A Tale of Two Speeches

In an unprecedented move, I called Roger to see if he'd meet me at the mall after work to see the newly Oscar-nominated film The King's Speech. We actually only get to movies in the theater a few times a year. Not because we don't want to. Mostly because we're not very organized about it. In this case I have friends who keep posting positive things about this movie, so I wanted to make a point of seeing it myself before the Academy Awards.

The King's Speech tells the story of King George VI, or Bertie, who had a stuttering problem that paralyzed him with fear, and his speech therapist, Lionel, who used some unconventional and risky tactics to help the king overcome his challenge. At the end of the movie, the king successfully delivers a critical radio speech to his nation upon entering war with Germany.

I was thinking about both Bertie and Lionel's tenacity when I walked out to the parking lot. I started up the car and the radio was tuned to a station broadcasting the State of the Union address, which had already begun.

As I drove home, President Obama was talking about how our country was founded on the idea that each of us should have "the chance to shape our own destiny" and that "the future is ours to win." He went on to quote Robert Kennedy who said, "The future is not a gift. It is an achievement."

I don't know what would have happened if Bertie had not worked to overcome his fears and Lionel hadn't gone out on a limb to help him. But they did.

And we can, too.

I Could Be Illegal, Eh?

This afternoon I went to a rally at the Utah State capitol that was organized to protest proposed immigration legislation similar to the law passed in Arizona last year. I arrived just as the rally began, snapped this photo, then joined the protesters on the steps.

I've never been to a political rally like that, and I thought my middle-aged, northern European face would be a good addition to the crowd that quickly grew to four or five times the size pictured here. I think I could be pegged as a potentially illegal Canadian. I do say "eh?" a lot.

For many reasons, I do not believe enforcing federal civil law through our state criminal system is an answer to the challenges we face and, in fact, I believe doing so would create additional problems that fly in the face of what makes the United States of America strong, vibrant, and generous.

When we frantically cling to some imagined America of the past, we risk suffocating the life and soul out of the amazing country we actually live in right now.

Honor

Jack received his Tenderfoot at a court of honor tonight, the first rank boys earn in boy scouts.

I'm proud of Jack because he is my boy, and he is an awesome boy at that. But to be honest, I've got mixed feelings about the adventure he's embarking on.

The only reason Jack is involved in scouting is because it's a key part of the boys' youth program in our church. Free spirits that we are, I don't think it's something any of the three of us--me, Roger or Jack--would have sought out for him on our own.

I'm all in with the focus on values like honor, integrity, and working hard toward goals. I'm all in with Jack learning leadership skills. And I'm all in with the fun of camping and the great outdoors and the male bonding over lighting stuff on fire and potty humor.

What I worry about is Jack struggling against the bureaucratic demands of scouting and conflating that with his spiritual journey. I worry about the way scouting accentuates an already gaping gender divide in our LDS culture. I worry about the conformity for conformity's sake and about the materialistic aspects of scouting (the sheer volume of inventory in the scout store makes me hyperventilate).

Maybe Jack will navigate all of the potential pitfalls I worry about beautifully, and all of my worry will be for nothing. I've got an amazing example in my dad, who was an exemplary scout master for many years. I've got wonderful brothers-in-law who have given me wise advice. We have good men that I really respect involved in our troop, like one of our favorite neighbors pictured above with Jack. And the troop is full of boys I'm happy for Jack to look up to.

So far Jack's experience in scouts has been positive, and the leaders haven't made him stop wearing the troop numbers that should be sewn onto the sleeve of his uniform shirt instead tucked into the band of the non-regulation Spanish military cap.

Let's just say I'm happy that Roger will be one of his leaders when he turns 12 in a few months and that we won't be holding Jack's driver's license hostage if he hasn't earned his Eagle.

An Extra Large Slice of Life

Tonight Roger, Jack and I went to a small dinner party at our friends Andi and Marco's cabin up the south fork of Provo Canyon. It's the first time we've been to their cabin, but more importantly it's the first time we've had a chance to enjoy one of Andi's abundant loaves of bread.

Over the past year or so, Andi has made more than 100 loaves of bread (with 14 cups of flour in each one!) to share with people. She calls it her bread-and-butter campaign, a way to create connections and community.

A week or so ago, she decided to start adding words. On Thursday she took a loaf to her friend Charlotte for her birthday that read "This bread is good. You are better." I discovered that when I saw a picture of the very loaf on my friend Karen's blog. Andi's community grew larger without her even knowing it.

