I'm not saying give up TV, movies, video games or even pop culture. But that can't be all we know, can it? If it is then it would seem we risk becoming shallow, superficial and well, dumb. Or dumber.
From "Twilight of the Books" (New Yorker, December 24, 2007):
There’s no reason to think that reading and writing are about to become extinct, but some sociologists speculate that reading books for pleasure will one day be the province of a special “reading class,” much as it was before the arrival of mass literacy, in the second half of the nineteenth century. They warn that it probably won’t regain the prestige of exclusivity; it may just become “an increasingly arcane hobby.” Such a shift would change the texture of society. If one person decides to watch “The Sopranos” rather than to read Leonardo Sciascia’s novella “To Each His Own,” the culture goes on largely as before—both viewer and reader are entertaining themselves while learning something about the Mafia in the bargain. But if, over time, many people choose television over books, then a nation’s conversation with itself is likely to change. A reader learns about the world and imagines it differently from the way a viewer does; according to some experimental psychologists, a reader and a viewer even think differently. If the eclipse of reading continues, the alteration is likely to matter in ways that aren’t foreseeable.
And later:
When reading goes well, Wolf suggests, it feels effortless, like drifting down a river rather than rowing up it. It makes you smarter because it leaves more of your brain alone. Ruskin once compared reading to a conversation with the wise and noble, and Proust corrected him. It’s much better than that, Proust wrote. To read is “to receive a communication with another way of thinking, all the while remaining alone, that is, while continuing to enjoy the intellectual power that one has in solitude and that conversation dissipates immediately.”
Monday, September 3, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
my little super readers
Concluded this years Summer Reading Challenge with capes, treats and new books. Missing our Faye and Emer, next year I will plan it when we can all be together.
Emer in all his superman glory:
Faye hasn't warmed to her cape and mask yet. Maybe because in the package I sent I included a princess crown and wand.
Here's her cape, minus her:
Cate and Maddie looking especially heroic:
Lovely Jiao supporting the reading effort:
Way to go masked crusaders. Your Gamma loves sharing stories and books with you.
A story is a special thing
The ones that I have read
They do not stay inside the books
They stay inside my head.
Emer in all his superman glory:
Faye hasn't warmed to her cape and mask yet. Maybe because in the package I sent I included a princess crown and wand.
Here's her cape, minus her:
Cate and Maddie looking especially heroic:
Lovely Jiao supporting the reading effort:
Way to go masked crusaders. Your Gamma loves sharing stories and books with you.
A story is a special thing
The ones that I have read
They do not stay inside the books
They stay inside my head.
Monday, August 20, 2012
nursee lesson #14 I Will Obey
The great thing about being a nursery leader at my age is I can try activities out on my grandies first. If they enjoy it, then chances are it's a go.
I can't remember when I've had so much fun in a calling. I go to church, take the sacrament and then go play for 2 hours. Also, there are marshmallows.
I'm passing these nursery lessons on to my girls for FHE, these pics are so they can see the context. Teaching every other week, so will post soon after.
The first hour of nursery is spent playing with toys. Toys which the other leader and I hate. So we bring our own.
And apart from bubbles, books and blocks the children never tire of these:
Putting Q-tips into the holes of a Parmesan container.
Pushing squishy pom poms into little holes.
Lacing cards. Some I made and some I bought at Dollar Tree. Score.
Flannelboard Stories. They love these. Goldilocks and the 3 bears and Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
Stringing curlers onto pipe cleaners. Seriously, some children become obsessed with these. Just cut up those little spongy pink curlers into about 3's.
Transition for lesson. A couple of reverence reminders. Prayer boy, opens and closes his eyes.
The chapel doors seem to say to me. Doors open, Shh! Be still.
Found this great little flannelboard visuals from the Feb 2008 issue of the Friend. Lehi and Nephi Obey. Printed it out on color printer and backed it with sticky flannel.
Sang the song, Quickly I'll Obey
When my mother (father) calls me,
Quickly I'll obey.
