Journal

     Last night I mistook a whole block of butter for one cup of butter (at least my son said so) and so my son and I accidentally made a double batch of cookies!  What hardship.

The Machine Of Toast by Joanne Okano

     Marvellous things happened one day to my machine of toast, said Paulina to me one day at the counter in the grocery store.  Out popped a little man, with two inch hair and strong smell of whiskey.  Oh no, I said, you can't smell like that, said Paulina, let's get the smell out.  So we washed his clothes out and set them out to dry while he hid behind a bush.  Scrubbing I did a lot of work, she said and soon he smelled better not but his clothes smelled better.  I see we need to wash you too, said Paulina, turning her back and leaving the area.  Get in the water, son, she yelled with purpose.  And that is the end of the story, you think, but no.  Next day, he came back again with a big grin on his face and said, I don't think I do that again, it was too embarrassing, so I stop drinking, he said.  No more booze ever again.

The End

Journal

     Went out and did an errand and then typed up the rest of The Moose Story.

Painting of a lemon, a carrot and a zucchini by Joanne Okano

Journal

     I got a fever.

Journal

     Last night I attended a party for my daughter's birthday at her grandma's.  Grandma had spent days preparing Japanese goodies for the feast.  Yum! 

Polish

When I was small and lived at home
With Mama and Papa in Keston
My duty every single day
Was just to clean the shoes.
For forty days or so I cleaned
The shoes and put on polish.
And so I gained a fondness for shoes
And all the things they do.
When I grew up I took to tap
And danced the flamenco.
I danced jazz dance and modern too
And really had a ball.

I Tap Dance A Mite Behind Everybody Else!

     When I was younger it was one of my favourite goals to learn tap dancing.  When I was in my forties, after having four delightful children, I attended tap dance classes with nurses who had just finished their shift, for the most part.  We danced in a show, and little me was always dancing a mite behind everybody else!  I enjoyed myself so much.  Someone made us all velvety dresses for costumes, and I wore hair extensions for the first time in my life as well as false eyelashes, to be funny.  ~

Journal

     Last night I attended a Corn Roast at my church.  We ate corn on the cob, a choice of chilli (various people had prepared different recipes), corn bread or buns and a choice of pie slices.  Fortunately, we were only allowed one slice of pie each or I would have been off my diet.  I ate pumpkin pie.

Christmas Story

     Santa Claus told me a story today, so I know he exists and here it is:
     Once upon a time,  I lived in Spain among the tourists.  (In the middle ages they had tourists too, he explained.)  One day I came home to find dead rats all over my table.  Off to Holland, I explained to my wife.  They don't have any dead rats there, they're clean.  Everyone knows the Dutch are clean.
And that's the part of the story that everyone doesn't know.  And that's all you're getting because you're not sitting with your feet flat on the floor...oh, yes you are.  Everything else everyone knows.  It's all been written, don't you think?  No, I'm just kidding.  Well that's all you're getting because you're too tired.  I could breathe in, I said.  Oh, well then, you won't be tired and I can continue, he said.  You don't sound like Santa, I said.  Oh, well, that's because you asked for a story.  You should have asked for  two stories, then I'd really sound tired.  Now, let's get started.  Where are you going tonight?  Out for dinner, I said.  Oh, well then, we'll get started with a little five minute one, if you want to push me.  Otherwise, I think our time is up, he said for a funny.  I suppose it's my fault for asking for a story in September.

Journal

     I like the colours of soccer, but I don't understand the game, I said to my Dad yesterday.
     He explained the rules of the game to me using a paper towel for the pitch, and cutlery and a straw to explain how the game is played.  He is in his eighties, so him doing a demo of the game whilst running up and down the kitchen floor in person would be highly dangerous.

     I am a handywoman and I have a saw which is parked in the living room, near the t.v. set.  Today I dropped a pan lid behind the cupboard by accident, and when I looked beside the cupboard I caught sight of the saw, but in my short-sightedness thought it was the pan lid for a second.