And I'll tell you, Charlotte must be absolutely amazing because the bread was better than good!

712

(Not to be confused with 713.)

Roger and I went to Pizzeria Seven Twelve for the first time tonight. We've been meaning to go since we learned they use locally made Amano Artisan Chocolate in their desserts.

Such a good, good place to have a meal.

Besides the smooth, rich Amano chocolate pudding on tonight's menu, I enjoyed an unusual salad made with roasted beets, avocado slices, grapefruit, fresh ricotta and a few other ingredients. And, of course, there was the pizza!

This Alice Waters' quote is emblazoned on the chalkboard there: "When you have the best and tastiest ingredients, you can cook very simply and the food will be extraordinary because it tastes like what it is."

She is so right about that.

Idle

I am sitting like a lump on the couch watching last night's season premier of American Idol. And I'll probably stay up too late watching tonight's episode as well. Yes, that will be three hours of my life (minus fast forwarding through commercials).

As someone who still cranks up the car radio really loud when an Aerosmith song comes on, I am truly loving Steven Tyler as a new judge. This season should be good.

Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laugh, sing for the tear

As an added bonus, here's a little memory of the radio station that got me through the 70s and early 80s:

The Experiment

Jack has been planning his science fair project for weeks, and tonight was the night to run the experiment. He wanted to find out if cats are any good at following scent trails the way dogs are, and if cats are better at using their sense of smell or their sense of hearing to track down their meal.

When the cats were good and hungry we locked them up in the bathroom. Then Roger opened a can of tuna outside the bathroom door and walked it (holding it low at cat nose height) two floors down to the basement. When he was ready, Roger radioed Jack on the walkie talkie and told him to release the cats.

The cats burst out of the bathroom, clearly smelled the tuna, and proceeded to go around and around in confused circles.

On to step two. We put the cats back in the bathroom and let the tuna scent in the air clear. Roger put the tuna in a bowl and took it down to the basement. When he was ready, he radioed Jack to release the cats and he started clanging on the bowl of tuna with a spoon.

Fluffy, who was the runt of the litter but who now weighs more than Doublestuff, ran out of the bathroom like a shot and straight to Roger and the bowl of tuna two flights down.

Doublestuff hung out for a bit, then just sort of sauntered out of the bathroom. He did go directly to the tuna, but didn't seem to be in much of a hurry.

Conclusion: Our scientific method needs a little tightening up, but we did prove that our cats are very entertaining!

Lopsided

Just back from the orthodontist. Jack got the fabulous news that he's almost done. I got the not-so-fabulous news that I'd be adding bands to the mix.

Check out the chart to see just how lopsided I'm going to be 20-22 hours a day. The right side is okay, but the triangle set up on the left hand side is seriously going to take some getting used to.

Did the folks at 3M know exactly what they were doing when they labeled the pack of elastics "bummer"?

This Little Light

Tonight our family joined the Walk for Life at BYU, commemorating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement.

As hundreds of us walked from the Carillon Bell Tower to the student center for the program, we each carried our own candles.

Even though our flames were protected by paper cups, the wind would sometimes blow them out.

And when that happened we'd turn to one another--to family, friends and strangers--to relight them.

To the dream!

Oh, Deer

Look what we found in our backyard this morning (and sent Jack out in his pajamas to retrieve)! Antlers!

We've seen more deer in the neighborhood this year than ever before. They especially like to munch on our Halloween pumpkins that are composting in our garden.

They drive the cats wild when they're passing by. Last night Doublestuff was begging to go out long after dark, and as soon as I opened the front door and saw the deer sauntering down the sidewalk I understood why. The crazy cat actually stalked them for nearly a block before he gave up.

What did he think he'd actually do if he caught up with them?

Hot and Cold

Last night was the first time in a long time that I slept in our house without Roger here. I think it might be only the second time in our whole married life. It's weird how weird it is.

While Jack and I were nestled under thick blankets at home, Roger was sleeping on the ground somewhere in the snowy mountains with a bunch of boy scouts. He had thick blankets, too, but they didn't do him a darn bit of good. We're very thankful he thawed out enough to come home to us today.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Roger and I ended our stint teaching 7-year-olds at church, and he was asked to be an assistant scout master for the 12- and 13-year-old boys. Let's just say that camping is not on his list of favorites. Especially when it's below freezing.

