Pictures Of Stanley Park

     Toodle-oo!

The Monkees

     When I was a little girl in Sweden, I used to enjoy watching The Monkees tv show.  I liked their music so much that for my fourth birthday I asked for their record (like a CD), The Monkees Theme Song.  I remember dancing to it.

Morning Has Broken

     This morning I went out into the rain and saw a squirrel scurrying along with twigs in its mouth.  It darted under a hedge. 
     I stood under a shelter and thought about one of my favourite people, Danny Kaye, who inspired me with his performance of Hans Christian Andersen, when I was little.

Vancouver In The Mist

How I Joined The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints

      Translated from Spanish
      I had read a story about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was 8 years old in a children's storybook, in which the author wrote a testimony of the Church of one of the characters, a woman.
     Also, when I lived in London, England, I liked listening to the music of the Osmonds.  From the Osmonds, I learned the Word of Wisdom, the health law of the Church and lived it for some time, obtaining a testimony that it is true.
     Some years later, I prayed for two weeks to know the plan of Heavenly Father for my life.
     One day, I followed a different route home, and passed a Visitor's Centre for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).  The Holy Spirit told me to enter.  I decided to return the following day to see if the same thing would happen again.
      I returned the following day to the same place and again the Holy Spirit told me to enter the Visitor's Centre of the Church.  I entered and a missionary asked me if I was a member of the Church.
      "No," I replied to her.  "I would like a tour, please."
      I took a tour about the beliefs of the Mormons and knew that the Word of Wisdom was true and  had faith about the rest.  Two weeks later I was baptized.
      After this day, my testimony of the Church has grown and I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.

School Days

     I was the most half-hearted person at school, I didn't take part in very much and liked to watch and take notes mentally.
     I wanted to be home reading the encyclopaedia.
     After lunch I very often hid in the school library with my nose in a book, a place for which I was very grateful as I felt the cold.

Bloopers At School

     I attended a wonderful school named Baston School, where one of the best things, in my opinion, was the costume collection.  So I signed up to participate in a play.  I was assigned to Stage Lighting.
     On the night of the performance, when it came to the death scene, I was doing the lights as usual and decided to make a slight change.  (Oops!)  When the leading lady "died" (in front of the curtain), instead of turning the lights off, waiting for her to leave the stage, and then turning the lights back on again, as per instructions in the script, I decided it would be more economical to just leave them on all the way through!  This meant that the leading lady had to improvise a prolonged death scene as she waited in vain for the lights to turn off.  Finally she got up, lights blazing, and walked off the stage in full view of the audience who hooted with laughter at her miraculous recovery.  I felt a fool if there ever was one!
      Another thing I liked was the tennis courts.  I also liked carrying home my cool Slazenger tennis racket.  But  I couldn`t play tennis.  My mother paid for summer lessons for me in the hope that I would be able to enjoy the sport, but I couldn`t even see the ball coming.  I would look round frantically for it, and it would often collide with some part of my body.  Finally, on the ninth day, I did manage to hit the ball.  I have rarely tried to play it since.

How I Write Funny Stories For Children

     I used to be a humourless person.  At about age 15 I noticed everyone else seemed to have a sense of humour, and I applied for a sense of humour myself, from Heaven, by praying for one.  I only prayed twice about this if I remember.
     As I wrote, I tried to use funny incidents from my life or realizations that had come to me and incorporate them into my characters' lives in some cases, or in at other times, make them up.  At first, after I decided to make writing my vocation, there was a period of time when I could only write one line or so a day, before feeling very low, but I persisted until gradually this feeling went away when I wrote and I began to enjoy writing more and more and could fill lines a day.
     I try to get still and write down the good ideas that come into my mind.  I keep paper in convenient places around the house so I can write down any gems.  As I diligently write down those ideas and use them, my ability to receive more grows.  Gradually my ability to write, meets my desire to write.  Using a talent in this area is like using a talent in any other:  if you have an inkling that you want to write funny stories you likely have a (perhaps hidden) talent for it and as you use that talent it will develop like a muscle.
     I like writing so much I want to do it all my life and will always love it!