     My son Paul came to visit me, wearing attire reminiscent of European boys from the 1940s.

Journal

     I wrote.

Journal

     Yesterday I settled down at the computer to read two of the family newsletters of cousin and artist Claudia Bos.  They were hilarious.

     I attended two art exhibitions.  At one of there there was a multitude of school children, happily seated on the floor, drawing with coloured chalks on slates (mini-chalkboards) to their hearts' content.  They were drawing the work of B.C. artist Emily Carr with swirling colours of tree branches in the wind and lights in the sky.

     I learned about Aristarchus, an ancient Greek who lived in the 3rd Century before Christ and said that the earth revolves around the sun, for which view he was reviled.

The Proper Way To Deal With A Spider

     First, fetch a cup.  Put the cup gently over the spider.  Next slide a slip of paper under the cup and hold firmly in place.  Transport the spider to the door and kindly request the help of a parent in opening the door.  Throw the spider out of the door.  The spider won't mind this a bit.  It will be just like coming down to the ground from a spiderweb, for the spider.  Next, the parent should lock the door behind the spider.  The spider will love you for being so kind and not stepping on it.  Lastly, thank your parent.   

Journal

     Yesterday evening I played a home-made game with my Dad.  It was a German vocabulary memory game.  I made about 30 strips of paper, each with about 3 German words on them, with English translations and then made duplicates of these.  I placed the original 30 wordstrips face down on the table, and shuffled and divided the duplicates between the two of us.  Then we each took turns guessing where the corresponding wordstrip to each of ours were.  If you got one right, you got another turn.  This led to much laughter.  That was our Family Home Evening game.

No Whistling! conclusion

     "I just wanted to be your best pal," admitted the Spartan to the farmer.
                                                                                     The End

Journal

     Yesterday I attended church.
     Today the sun was shining and I went for a walk in the house.

Journal

     Last night I had a dream, which may or may not have been important but I thought I'd mention it here just in case it was.  I dreamed that I was married again, this time to a man with thick dark brown hair, big shoulders, big chest, big arms and who was sitting by the fireplace playing a guitar.  I was sitting on the other side of the room and in between us were sitting many relatives.

     You only live twice:  before you go into a mental asylum, and after you come out of a mental asylum.

     Recently I decluttered, and found the script for the final episode of Songwords Of Birds And Planes.  I hope to have it on Youtube soon. 

Journal

     I watched a blue jay right outside the window busily burying a peanut shell in the earth.

     Thanks to all the kind people who helped make my day at the Temple a success.

No Whistling ! Part 7

     "Could I suggest that you read the scriptures?"  said the farmer to the Spartan.
     The Spartan agreed.
     He went up to his spot in the hayloft and read by flashlight.  He turned out his flashlight when he was done reading, looking up at the starlight coming through a hole in the ceiling, and gradually went to sleep.
     Now as I was saying, not all pretty girls are nice, just as not all nice girls are pretty.  I'm nice as pie, but I'm not pretty.

     The Spartan got up the next day, and he was in a better mood.  In fact his whole day went better.  Fancy that.

More another day

Journal

     I made felt art yesterday.

No Whistling ! Part 6

     The farmer dated several girls.  The Spartan didn't like any of them.
     "I didn't think this was up to you.  It's me that's got to marry one of them," said the farmer.  "I'll decide myself.  This one!"  he glowered and held out his hand to the prettiest one and the nicest one.  (Sometimes pretty girls aren't nice, but I'll get to that later.)

To be continued

Journal

     Yesterday was a funny day.  I did a lot of laughing.  One incident I remembered was long ago when I was single (I'm a divorced mum now) I liked then a guy named Steve Cuillard.  I wanted to go see him, so I phoned his house and found that he had gone with his girlfriend out of town.  I was distraught to say the least.  Right there in the telephone booth, I threw a major temper tantrum, screaming and crying loudly.  At the time I thought this was embarrassing, but now looking back, I saw the funny side of it and laughed hilariously.

