Street Treat

We have skull candy, eye candy & such. Here's to the street treat that spring brings us. Everyday a different flowering tree is transformed into white, pink or rose shaded blooms. They remind me of churros. That yummy bummy treat on a stick
available at amusement parks.

You could also call them flower kabobs. Everywhere you look another tree or bush is bursting with blooms. Its hard to keep your eyes on the road. Thanks to cool rainy weather which extends their presence. Want to beautify the world, plant an ornamental flowering plum, crab apple, pear, & so on. It helps chase away the memory of winter faster than an angry wind.

The Give Away & Get Back Theory

I found that when we give to others, we get back even more in return. It's like the movie 'Pay it Forward'.

Meet Maria Kapp. A happy senior with family who has basically forgotten about her. I make a point to visit weekly, in her assisted living apartment near me. With 24/7 time on her hands, hours to kill and no where to go, I take her for an occassional ride to brighten her day.

I met Maria while delivering Meals on Wheels. Her home was neat & tidy. Often she asked me to sweep her porch or get something from a high shelf. A widow for thirty years and childless, Maria lived with her brother, George until he died in 2007. Last summer her extended family put her in a care center & refused to allow her any choices in life promising to visit her more often. Isn't happening.

I try to be a bright spot in a string of lonely days. We have gone to lunch, for haircuts, stopped to take her picture by her childhood home & the condo, she lived in until last summer. Visiting her makes me feel better, too, just knowing I helped someone.

Be a positive influence in the life of an elderly/sick person, by visiting them. Whatever you give away, it will return to you ten fold.

A Change of Space

After a year of using days of the week for my alliteration choices, my posts will now use choices for whenever & whatever moves me.

I've just completed the book, "Wake Up to a Happier Life" by Amanda Dickson, a dj for KSL radio. It's about finding happiness where we are now. Not happy? Then you are the only one that can do something about it. You have a choice to find happiness or stay stuck in a rut. It really is a choice we make.

Last month 'The Geography of Bliss' by Eric Weiner was the book we read (actually listened to on cd while driving to Washington). The author takes you on an international journey from Iceland to India searching for the country most happy with their lives and why. He visits, Moldovia, Switzerland, Butan, Great Britain, Katour and the USA. Mr. Weiner has been a writer for an international new group & is very articulate, even a bit snobbish in attitude while narrating his own book.

Passing the town of Bliss in our travels, we didn't take the time to stop off and ask if everyone that lived there was happy. It will be interesting to find out.

The contrast in attitude between the two authors and the motivation each give to find happiness in everyday life is quite different. Bottom line the only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

Wed: A Win at the Wynn

A local radio station wants us to tune in every weekday at 7:15 am for a chance to win a one-night stay at the 5 star Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, to see Garth Brooks in his sold out concert. No thank you. I'll pass.

The last & only concert I attended of Mr. Brooks was miserable to say the least. It wasn't so much the entertainer, as the decibels that left my ear drums sore for days. When the jumbo-tron is the main viewing source, because the place is so huge, why go? The crowds, parking, uncomfortable seats & tight leg room all play a part in the whole experience. Not to mention the out-of-sight price tag. Big & little name concerts with middlemen needing their cut, a cheap ticket is now $75.

Who can afford to take the family to see 'Dizzy' on Ice or some other child venue at those prices? Add in food, vendors & the hawks with their 'gotta have it' wares, spending $500 for a family of four is easy to do. There goes the monthly grocery budget & then some.

It would be cheaper to buy a movie projector & dvds, invite the neighbors over & enjoy these venues bigger than life in your own home. Now to make friends with someone named Wynn that has a nice projector system & you have really won.

Tues: 12% is Not Too Little Too Late

Our winter water predictions ended March 31st. 68% to capacity isn't much to brag about when you have a whole summer ahead. Then it began to rain & snow for five full days.

We were out of town, but the curtain of storms met us, coming over the state border. The news casters reported 51 inches of snow at the ski resorts and the roads were closed for 36 hours. Although they said it was too little too late, how can that be? It amounted to 12% and boosted us to 78% water. Yeah!

Look at all the snow on our mountains. I know we are in trouble when the 'halter top' as I call it (center right in photo has shape of a halter top or bra) on Lone Peak mountain has no snow on it. By August if the snow on this part of the mountain has melted, we are okay. When it's disappeared & snow free by June, there will be water restrictions.

We continue to have cool weather & storms. Keep it coming. I say.

Mon: Mowing Mightily

Did I tell you we mowed our lawn for the first time this year? Allan edged, I raked & we swept all the clippings away. No more low spots, dead bushes or crab grass. It really makes a difference. You may not even recognize the place. It is definitely more work to keep it groomed, but worth the effort.

It didn't even cost a thing, because it is the Manito Park in Spokane. It was donated to the city 100 years ago with the promise to always be open to the public. It's no less than 78 acres of native and cultivated landscape and 20 acres of world class botanical gardens. Comprised of five major garden areas, the Nishinomiya Tsutakawa Japanese Garden, Duncan Garden, Rose Hill, Lilac Garden and Ferris Perennial Garden, Manito Park is nationally recognized for its diverse horticultural displays. We had to snap a few photos of it while we were there last week.

Sun: The Son of Man

'The bands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead.' Mosiah 15:20

The hymn, 'He Is Risen' by Cecil Alexander, brings such exhileration, as we sing the words or hum the music. 'Christ, the Lord is risen today. Hallelujah!

Said the angel, “He is risen!”
Tell it out with joyful voice:
He has burst His three days’ prison;
Let the whole wide earth rejoice:
Death is conquered, we are free,
Christ has won the victory.

Come, ye sad and fearful hearted,
With glad smile and radiant brow!
Death’s long shadows have departed;
All our woes are over now,
Due to passion that He bore—
Sin and pain can vex no more.

Come, with high and holy hymning,
Chant our Lord’s triumphant day;
Not one darksome cloud is dimming
Yonder glorious morning ray,
Breaking over the purple east:
Brighter far our Easter feast.

He is risen, He is risen!
He has opened Heaven’s gate:
We are free from sin’s dark prison,
Risen to a holier state;
And a brighter Easter beam
On our longing eyes shall stream.

Without a doubt the best news for each of us, to know we will continue to live on in our spirits after death until resurrection morning. Our bodies will then reunite with our spirits & be joined together forever. All the sorrow, pain & selfishness will work itself out and glory will reign in its stead.

Go to www.cyberhymnal.org for music & words.

Thur: These Things for Me

'He cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.' 2 Ne 2:21

In Lloyd Newell's book, When Ye Shall Receive These Things, it states, "To redeem is to purchase or buy back. When we sin, we essentially sell ourselves to the devil, for we sell ourselves short of all we could be. As we come unto Christ by covenant, our Divine Redeemer offers to purchase us, to buy us back, to reclaim us, to reinstate us in the royal family."

Jesus did these things for you & me. What a great gift to have for the taking, if we will but promise to honor Him we can be free of all of our sins & eternal life, too.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

'They do not love, that do not show their love.' William Shakespeare.
Thank you, Lord.