I want to do just what is best
Each and ev'ry day.
Next a little role play. Your Mother asks you to help with the laundry. What will you do? Will you obey?
They liked hanging the clothes on the line. Only I used bigger clothes pins than pictured. Cate likes the teeny ones, but she's older.
Now your Mom is asking you to set the table. Will you obey?
They liked setting the table, but they didn't get the utensils in the right place. Ha. Nearly all of them pretended to eat.
Hey, your Dad asks you to take out the trash. Will you obey? They liked sweeping up the crumpled paper I dumped on the floor.
Snack time follows the lesson and then we usually do a handout/art activity. I let them paint with Q-tips using watercolors. Not too messy if you bring towels.
Play doh with cookie cutters is always a hit, so we did that for a bit.
When we do play doh I usually set out a few plastic animals, too. They like to hide them in the clay.
And then I brought out this:
Yup. They hammered golf tees into pieces of foam using little wooden rolling pins. They loved, loved, loved this. I would have let them hammer away the rest of time but it sounded like a shoemakers workshop. All that tap, tap, tapping. Next time I'll try covering the golf tees with felt or something.
The last 15 minutes or so we have a little singing time. Rain is Falling is their fav. I squirt/mist them with a little water bottle on their face if they want or on their hand if they don't.
And because the lesson was on obeying, we used our Stop/Go sign and brought out the stick horses. We sing and gallop until the sign says stop and then we freeze until it says go. Great fun.
And then it's time to go home.
The marshmallows, the play doh, the galloping. I have died and gone to heaven.
I can't remember when I've had so much fun in a calling. I go to church, take the sacrament and then go play for 2 hours. Also, there are marshmallows.
I'm passing these nursery lessons on to my girls for FHE, these pics are so they can see the context. Teaching every other week, so will post soon after.
The first hour of nursery is spent playing with toys. Toys which the other leader and I hate. So we bring our own.
And apart from bubbles, books and blocks the children never tire of these:
Putting Q-tips into the holes of a Parmesan container.
Pushing squishy pom poms into little holes.
Lacing cards. Some I made and some I bought at Dollar Tree. Score.
Flannelboard Stories. They love these. Goldilocks and the 3 bears and Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
Stringing curlers onto pipe cleaners. Seriously, some children become obsessed with these. Just cut up those little spongy pink curlers into about 3's.
Transition for lesson. A couple of reverence reminders. Prayer boy, opens and closes his eyes.
The chapel doors seem to say to me. Doors open, Shh! Be still.
Found this great little flannelboard visuals from the Feb 2008 issue of the Friend. Lehi and Nephi Obey. Printed it out on color printer and backed it with sticky flannel.
When my mother (father) calls me,
Quickly I'll obey.
I want to do just what is best
Each and ev'ry day.
They liked hanging the clothes on the line. Only I used bigger clothes pins than pictured. Cate likes the teeny ones, but she's older.
Now your Mom is asking you to set the table. Will you obey?
They liked setting the table, but they didn't get the utensils in the right place. Ha. Nearly all of them pretended to eat.
Hey, your Dad asks you to take out the trash. Will you obey? They liked sweeping up the crumpled paper I dumped on the floor.
Snack time follows the lesson and then we usually do a handout/art activity. I let them paint with Q-tips using watercolors. Not too messy if you bring towels.
Play doh with cookie cutters is always a hit, so we did that for a bit.
When we do play doh I usually set out a few plastic animals, too. They like to hide them in the clay.
And then I brought out this:
Yup. They hammered golf tees into pieces of foam using little wooden rolling pins. They loved, loved, loved this. I would have let them hammer away the rest of time but it sounded like a shoemakers workshop. All that tap, tap, tapping. Next time I'll try covering the golf tees with felt or something.
The last 15 minutes or so we have a little singing time. Rain is Falling is their fav. I squirt/mist them with a little water bottle on their face if they want or on their hand if they don't.
