from Twitter "How Mormon IS Mitt Romney?" (funny)

So, just exactly how Mormon IS Mitt Romney? Mitt is so Mormon… his campaign bus is a pioneer handcart. Mitt is so Mormon… he’d call 19-year-old boys to serve as US ambassadors. Mitt is so Mormon… his Israel policy will be centered on Jackson County, Missouri. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll make the income tax a flat 10% and collect fast offerings to fund Medicaid. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll ask the Senate to “sustain” his appointees by manifesting with an uplifted hand. Mitt is so Mormon… that his campaign “oppo” team has done all the other candidates’ genealogy. Mitt is so Mormon… he’s organizing his precinct walkers in pairs to knock on doors with a very special message. Mitt is so Mormon… he’d make the Book of Mormon required reading at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll choke up during his inaugural address and then say, “I told myself I wasn’t going to cry.” Mitt is so Mormon… he will commission a presidential motorcade entirely of 10-passenger family vans. Mitt is so Mormon… he’s concerned about joining the Tea Party because of Doctrine & Covenants 89. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll start the State of the Union with the words: “I wasn’t going to come up here, but the Spirit just carried me off of the bench.” Mitt is so Mormon… his campaign biography begins, “I, Willard, having been born of goodly parents.” Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll ask members of Congress to go home and pray about his economic plan. Mitt is so Mormon… he’d ask the Elders Quorum to help move him into the White House. Mitt is so Mormon… his first act will be to make July 24th a national holiday. Mitt is so Mormon… he asks donors to stack chairs after fundraising dinners. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll award Ty Detmer, Steve Young, and Jimmer Fredette the Congressional Medal of Honor. Mitt is so Mormon… his campaign slogan is “What do you know about Mitt Romney? Would you like to know more?” Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll reroute the Freedom Trail through Palmyra, New York; Nauvoo, Illinois; and Winter Quarters, Iowa. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll rename the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms” the “Word of Wisdom Squad”. Mitt is so Mormon… he’d do an ad for mormon.org stating: “I’m a husband, father, and leader of the free world. And I’m a Mormon.” Mitt is so Mormon… he isn’t as concerned about getting American youth jobs as he is about getting them married. Mitt is so Mormon… he tried to convince CNN to let him bring a visual aid to the debate so he could turn it into an object lesson. Mitt is so Mormon… that he refers to Congress as “The Great and Spacious Building.” Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll end every address with “hope you’ll all get home safely, without any harm or accident.” Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll assign a friend to every new member of Congress. Mitt is so Mormon… he’s already picked out a room in the White House for his year’s supply of wheat and beans, and he’ll require the White House Chef to rotate the food storage. Mitt is so Mormon… he doesn’t campaign. He “fellowships.” Mitt is so Mormon… he’s having two basketball hoops installed at the Inaugural Ball so there’s a place to hang decorations. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll change the name of “Cabinet Meeting” to “Correlation Meeting”. Mitt is so Mormon… if he gets elected all of the White House 9x13 pans would have a piece of masking tape on them with the name “Romney” written in Sharpie. Mitt is so Mormon… he has four cats named 1st Nephi, 2nd Nephi, 3rd Nephi, and 4th Nephi (4th Nephi is the smallest). Mitt is so Mormon… late last night he snuck out to put 5000 plastic forks in the lawn of Jon Huntsman. And after that, he heart attacked Rick Perry. Mitt is so Mormon… he’s going to rename the 101st Airborne as “The Stripling Warriors.” Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll rename FEMA the Federal Relief Society. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll start his acceptance speech with “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.” Mitt is so Mormon… the Marine Band will play “Praise to the Man” when he enters a room. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll appoint Lavell Edwards as Secretary of Defense. Mitt is so Mormon… he won’t allow advisers wearing non-white dress shirts to participate in cabinet meetings. Mitt is so Mormon… he’ll rename the weekly presidential address “Politics and the Spoken Word.” Mitt is so Mormon… his cabinet would consist entirely of unqualified, yet enthusiastic, volunteers. Mitt is so Mormon… he’d convene a Munch-N-Mingle after cabinet meetings, with refreshments blessed “to nourish and strengthen our bodies”. Mitt is so Mormon… he’d hang a copy of the Proclamation on the Family and a picture of the Washington, D.C. LDS temple in the White House. Mitt is so Mormon… he has volunteers combing through old GOP voter rolls for less actives he can reactivate. Mitt is so Mormon… he’d put everyone in his stake on the inauguration invite list. Just because. Mitt is so Mormon… he will add the phrases “every fiber of my being” and “beyond a shadow of a doubt” to the presidential oath of office. Mitt is so Mormon… the Inaugural Dinner will be Ham, Funeral Potatoes, green Jell-o, and red Kool-Aid.

Why aren't the prophets talking about the last days?

I read this article a year or so ago, and it completely changed my outlook on what the prophets are saying (or not saying) in General Conference.

http://ldsfreedom.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/are-we-there-yet-insight-from-david-kat/

The problem of inequality in our society

My friend sent me this article about the inequality of wealth distribution in our society and asked me to comment about it.  


http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2012/02/28/the-death-of-the-great-american-middle-class/






Here is my answer:




Many good things in the article.  And yes, today's inequality is not the way the Lord would want us to live. I'm sure He would be delighted for people to freely give of their time and means to help others and lift them to a higher economic level. But humans like to hang on to their wealth, and the natural man is an enemy to God and is naturally selfish and blind to other's suffering.  


