YUM!

I am a sucker for carbs- pasta and breads, in particular. Love, love, love Artisan Breads- especially when they are freshly baked in the country of their origin- i.e. France, Italy! So, when I was passing the time in an airport recently, I zeroed in on a newspaper article about a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Five Minutes! I was all over that! When I got home, I checked out the book on Amazon.com, read all the reviews, and found a great deal on a new book in Amazon’s “Marketplace.” The book came in record time! Unfortunately, other projects have gotten in the way of trying out the 5 minute bread.

Finally last night, I whipped up a batch of bread, put it the frig as instructed, and after I came home from work today, I cut off a hunk and made up a loaf. It didn’t exactly take 5 minutes, since it was my first try with such a wet dough and I had to go dig through my food storage to find a can of cornmeal (the “ball-bearings” for sliding the loaf off the pizza paddle onto the baking stone), but after all that, Voila!- Artisan Bread, out of my oven!

The loaf looked pretty great for a first attempt and the finished product had a crusty, crunchy crust and soft interior. Yes! Bountiful (Artisan) Bread. . . . YUM!

Eliza's Wish

Wednesday, August 5th, a wish came true for Eliza and her family. For the Allergy Department at the Salt Lake Clinic, it was a wish come true, as well…. I have written about Eliza before. She is a beautiful angel child, 4 years old, daughter of Nikki and Callahan, and the victim of a cruel disease that traps the spirit of this beautiful little girl in a body that is regressing due to a progressive and terminal genetic disease- Metachromatic Leukodystrophy. As described on elizaswish.org, “Essentially, MLD is the degeneration in the white matter of the brain, Central Nervous System (CNS) and Peripheral Nervous System.”

Faced with having a child with a progressive, terminal illness, Eliza’s parents have sought to turn their sights on reaching out and giving, always focused on Eliza. Before she was diagnosed with MLD, Eliza loved books. Since her diagnosis, books have continued to be a favorite part of her life and even though she has now lost her vision and speech, Eliza still loves listening to her books. Because of this love, one of the ways that this family is reaching out is through Eliza’s Library.

Through donations of books (about10,000 books!), Eagle Scout projects, and monetary donations, books have been placed and libraries have been installed in schools, community health centers and other community agencies, homeless and women’s shelters, various relief agencies around the world, and in medical clinics in Utah and the United States. Last Wednesday, Eliza’s Library was installed in the Allergy Department waiting area. It was the fulfillment of the wish of Nikki and Callahan to honor Eliza and leave a lasting legacy in her name. It also was a wish come true for the department, and especially for me. I have worked on call for the Allergy Department for many years. Over the years, we have seen an amazing increase in the number of children in our department, as patients, children of patients, or brothers and sisters of patients. Some spend a lot of time “hanging out” in our department and many are waiting the required 30 minutes or more after receiving allergy shots. We have had a meager supply of books and a few crayons and coloring books to help pass the time. With the installation of Eliza’s Library, that has changed dramatically.

So how did Eliza’s Library and the Allergy Department get together to make this wish come true? I have had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of a large group of women in our neighborhood who help with respite care for Eliza and her mom, Nikki. The time I have spent with Eliza has been a great joy. It is a chance to spend time with an angel! She has such a beautiful spirit and she is so strong and courageous. It has been a great blessing to get to know Nikki, as well. She is truly an inspiration and I greatly admire her strength and positive attitude, her goodness and her gratitude, her great faith and deep love of Eliza, and her example of charity! When I learned that libraries had been installed in other clinics, I wondered if it would be a possibility for the Allergy Department. I mentioned it to Nikki and she was excited about the possibility. I checked with our allergists and with the administration and everyone was excited about the project. Nikki and Callahan set to work to make it happen and, with the help of money donated by a family in Missouri and the artistic magic of an awesome neighbor, Susan, who painted the charming table and chairs, Eliza’s Library became a reality.

Eliza was pretty sleepy as her mom and dad worked to put the books on the shelves and

the table and chairs on the rug.

Our doctors, nurses, and administrators were all on hand for the “Grand Opening” of Eliza’s Library.

There is a rather clichéd line "If you build it, they will come," from the movie "Field of Dreams" that is totally appropriate for what happened just after the excitement died down and Eliza, Nikki, and Callahan left. The shot room was about to open for the afternoon and it happened. . .

. . . a wish come true!