And because the lesson was on obeying, we used our Stop/Go sign and brought out the stick horses. We sing and gallop until the sign says stop and then we freeze until it says go. Great fun.
And then it's time to go home.
The marshmallows, the play doh, the galloping. I have died and gone to heaven.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
august
August
The sprinkler twirls.
The summer wanes.
The pavement wears
Popsicle stains.
The playground grass
Is worn to dust.
The weary swings
Creak, creak with rust.
The trees are bored
With being green.
Some people leave
The local scene
And go to seaside
Bungalows
And take off nearly
All their clothes.
-John Updike, From A Child's Calendar
The sprinkler twirls.
The summer wanes.
The pavement wears
Popsicle stains.
The playground grass
Is worn to dust.
The weary swings
Creak, creak with rust.
The trees are bored
With being green.
Some people leave
The local scene
And go to seaside
Bungalows
And take off nearly
All their clothes.
-John Updike, From A Child's Calendar
Friday, August 10, 2012
model #XXA2rc
Couple of days ago ld came home from work and asked me how my day went. I told him I had spent some time cleaning out the garage. Let me guess, he said glancing around at the cardboard strewn dining table, you got distracted.
Yeah, I sheepishly replied.
I had discovered an awesome just-right-size box out in the garage and that coupled with the pink cupcake box Megs sent me for my birthday just begged to be made into a play kitchen.
Cate and Maddie came over this afternoon and they deemed this project a success, so not a total waste of time.
Back to the garage on Monday. Sigh.
Note its special features.
Knobs that really turn. That cupcake box came in really handy, Megs:)
Pink burners. Which seriously was the inspiration for this whole project. When the cupcake box arrived in the mail all I could think about was how this swirly graphic looked like a stove burner. They are supposed to be chocolate swirls or something but work much better gracing a re-fashioned cardboard appliance.
More knobs that turn.
Potholder pegs. Made from cardboard tightly rolled up and glued.
Tiny stove-top shelf to hold whatever. Cate suggested pepper.
Metal bowl sink. Works because the bowl has a rim to hang from.
Under sink storage. A box in the cupboard to hold fake food and play dishes.
A towel rack.
Here it is again, in context.
Let me say this about cardboard, friends. It is an amazing medium. It really is. It's strong and moldable and has wonderful texture. I have a healthy respect for it. As long as you understand its quirks and understand scoring you can make almost anything out of it. Also, not all cardboard is the same, there are different grades. Plus, it is cheap, cheap, cheap. This whole project cost me absolutely nothing. Well, okay, about 40 mini glue gun sticks.
Besides, what's not to love about something that produces a response like this.
ld thinks I should paint it, but I love the cardboardy rawness of it.
Yeah, I sheepishly replied.
I had discovered an awesome just-right-size box out in the garage and that coupled with the pink cupcake box Megs sent me for my birthday just begged to be made into a play kitchen.
Cate and Maddie came over this afternoon and they deemed this project a success, so not a total waste of time.
Back to the garage on Monday. Sigh.
Note its special features.
Knobs that really turn. That cupcake box came in really handy, Megs:)
Pink burners. Which seriously was the inspiration for this whole project. When the cupcake box arrived in the mail all I could think about was how this swirly graphic looked like a stove burner. They are supposed to be chocolate swirls or something but work much better gracing a re-fashioned cardboard appliance.
More knobs that turn.
Potholder pegs. Made from cardboard tightly rolled up and glued.
Tiny stove-top shelf to hold whatever. Cate suggested pepper.
Metal bowl sink. Works because the bowl has a rim to hang from.
Under sink storage. A box in the cupboard to hold fake food and play dishes.
A towel rack.
Here it is again, in context.
Let me say this about cardboard, friends. It is an amazing medium. It really is. It's strong and moldable and has wonderful texture. I have a healthy respect for it. As long as you understand its quirks and understand scoring you can make almost anything out of it. Also, not all cardboard is the same, there are different grades. Plus, it is cheap, cheap, cheap. This whole project cost me absolutely nothing. Well, okay, about 40 mini glue gun sticks.