No Whistling ! Part 5

     The Spartan opened his mouth to give a glib reply.  No sooner had he done this, than, lo and behold,  a raven flew overhead and splat! dropped something on his head.  The Spartan said nothing and slunk away.

To Be Continued

No Whistling! Part 4

     The farmer rebuilt the house and settled in.  His fridge door opened one night and he had to throw everything out.
     "Guess you'd better not have a fridge," smirked the Spartan.
      "Just what is it with you?"  said the farmer, testily.

To be continued

Journal

     Last night I went distributing flyers with my family for the British Columbia Thanksgiving Food Drive.  We were asking for the public to please donate food they could spare for the Food Bank.  We had a fine night.
     Today I plan on sewing.  I'm planning on sewing puppets and putting on a puppet show on the Web.
See you then! 
    

No Whistling! Part 3

     The farmer built the house and it fell down.
     "How did that happen?"  he asked himself.
     "I don't know," said the Spartan.  "Maybe it was the way you built it."
     "Try again," said the Lord.

Continued tomorrow

Elijah Returned April 3, 1836

     My day ended happily yesterday.  My wish to play the piano came true.  My son declined to play a board game, saying it was a game for 90-year-olds, but later came over and played, having had second thoughts. 
     Elijah returned on April 3, 1836 to the Kirtland Temple and appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith and his friend Oliver Cowdery.  Since then many people world wide have been putting together family trees and doing their genealogy, and I am doing mine and having a fabulous time.

Journal Update and Wheat Porridge Recipe

       Last night after I was in bed I had an idea for a recipe called Pineapple Puff.  I'll try it out.
     I slept well and overslept by one hour.  I said my Personal Prayer.  I listened to about three chapters of the Book of Mormon and had the idea to play a board game with the children tonight, then ate wheat porridge and a boiled egg.  I said Family Prayer with my children.  I ran out of time and left the house rather bedraggled, but my friend lent me a hair brush, so I could polish up my appearance.
     At church, the music was playing.  I had a good time at church and came home.
     After lunch I want to play the piano and I don't know what else.  Have a good day!

WHEAT PORRIDGE RECIPE
     Buy a sack of wheat from a farmer.  Grind a cup or more of wheat in a wheat grinder.
      Ingredients
      3 heaping tablespoonsful of ground wheat
     1 cup water
     sprinkling of salt
Place ingredients in a saucepan.  Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Eat with milk or soy milk and honey.  This is very healthy for you.

Work

     I'm a good worker when I get down to it, but I often don't, just because I have so many other things to do.  That's because I don't have a wife to feed me and clothe me.

No Whistling! Part 2

     The farmer bought a truck, unbeknowns to the Spartan, and started hauling supplies to build his house.  When the Spartan saw this, he let out a yelp.
      "What are you doing?"  he cried (the Spartan).  "No truck is necessary.  You don't need a house and you don't need a truck."

Continued on Monday

No Whistling!

     There was once a happy farmer who had had some rough times but had weathered them, perhaps not financially well, but in spirit.  He lived in the barn (he didn't have a farmhouse, that hadn't made it) and the Spartan above him in the hayloft said, "No whistling!"
     "No whistling?"  said the farmer, incredulous that anyone could want a life so devoid of fun.  "I'm enjoying life!  I'm happy!  What's wrong with you?"
     "My mother brought me up that life was meant to be boring and tawdry and stripped to the bare essentials, and I intend to live by that."
      "Well, with all due respect to your mother, I'm sure she was a fine lady in many ways, but I intend to live better than that," replied the farmer. 
      The farmer prayed to the Lord:  "The Spartan in the hayloft doesn't want me to whistle.  What shall I do?"
     "Nothing," said the Lord.  "In a few days, everyone will see that you are the best person in the world."
     "Thank you, Lord," replied the farmer, feeling much better.  He took a bath.  "I'll do my best," he said in a prayer.  "Don't you worry about me.  I'll find me a wife.  That's what I'll do."
     "How about building a house alongside finding a wife?"  said the Lord.  "Then you'll have somewhere to live."
     "Righty-ho," said the farmer.
     "Oh, no, no wife for you!"  said the Spartan in the hayloft.  "I like my life just fine the way it is.   And don't go to the expense of building a house!"

