It's Left Hander's Day...Yay!

Hail To Us All!

Thanks to social media we can know about all those "special days." And thanks to social media, there seems to be someone who knows about all those days and lets the rest of us know, too. Many times they will proclaim which day it is with a picture of the item the day is honoring, like Boston Cream Pie Day, or Watermelon Day. I usually find out after the day is almost over so I can't really fully appreciate the special it.

But today was different. I found out it was Left Hander's Day when the day began and I was able to enjoy it all day long.



Being a "leftie" isn't so unusual, at least, I don't think so. But when someone sees me writing longhand, they kind of freak out. I write up on the page. It's weird to watch, but not for me.

So, you lefties--I hope you've all had a fantastic day! May the pencil led never smudge on your hand and your scissors always be the right kind!

You Know What I Miss? Lagoon's Miniature Golf Course...

After work my family and I went to Lagoon. It was an employee family day where family members of employees get in at a discount.

And we took advantage!

There's been A LOT of changes since I last worked at the park twenty-one years ago, but I think the thing I miss the most is the miniature golf course, Putter Around The Park. In its place are several kiddiLand rides. This is what the space looks like today. If you're a kid (or that kid's parents...) you'll love the changes. But for us mini-duffers, I think I'd rather have it the way it was. And I even remember much of the course before this update in the 1980's. That was a cool course, too!

I came upon a Flikr account of Sam Wibatt with a plethora of pictures of the last course. You can access the website: HERE. For those of you who remember how things were back in the day, here's a bit of the way things were! Enjoy!

Facebook...Slayer Of The Writer's Muse

"He accessed the web, he accessed Facebook,

He made three clicks on the page,

He saw the worst death scene ever,

He saw the world's longest waterslide,

He look'd down to see Right Said Fred. 

Out flew the web a beautiful picture; 

The mirror crack'd from a friend's book release; 

"The curse of Facebook is come upon me," cried 

The Frustrated Writer of Words.” 

― Liberally adapted from Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott

You can see the awesomely awful worst death scene ever: HERE
You can see the extremely long world's longest waterslide: HERE
You can see Right Said Fred: HERE
You can buy my friend's new stories in 5 Blades: HERE

The Impact Of A Single Photo...

Last month we lost one of our own--I blogged about it a few days ago. Another one of our group posted this picture on Facebook and it made me realize what an impact a single picture can have, what memories it can conjure, what emotions it can recall.

What you see is a two groups of LDS missionaries. There are six in my group, six in the other group. Each month one group leaves and another arrives. I believe this picture was taken just before the group a month ahead of us left for Denmark. They had spent ten weeks learning about the Danish people, their culture and especially their language. Seeing this picture brought it all back to me.

We looked up to the earlier group. They had such a command of the language. I mean, when we were dropped off and completely clueless, these guys could really speak Danish! It was incredible! Not only was their Danish great, but they were all stand-up quality guys. The same can be said for our group, except we were fortunate enough to have a sister missionary with us...a real stand-up gal.

They left then four weeks later it was our turn. For the next two years we would run into each other occasionally, catch up and enjoy each other's company all over again. When you go through something like we did in the Missionary Training Center, or MTC for short, you share an experience. It bonds you together and it's something I can still feel thirty years later.

We all came home and went our separate ways. I've stayed in touch with some, others I haven't seen in decades. There's been marriages, divorces and lots of kids. We've lost parents, seen kids get married and even sent some of our children to the MTC to experience a mission for themselves.

And the process begins all over again--such is life.

But at no time in those thirty years have we had to say goodbye to one of our own. Until now. It's the same fate that awaits us all. Looking at this picture reminds me of those relationships, the friendships we've had since then and how those ten weeks and subsequent two years changed our lives forever. 

A single photo, turns out, can be pretty powerful.

A Big Storm Comes Rolling In...

We don't get a lot of big storms where I live. There's a saying many people around here keep saying, "If you don't like the weather in Utah, just wait fifteen minutes and it will change." It's a nice thought, but that's really not true.

I've lived in places where the weather can literally change in fifteen minutes. I think places close to the coast experience this a lot more than we do. In Utah, things are pretty stable most of the time. Of course, there are times when things change quickly, but that's not the norm.

Last Friday, we had a quick-moving storm hit just as the evening hour struck. Thankfully I had already mowed the lawn and we had nowhere to go so as it rolled in, I grabbed my cameras and started shooting.

And if you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know I love rainy days. Maybe I'm just posting this so on those really hot summer days in the future (the days when the weather doesn't change every fifteen minutes...), I can pull up this blog post and enjoy the view.

So Long, Pandigital...I Hardly Knew Ye

Back in May of this year I was so excited to find an e-reader at my local thrift store, and it was only $15. But today, I couldn't get the darn thing to turn on. 

The thing was far from perfect when I got it. It took forever to warm up and there was this feather-shaped imperfection in the screen. I was worried because that shape was getting bigger. I knew it was just a matter of time before I wouldn't be able to use the thing as an e-reader.

Before it died, I read several books on it, a few from a couple of my good friends. Sure it was slow and even turning the digital page was a pain sometimes. And sure that little feather thing made it so I couldn't read some of the words underneath and I had to try and half-turn the digital page and then would end up going back a complete page to one I've already read then I'd have to forward to the un-read page and I still wouldn't know what that word was.

Even with it's problems, I loved it. But it has gone the way of all the earth and I must move on. And in the end, it's my kids who will ultimately pay the price for the Pandigital's demise. I just commandeered one of their Kindles.

The Laketown Lodge...Consider It For Your Next Event!

"We found a place to have our family reunion!" my mother-in-law excitedly proclaimed back in 2013. "It's a great place in Laketown at Bear Lake called Laketown Lodge." Today our family reunion came to an end and I'd just like to tell you about the place we called home for the past couple of days.

Laketown Lodge is amazing! The building was constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century and spent most of the last one-hundred years as a community store. It's hard to believe the same building is now a destination with enough room and amenities for several families.

Here's some video I shot today before we left. If you're interested in booking the Laketown Lodge, you can access their website: HERE. They're also selling an ownership portion of the building. Oh, how we'd love to take advantage of that. We all had a blast!

The Laketown Lodge--a fantastic place to stay if you're in the area.