Besides, what's not to love about something that produces a response like this.
ld thinks I should paint it, but I love the cardboardy rawness of it.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
jeff channels barney in sunday school
Mother was a master. A gifted teacher by profession, she employed many methods but it's safe to say she never tried parody. Leave that to her son. He's also gifted, and pretty weird funny, too.
I know this is up on facebook. Posting it here for the historical record.
I know this is up on facebook. Posting it here for the historical record.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
55 and shoe blessed
Early this morning a package arrived. Yup, Georgetown cupcakes in an adorable pink box. http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/ I had the lemon one for breakfast. Thanks, Megs. They are delish. Can't wait to craft something out of that box:)
Jiao baked me this wonderful cake. Tastes as good as it looks. I love her creativity. She didn't have a cherry to put on top so she carved up a tomato. This just makes me smile.
Lunch at La Jolla. Our favorite server (Lexi) snapped this pic.
Ld gave me roses, and apparently this is the year of shoes because I received a pair from Jiao and Janny, Kenzie and Brig and Ld, too. I be stylin' out, friends.
Celebrating with some of my little people.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Love the people in my life.
Jiao baked me this wonderful cake. Tastes as good as it looks. I love her creativity. She didn't have a cherry to put on top so she carved up a tomato. This just makes me smile.
Lunch at La Jolla. Our favorite server (Lexi) snapped this pic.
Ld gave me roses, and apparently this is the year of shoes because I received a pair from Jiao and Janny, Kenzie and Brig and Ld, too. I be stylin' out, friends.
Celebrating with some of my little people.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Love the people in my life.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
i saw wicked. thanks, megs.
Last Christmas Megs surprised me with a ticket to see Wicked with her when it came to SLC in July. In April, when it looked like our plan would be de-railed, she promised me that in spite of her move to Wisconsin she would fly back so we could see it together.
Late last Friday night she and her little family flew in.
Highlights:
Saturday night a Bratt/Weenie roast at Kenzie's.
Sunday chuchin', Faye attended my nursery class and Jiao prepared a most delicious Asian meal.
Monday night an Arnett extended family BBQ/swim party.
In between all the above we crammed playtime with the babies, visiting, shopping, eating, etc. But the culminating event Megs and I were most looking forward to was Tuesday evening. As luck would have it, around 4:30 Meghan started feeling sick to her stomach and having big D. (TMI, I know) She was pale and miserable. Around 5:00 when it became increasingly apparent that she was not going anywhere, I suggested we could catch the show another time, in another city. No, she said. I want you to go. Kody reassured me he would take care of her and put the kids to bed.
A little after 5:00 I went into the bathroom to check on her again. There was my sweet Megs sitting on the toilet with a big bucket on her lap, all washed out and clammy from throwing up. I know, I know, TMI again. I asked her again if I should go and she nodded. Reluctantly, I kissed the top of her head, grabbed my keys and headed down to Spanish Fork to pick up Jiao.
So as the fates would have it, it was Jiao and I who watched Wicked mesmerized and amazed.
And it was with incredible sadness that I received texts from Megs during intermission asking me how it was, and how sad she was she couldn't be there with me.
There's life for you. What can you do? Except look at unplanned situations, unwanted circumstances and unexpected detours and ask, What can I make of this? Sometimes there's something and sometimes not. It is what it is. Or as Kenzie frequently tells Cate "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit".
Turns out Wicked is coming next June to Milwaukee and May in Madison. We'll be there at one or the other.
Even though things didn't go exactly as planned I wouldn't trade their visit for anything. It was one more opportunity to see them, be with them, love them in person. That's really all that matters.
They flew out the next day. Happy to report Megs is feeling much better:)
Late last Friday night she and her little family flew in.
Highlights:
Saturday night a Bratt/Weenie roast at Kenzie's.
Sunday chuchin', Faye attended my nursery class and Jiao prepared a most delicious Asian meal.
Monday night an Arnett extended family BBQ/swim party.