To let him know how proud I am of him for braving the cold, I decided to brave the heat and bake him a cake.

I don't use the oven often. And I use my cool, red Kitchen Aid even less often. I got the Kitchen Aid for Christmas the same year I got the crockpot. Yeah, I was overly ambitious with my Christmas list that year.

Tomorrow I'll have to dust off the panini maker and make it three for three.

Collaboration

Note: I realize that I am writing about going to a third exhibition in as many weeks and, well, you may be wondering how doing something like that qualifies as a new experience per my 2011 challenge. But I promise, each one was totally unique!

This afternoon Roger, his mom and I went to a reception for an exhibition at the Harold B. Lee Library, a wonderful collaboration between artist wife Jacqui and poet husband Lance Larsen, who is also an English professor at BYU.

Together they "explore animals as messengers, avatars, rescuers, wild cousins, doppelgangers and joint stewards of this wobbly planet." If you have a chance to go--it runs through February 11--I highly recommend it. Especially if you need a good dose of playfulness, hope and serendipity.

As I sat down to write this, one of our cats laid down behind the screen of my laptop, curled her front paws around the edges and peeked over the top. Every time I started to type, she'd bat at my fingers as though she was trying to guide them. Wouldn't that have been an interesting collaboration if we could have found a way to make it work?

The Magic Pot

Warning: This post reveals a stunning level of ignorance on my part.

My niece Megan posted a recipe for beef and mushroom stroganoff on her blog today. It sounded like something that would hit my comfort food spot on this icy winter day. And how perfect to write an entry about making a tasty recipe I've never made before!

Well, I had no idea how many new and out-of-the-ordinary experiences I'd have with a project that sounded so simple.

First, I have only used my crockpot once, and that was three years ago just after I got it for Christmas (I had great intentions when I put it on my wish list!). When I pulled it out of the cupboard, I had to give it a rinse. Yes, it was actually a little dusty.

Second, the only time I used my crockpot, meat was not involved. In fact, I rarely cook with actual meat. And it's not just my inexperience with cooking meat. I have no experience buying meat. I didn't even know our neighborhood grocery store doesn't have a butcher counter, though I did find out they'd cut stuff up to order in the back when a very nice employee directed me to my best options in the meat section.

Third, I have very little experience cooking with cans of creamed soup. I know that sounds fairly incredible in our culture, but it's true. I couldn't even remember off the top of my head if they are condensed, and I had to ask if I needed to use milk or water (answer: for this recipe, no).

Fourth, I did not quite believe that you could just put raw meat and a few other ingredients into a pot and they'd all know what to do with themselves. Seemed like magical thinking to me. I had to ask Megan, and my friend Wendy, who I ran into at the grocery store, and the nice employee who helped me pick out the meat if it was really true.

Right now my kitchen smells insanely good, and when I gave the dish a stir a few minutes ago it sure looked like the magic was working. If I don't report back, it's because I've got my mouth full.

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

Tonight I watched the memorial of Saturday's shooting in Tucson, which honored both the victims and the heroes of that tragedy. This is the kind of event I pray remains out of the ordinary for all of us.

From what I've heard and read since Saturday, it seems we could easily become more angry, fearful and divided than we already are. This is a defining moment that can bring us closer together or break us further apart. It is up to us, and every one of us can choose to work for the former rather than the latter.

When I first learned about Christina Taylor Green and the remarkable fact that she was born on September 11, 2001, I began to have a glimmer of hope that maybe her death, but more importantly her life, could spark something in all of us.

Like President Obama, "I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. All of us -- we should do everything we can do to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations."

My thoughts keep returning to Isaiah 11:6. And not just for our country, but for the whole world.

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

I wonder if Isaiah wasn't talking about animals at all.

Sacred Harp

When I was in elementary school, my favorite days were the days Mrs. D. would roll her piano into our classroom. While everyone else sang, I sang my heart out. Eventually my friends teased me about it, and from then on I just sang.

Today I discovered a place where I can sing my heart out, and everyone around me will be singing even louder!

My friend Jenny invited me to join the Utah Sacred Harp group that sings at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Provo the second Tuesday of each month (check the link for additional times in Salt Lake City).

I'm going to go back again next month now that I've started to get the hang of it. Do come with!