When in Maine... or Massachusetts... or New Hampshire

David and I had the great opportunity to attend a business conference in Boston, so we decided to go in a few days early and go up to Maine. After we landed, we headed out of Boston to Gloucester and then spent the night in Rockport, Massachusetts. The next day, we were surprised to find such picturesque village, right on the water. In fact, one of the most painted places in New England was in the harbor- “Motif #1.” Tucked in among the cute little shops was a… lobster pound! On the top of David’s list of things to do in Maine was to find a lobster pound (where you pick out your live lobster and they cook it for you). But heck, when you find a lobster at a good price in a fun seaside village, you go for it, even if it’s starting to rain on the eating deck. Besides, we figured that for educational purposes, it would good to be able to compare a Massachusetts lobster with a Maine lobster. And so began our study of the epicurean delights of the lobster, or more correctly, in New Englandese, the “lobstah.” Day 1 of our study included that Massachusetts lobstah (“sweeter” than the Maine variety, we were told), a female who had smaller claws and a larger tail than the males. Wow, all I can say is that the first bite was a little bit of heaven! So sweet and luscious!
Later that rainy day, we found a Chinese restaurant in Freeport, Maine that had lobster in the seafood stir-fry. There's more to do in Freeport than shop! (The whole town is composed of outlet stores- most famous is L.L. Bean.)

Day 2 found us braving the elements to walk through the village of Boothbay Harbor, across a footbridge, to a local lobster pound to sample a male (larger claws and smaller tail- yeah, you know that does make sense). We did have an inside table, which was good since it was pouring, so this time we stayed dry as we gobbled up every delicious morsel. And, bonus… this place had been featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay because they were famous for their crabcakes. So, we had to try those, as well. Yummy!

Moving on… in Portland, Maine we found another pound (complete with this guy pulling in customers from off the streets)

and tried a couple of soft shell lobstahs, as we sat on a dock during a short break in the weather.

At Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, we sat in the pouring rain under a big beach umbrella and tried a lobstah roll- a good alternative since the sand sculpture contest was pretty soggy (but impressive).

Once in Boston, we shared a cup of lobstah bisque at Legal Seafoods, and after our historic walking tour of Boston and just before we caught our plane home, we tried a lobstah wrap at historic Quincy Market.

I think you could say that we did not leave a stone unturned (or should I say we did not leave a shell unturned) in our study of the lobstah. Our conclusion- they all were delicious! What a fun way to really experience New England! Of course, we experienced a lot more than just lots of lobstah, including gorgeous scenery, quaint towns, revered institutions of learning and the arts, awesome lighthouses, wonderful historic sites, and friendly people.

It was interesting that the keynote speaker for the conference in Boston was Bert Jacobs, one of the co-founders of Life is Good. I was quite enthralled with the story of his company and its meteoric growth after his brother drew a simple little character named Jake who became the star of the T-Shirt show they operated out of their vintage Volkswagen bus.

The rest is history and his message on optimism, simplicity, humility and giving back to worthy causes was quite inspiring. Turns out that their flagship store was located in an historic Brownstone only a block away from the Convention Center, and it only took a minute or two to find this great shirt for David.
It truly had his name all over it and it was the perfect “day after Father’s Day” gift. It pretty well sums up our New England lobstah experience!

I Did It!

Yep, the lady in black running under the balloons is me! I did it! I ran my first 5K! It felt so good to finish, especially since I was "running on fumes." I knew it would be hard after not being on the treadmill or running on "The Boulevard" for 10 days, but I did think I would be over the jet lag (almost 24 hours to get home from Ireland). Wrong! As I started running, I thought, "What am I doing? I can't do this!" But, I just kept running and then walking a little, running and then walking a little. And, it got easier and I began to hope that I could finish under 40 minutes. (I did!) It was also good to stay focused on why I was running- to help Eliza and other MLD (Metachromatic Leukodystrophy) kids and help buy books for Eliza's Library.

It occurs to me that this is alot like life. There are times when things are hard and we're not sure we can make it, but we just have to put one foot in front of us and sometimes run and sometimes walk a little. It helps, as well, to focus on the bigger picture, have hope, and keep an eternal perspective. It brings to mind a scripture that helps me when I am in the midst of things that are hard: "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of god and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

It works for me!. . . Tomorrow, back to the treadmill!

It's Official!

Can you believe it? Today, I signed up for my first race! I have been “blown away” by the efforts of my amazing running daughters, so I thought that I ought to get off my treadmill and follow their examples. So, “I put my money where my mouth is” (I’ve been saying that I wanted to run in a race, but never did anything about it) and got online and paid the entry fee. The best part about it is that I am running for my neighbor, Eliza. She is a beautiful 4 year-old who is suffering from Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, a progressive and terminal genetic neurological disease. If you'd like to meet Eliza, you can visit her website, http://www.elizaswish.org/. The proceeds of the race will benefit MLD research and Eliza’s Library, both of which you can learn about on Eliza’s website…. So, I’m hoping for the best with not “training” before the race because we’ll be in Ireland almost until time for the race. But, there’s always the walk option if the hiking around Ireland doesn’t quite qualify for serious training!… Move over girls, here I come!

I Am Glad for Many Things

We recently returned from Minnesota, where we attended the baptism of Emily’s oldest child, Braden. What a joy it was to be there for such an awesome occasion! Braden was so excited to be baptized and to have us be there. Brian was able to join us, as well, as he just completed the second year of his doctoral program and drove over from Michigan. For the baptism, Braden asked David to speak and Uncle Brian to sing with him.
It was a wonderful meeting!