In between all the above we crammed playtime with the babies, visiting, shopping, eating, etc. But the culminating event Megs and I were most looking forward to was Tuesday evening. As luck would have it, around 4:30 Meghan started feeling sick to her stomach and having big D. (TMI, I know) She was pale and miserable. Around 5:00 when it became increasingly apparent that she was not going anywhere, I suggested we could catch the show another time, in another city. No, she said. I want you to go. Kody reassured me he would take care of her and put the kids to bed.
A little after 5:00 I went into the bathroom to check on her again. There was my sweet Megs sitting on the toilet with a big bucket on her lap, all washed out and clammy from throwing up. I know, I know, TMI again. I asked her again if I should go and she nodded. Reluctantly, I kissed the top of her head, grabbed my keys and headed down to Spanish Fork to pick up Jiao.
So as the fates would have it, it was Jiao and I who watched Wicked mesmerized and amazed.
And it was with incredible sadness that I received texts from Megs during intermission asking me how it was, and how sad she was she couldn't be there with me.
There's life for you. What can you do? Except look at unplanned situations, unwanted circumstances and unexpected detours and ask, What can I make of this? Sometimes there's something and sometimes not. It is what it is. Or as Kenzie frequently tells Cate "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit".
Turns out Wicked is coming next June to Milwaukee and May in Madison. We'll be there at one or the other.
Even though things didn't go exactly as planned I wouldn't trade their visit for anything. It was one more opportunity to see them, be with them, love them in person. That's really all that matters.
They flew out the next day. Happy to report Megs is feeling much better:)
Was blind. But now I see.
After months of prepping—ptsosis surgery repair, weaning off my contacts, and tests, tests and more tests, I finally had it done. On Thursday, the 19th, I underwent Lasik surgery. Best thing ever. I wake up each morning and reach for my glasses only to realize I don’t need them anymore. I can see, friends. I can see.
Apart from my extreme sensitivity to the Valium they gave me pre-surgery, and ld’s enormous amusement of said Valium reaction, things went amazingly smooth.
Yeah, I went from 20/600 to 20/20.
I am giddy.
And unbelievably grateful.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
gaudium #999,000
Bratts, Meghan's amazing guacamole, races and teeter tottering. Add in a light, cool breeze and you've got bliss.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
because faith is a choice and requires a commitment
I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.
~C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair
Except I know there is. I don't need proof, I just need some clues. Just as some state their unbelief, I state my belief. Some find no reason to believe; I find a million clues to believe.
Clues, a story, and a community to share it with. I'm on team Faith.
~C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair
Except I know there is. I don't need proof, I just need some clues. Just as some state their unbelief, I state my belief. Some find no reason to believe; I find a million clues to believe.
Clues, a story, and a community to share it with. I'm on team Faith.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
a hot americana
JLW and Jiao joined me for the parade downtown. I'm not into camping overnight to secure a spot so we took what we could find. Wasn't too bad but like I said it was hot and sunny and we had all forgotten hats. Janny, smart person that he is, grabbed a file folder I had in my big purse and fashioned himself this:
Voila. The man is a genius.
I tried to imagine what all the noise and colors and hoopla must look like to Jiao, seeing this all for the first time. I explained to her that all across America, in towns and cities large and small, parades were happening.
I hadn't been to this parade for a few years, but seeing it again, hot as it was, made me all nostalgic.
I have a good life in a great country.
Oh, and this. Because it's the 4th and because Andy died a few days ago which makes me so sad. I grew up watching this sweet and hilarious show.
Voila. The man is a genius.
I tried to imagine what all the noise and colors and hoopla must look like to Jiao, seeing this all for the first time. I explained to her that all across America, in towns and cities large and small, parades were happening.
I hadn't been to this parade for a few years, but seeing it again, hot as it was, made me all nostalgic.
I have a good life in a great country.
Oh, and this. Because it's the 4th and because Andy died a few days ago which makes me so sad. I grew up watching this sweet and hilarious show.
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