bad data all the time. 

I am getting older, as is everyone who survives another day. I'm getting to the age where these lapses of judgements might mean something else, might be a signal to something else...something bad I suppose that could be said for me. Heck...it can be said for anyone. Does the fact that I got my days switched in my mind mean there's a larger problem out there? 

Anything's possible.

I'm not too worried. Even if it is the start of something, that's life. We all have a sack full of troubles and solutions. For some the trouble sack seems huge, for others, not so much. But we all have our troubles. It's how we handle them and deal with them that matters.

I snapped a picture of the garbage cans after I realized what I had done. I even posted the picture on social media. If we can't laugh at ourselves, then who can we laugh at?

I'm obviously no doctor, but I've heard that if you realize you've made an error in judgement, that's actually a good sign. It means you understand what's happening and you're not too far gone. I hope that's true. Then again, maybe I've been mixing things up for a while and I caught it this time.

Like I said, I'm not too worried.

A Very, Very Long Week...

 It's Friday, the traditional end of the work week. Most people love Fridays...it's their favorite day. Like everyone else who works "traditional" schedules, my work week ended, too...

And it was one of the longest work weeks of my life.

The problem wasn't the work itself. As far as that goes, it was normal, or as normal as things go with my particular job. I had a few unusual cases. "Unusual" makes my job a little harder. With most things, when situations arise that are out of the ordinary, it's like throwing a stick into the front wheel of an already-moving bicycle. It messes things up.

No, it wasn't the work that caused this week to feel longer than it was. No, it was something personal, something that changed at work...a change that cannot be reversed.

Our team got some bad news a week ago today. I returned to work Monday and tried to do my job as well as I could. I managed the cases, budgeted my time, and cleared the work, but as soon as I got in a rhythm, those thoughts I tried keeping in my subconscious crept into my conscious and a wave of sadness washed over me, throwing me off and forcing me to remember...

To remember.

Grief is a strange animal. It's like a ghost...something you can't touch, but you know it's there, and when you're at a point where you think you can confront the ghost, reason with it, maybe even bring resolution to the situation, the ghost disappears and for a fleeting moment, you think you've won.

Then, the ghost reappears, again, and again, and again.

This week, I did my job, but those thoughts returned. When I logged off for the last time this week, it was like I had run a long race and I could finally stop. 

In two days and two three nights, I'll wake to my alarm, sit at my desk, and log in to my computer. I'll open all the programs, the screens that allow me to do my job. Maybe next week won't be a long, or feel as long. That's my hope, anyway. 

As with all things, time will tell.

How Much Is A Cookbook Worth Anyway...?

 I've blogged about this particular book before. The other day I needed a subject for my daily picture and I spotted our trusty Danish Cook Book, a book we picked up almost twenty-five years ago in Solvang, California. As far as the picture goes, I liked how the book fit onto the countertop and the colors are great. If the picture had a fault, it's my two stocking feet that I tried to not get in the shot, but ended up in it anyway.

I took the picture and posted it to the digital universe. 

You never know the reactions you're going to get.

Sometimes, the pictures garner a lot of attention. Other times, at least from the comments, they're "meh" which is okay. I'm not trying to wow and dazzle with each daily photo. If it happens, all the better.

I did get an interesting comment on this picture. A friend and fellow Danish missionary commented about the cost of this book. I hardly noticed that there's a price sticker on our copy. The cost in 1999...

$4.99

If you've seen the book, it's not much of a book. It's more like a pamphlet. I'm thinking five bucks for this particular book is reasonable. My friend commented on my post and added a link to an Amazon page featuring the same book. You can access the page by clicking: HERE. The kicker? The book on Amazon costs $45.

$45

It's been twenty-five years. It shocked me that there was such an increase. Plus, the copy on Amazon appears to be in worse shape than ours (no water damage for us...). Seeing something like that always makes me ask, "Should we sell our copy?" I think we'll be keeping it.

Unless someone ups the offer by a lot.