One Guilty Pleasure and Counting

I've debated about posting this because I'm not entirely sure what it reveals about me. But here it goes: today TLC started rerunning the series about the Duggar family--the one with all the kids--from the beginning. Back when it was 17 Kids and Counting. I think they are up to 19 now.

And I started watching it.

Technically I have seen bits and pieces of the Duggar shows in the past, so the family is not entirely new to me. But the desire to watch the series from the beginning is new. And when desire meets opportunity, well, that's how something like this starts. I confess the show is now programmed into my DVR.

The thing is I find that family so intriguing! I am in awe of their organizational skills and how the parents deal with their children so lovingly and patiently and how they are living their lives so deliberately. They are calmly passionate about their commitment to their values, which sounds like an oxymoron, but in their case it's not. They stick to their principles, but exude no sense of superiority or condemnation of others. And even as they work to stick to their principles, they laugh about their missteps. They run a tight ship, but they don't seem to stress when things go off task or schedule.

I have been sucked in because I want to figure out how they do it.

Mystery Solved

A few times in the past month or so, I've noticed bits of something in Jack's hair. I wondered if he had a dry scalp. Or maybe he wasn't rinsing all of the bubble bath or shampoo out of his hair properly. I even asked for a professional's advice when he got his hair cut this week, but she didn't notice anything unusual.

At church this morning I glanced over at Jack and noticed bits of something in his hair that I hadn't seen while we were getting ready. Then he leaned forward, and I gasped when I saw a huge swath of bits across the back of his head.

I pointed them out to Roger. He laughed when he realized it was dust and put two and two together. Jack had crawled under our bed just before we left for church to drag one of the cats out. He's been doing that for ages--we can't leave the cats alone in our room while we are gone because they climb the curtains. But I think in the last few months Jack's grown enough that he can't do it without whacking his head up against the underside of the box spring! (And who cleans that? Well, I guess we might now!)

I tried to brush the bits out of Jack's hair with my hand, but they were stubborn. Roger and Jack slipped out of the chapel to work on it (luckily we were in the back row because we were late). I thought they were just headed to the restroom, but Roger ended up taking Jack home to vacuum his head. Whatever works!

Airing Our Dirty Laundry

Note: This post should especially appeal to people who like websites like this.

Here is a picture of the way my closet looked when I woke up this morning. I've had trouble with the front of my sock drawer falling off, and my hanging clothes need a bit more breathing space.

So I got some nifty bins for my socks and underthings that fit on the shelves (unlike the drawers that I had hoped would when I got them years ago).

Now my hanging clothes have a lot more breathing space.

Flipping my shoe shelf on its side means that a couple of pairs of shoes have to rest on their sides now, but it also means I could fit some pairs of shoes in single cubbies. Hmm. What can I do with that extra space?

And yes, that is our family's dirty laundry in the baskets.

Music Therapy

I picked up my guitar while I was waiting for Jack to come home on the school bus. It's probably been more than a year since I've played it. While I only know a few chords--even though I've owned it for a dozen years--I have fun with it. Creating music is good for my soul.

This week has been a roller coaster. Dad flew to Nairobi to help my brother, who has been hospitalized for more than a month with Guillain–Barré syndrome. He's in the ICU and keeps suffering complications and set backs. I started a new semester. I found out that our community would not be getting a grant that I had worked hard on applying for and was especially excited about. Someone I was really rooting for got the news that she may be separated from her young children for years (which sure puts the whole grant thing into perspective!).

I need to remember more often that creating music is good for my soul.

Update: Roger just told me he heard a story on the radio yesterday about a woman who donated guitars to the troops in Afghanistan. She said "Music is my passion, and I know how important it is for me to play the guitar every day. I can't imagine being deployed overseas and not having your guitar." Click here to listen to the story called "Donated Guitars Lift Spirits of U.S. Troops."

A Cabinet of Curiosities

This afternoon Jack and I went to see the special collections exhibit Roger curated at the BYU library. Click here to read the press release, which starts: "Hippo teeth, sharp daggers and a window from Hitler's bunker are just a few of the unusual artifacts that will be featured in the Harold B. Lee Library's new rotating exhibit, 'Cabinet of Curiosities,' opening Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011, to celebrate the library's semicentennial."

Such a fun project for Roger! He did a fabulous job selecting items, writing exhibit signage and pulling it together. And if you're wondering why he included the hippo teeth, let me just ask: Have you ever actually seen hippo teeth?!