Of course, it was so very fun for us to be able to spend time with Emily’s family and Brian. It was a virtual family feast for us since all of our children and grandchildren live out of Utah and we miss seeing them on a regular basis. So, we let the good times roll! We hung out, read stories, took a hike, planted a tree, enjoyed a mini piano concert, watched movies, attended Dallin’s Kindergarten music concert, went shopping…
heck, they even got us hooked on “24!”

Brian and David had a great “road trip” driving back to Utah, while I flew home to get back to work. Then we were able to enjoy Brian for a little over a week before he started back to Michigan. Highlights- dinner at the Mandarin, a mini “concert” of songs that Brian will be playing at Potbelly’s Sandwich Shop in Ann Arbor, being serenaded with “I Often Go Walking” for Mother’s Day, and just hanging out.

Ever since we got back from Minnesota, I have had this little Primary song running through my mind,

“I Am Glad for Many Things.” It pretty well sums up my feelings about the family times we have enjoyed in the last few weeks:

I am glad for many things,

Many things,

many things.

I am glad for many things,

That are mine today.

Thank you, thank you, my heart sings,

My heart sings,

my heart sings.

Thank you for the many things

That are mine today.

Deep, Deep Storage!

“Deep Storage” is a term used in Food Storage that refers to storing the basics to sustain life in time of great need- basics such as grains, legumes, non-fat dry milk, and sugar. Many of these items can safely be stored, following storage guidelines (including temperature- at or below room temperature) and proper packaging, for up to 30 years. Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been counseled to prepare for times of need, for decades. Those who have chosen to follow the direction of our Prophet and other Church leaders have been blessed for their obedience with an assurance that they have chosen wisely and are prepared.

One couple who have followed the prophet with strict obedience is Merlynn and Martha Tanner. One look at their storage room- with its slanted shelving that rolls the next cans in their storage stock to the front position so they can be rotated in a timely fashion and the every-ready wheat grinder and storage wheat that provides for the most heavenly whole wheat bread on earth

- is to know that Merlynn and Martha have always practiced provident living on a daily basis. In addition, their big chest freezer has always been full to overflowing and their fruit room has showcased beautifully bottled fruit and vegetables- all from their once gigantic and productive garden, raspberry bushes, grapevines, and fruit trees.

The danger, however, with Deep Storage is that sometimes when basics are “squirreled away” they can be forgotten since they are “out of sight, out of mind.” Merlynn and Martha had an unexpected lesson in this unforeseen danger this past week. They arranged for someone to give them a bid for blowing additional insulation in their attic. (The gas and electric companies are giving big rebates to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient.) When the insulation guy was in their attic, he discovered a cache of sugar that had been stashed away in the attic for deep storage….

Enter David and Jan. We went down to Payson on Saturday to spend the day with Mom and Dad, visiting, bringing lunch, and helping out wherever we could- you could call it an early birthday gift for Dad’s 93rd birthday. Of course, the item of highest priority was removing the sugar from the attic. David climbed up into the attic and found a carefully placed platform stacked with 6 large bags, each holding 6 ten-pound bags of sugar. If you do the math, it works out to 360 pounds of sugar! He found a carefully recorded date on one of the bags- February 15, 1968! Forty-one years of deep storage!! David slit open the big bags and then passed the 10 pound bags to me and I climbed down the ladder and stacked them up in the kitchen. Up and down 36 times, but it was good exercise for a day when I didn’t get on the treadmill, lift weights, etc.! (Dad and Mom did take several bags from me, over my protests, since it wore them out.) As I carried the bags down, I marveled at how they were just like big white bricks and thought, “Hey, you could build a sugar igloo or a fortress for a good ol’ fashioned snowball fight out of these!”…. (FYI- The attic yielded an additional surprise, another evidence of M & M’s frugality- Venetian blinds that had been stored, just in case there might be a need, after new windows had been installed years and years ago.)

When all the bags were down, we discovered that three had small holes, so I cleaned out a big storage bucket and emptied the bags in there one at a time, breaking up the sugar clods with my hands. Amazing- the sugar was still pristine after 41 years! As far as Mom and Dad were concerned, there never was any question as to whether the sugar should be thrown away. It was carried down to the fruit room and stacked on the shelves and is ready to can more fruit or preserve more raspberries in the future. And, they had a plan that reflects the generosity that has always accompanied their provident living and obedience- when the grandkids come for a visit, a bag of sugar will be shared. Of course, they insisted that we take several boxes full of bags of sugar, to be shared with our kids when they come to visit, and the rest to go into storage in our basement… hopefully, not “out of sight, out of mind,” but on much less than a 41-year rotation!

Just a short P.S. to this post. . . Merlynn Tanner- almost 93 years young! He and David are showing off their "matching shirts," after moving the sugar and then pruning. David and his Dad make a good team- Dad directs and David does the work. Both were happy with the results.