Continued tomorrow    

Homeschooling Curriculum

     If you're a newbie homeschooler, and you don't know which homeschooling curriculum to use, there's a good suggestion from me - Konos!  It's not free like the Book of Mormon, but it is worth it.  If you like hands-on activities, with good writing skills and lots of good reading, Konos may be the one for you.
     If you're American and you're looking for a phonics program, look no further than Guyla Nelson's work.  She wrote the Little Patriots Program, which we used very happily for my first child (and would have used it for my second child except that he'd memorized it at age 3 from  my first child and I couldn't keep up with him, so we gave him wooden letters and words written on cards by using the Montessori method and he got on with it himself right well).  Although the Little Patriots Program is now out of print, she has a new method out, the American Language Series.

Some Of The Nicest Things

     The nicest thing about me today is that I've read the Book of Mormon this morning.
    One of the nicest things about the Book of Mormon is that it's free.  And the nicest thing about following the teachings of the Book of Mormon is that they help you go to Heaven!

My Mother

     My mother was a wonderful fabric artist.  She attended embroidery classes in England where she learned to do embroidery and also visited stately homes around England to see their collections of antique embroidery.
     She left my son Paul a fabric art picture she had made of an abandoned cart in a forest.  The cart is made out of wood and the trees and background of the forest are all made from fabric of varying textures and shades.  It is an interesting piece of art.
     My Dad was away a lot and she also attended astronomy classes to make up for the time he was gone, so she didn't get bored.  He bought her a telescope from San Francisco which she kept on her balcony.  I remember being woken up at 3a.m. to look at Mars, when I was a child.  She had insomnia so this was an ideal night-time pursuit.  ~

Doctor Wimpole, The Good Doctor

     Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a good doctor named Doctor Wimpole.  He gave his patients good pills to make them better, and they were well again. 
     On the other hand, there was another doctor called Doctor Reach.  He, on the other hand, gave out pills to his patients but they didn't have the same effects.  Some of them died.
     Toosey-too was a patient of Doctor Reach.  When Toosey-too found out from a friend that Doctor Reach's patients were dying, Toosey willingly went to another doctor.  You can guess who it was.  Yes, Doctor Wimpole. 
     But there was just one problem.  Toosey-too's Grandfather put his foot down.  So Toosey-too went back to Doctor Reach and died.  End of story.  (I'm sure there's a moral in this somewhere, but I'm not sure what it is!)

The End

The Festival In The Barrio

     I once almost found a husband.  I'll tell you about it in this story.
      I travelled to Segovia on the train.  I met a friend there who shall be called Maria.  She took me all around the town and showed me her relatives.  One of them was her cousin. 
      We went to the barrio where he lived.  There was a festival going on there.  It took three days and three nights for all the people to finish dancing.  She (Maria) took me into a restaurant and said,
      "Do you want to live here?  I'm going to find you a husband.  If you want to live in Segovia, you have to marry someone from here," she explained.
      She lined up shall we name them, Pedro, Arsenio, Pablo, David, Xavier, Jorge and so on until she had quite a line.  They were all twelve years old.  She explained to me that boys of thirteen are all betrothed and are not available. 
      She said, "Do you want to be related to me?  Marry my cousin."  She showed me her cousin.  He took one look at me, an old long-skirted lady (twenty something years of age) and ran out into the street.