Only by following our conscience (the light of Christ) or purposefully drawing near to Christ does a person become charitable and willing to suffer with those who suffer and feel compassion enough to sacrifice our time and money to help the downtrodden.  Charity is the pure love of Christ, and I am sure that it is one of the gifts of the Spirit to be able to act upon those promptings.  So the more righteous our populace becomes, the more charitable they would be, and the more equal the distribution of wealth.  In my opinion, the wickeder the populace, the more inequality we would see. (As evidenced in the Book of Mormon in their cycles of righteousness and wickedness.)

Someone may ask , what if some leader wants to start forcing everyone to divide up the wealth equally for everyone?  I would be the first to fight against that, it is not in the Constitution, which I believe is divinely inspired.

 I don't have any answers (sigh).  I will never attempt to be a politician and try to come up with policies to fix these things, if they could be fixed at all.  All I can do is feel depressed about the current political and economic conditions, and try to judge wisely as I exercise my small little civic duty of voting.  I do know that today's inequality and the evil we see in the world has all been foreseen by the Lord and that things will go as He has prophesied.     We know that in a Zion society, with true charity for all, God's people will ultimately be living the Law of Consecration.  But until then, bad policies rule.

Sorry I don't have any great plans on how to change the world at this time.

"Fantastic Flying Books"

I was excited to see that "Fantastic Flying Books" won best animated short film at the Oscars last night.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/02/oscars-2012-animated-short-film.html

Adam payed for a copy of this as a digital book for Elizabeth and Thomas for Christmas, and we all watched it on the Ipad in wonder and amazement.  It is a book that is also a movie which is also a video game, and in some ways it is like a pop-up book, but the "tabs" you pull are all digital. I could go on and on about how interactive this book is on the Ipad.  Completely space age when you think about it.

I have heard that Adam would very much like to produce "books" like this, and I hope he has the opportunity to do so in his career as an digital creator and artist.

Robbery on Cruise excursion in Puerto Vallarta

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/26/world/mexico-cruise-robbery/index.html?hpt=hp_t3


"Twenty-two Carnival Cruise Lines passengers were robbed of valuables and their passports during a shore excursion in the Mexico seaside resort of Puerto Vallarta, cruise officials said late Saturday.
The passengers were robbed Thursday during a guided trail excursion, according to a statement released by the cruise line."


Very interesting.  Wayne and I went on a very similar cruise, to Puerto Vallarta, Maztlan, and Cabo San Lucas, in March 2010.  Wayne even went on a big shore excursion with probably twenty people, on a bus.  Now I can see that the crime and violence has gotten worse in the past 2 years.


Another interesting paragraph said:

"The 3,000-plus passenger Carnival Splendor set sail February 19 from Long Beach, California, for a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise that included stops in Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, according to the ship's online itinerary.
The travel warnings and reports of increasing violence in Mexico have caused many cruise lines to curb their itineraries, either eliminating and shortening stops.
A number of cruise lines dropped Mazatlan from itineraries last year following a spike in violence."

So it looks like lots of cruises don't even go to Mazatlan anymore.

I did my first digital puzzle

http://www.brl.ntt.co.jp/people/hara/fly.swf

I never did a digital puzzle before, this was my first one.  The man and parachute move all over the blue sky while you are doing the puzzle.

It was fun!

Wow, here's another one

http://nathanrichardson.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Prophetic-counsel-and-current-candidates-Romney-and-Paul-letter-size.pdf

This document, made by Nathan Richardson (I don't know who he is), puts forth LDS Church leaders' statements on policy, and then shows  Romney's and Paul's positions on those policies.

I am currently undecided on the Republican candidates, so I have no agenda in showing you this list.  I just think it is helpful to see where they stand.

Also, I like Richardson's disclaimer at the end of the document:

"Many modern prophets have clearly taught the evils of elective abortion, recreational drug use, prostitution, gambling, etc., even specifying that they should be illegal. However, we did not find quotes that addressed whether that should happen at the state or federal level. Thus, we were unable to address those issues in this chart. "

"This chart does not represent the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but rather our personal good faith effort to summarize contemporary issues as we currently understand them. We recognize that no brief chart is a substitute for detailed, ongoing study. We tried our best to get the candidates’ positions right. We have nothing personal against Mitt Romney; we assume he’s a great guy and certainly don’t think that questioning his politics should mean impugning his worthiness. We also understand that prophetic counsel is frequently time- and context-specific, and that there may be other quotes from LDS leaders that we simply haven’t yet come across, which may qualify or modify some of these topics. We don’t claim to be experts; our main hope in creating this chart is simply to do what we can to help ourselves and others become more aware of inspired principles and counsel."

Excellent website listing LDS General Authorities and Politics

http://ldsfreedomportal.net/

This website links to every General Conference talk about politics, plus any political books General Authorities ever recommended during Conference.

Ever wanted to know what prophets have said about:

 communism,
socialism,
Gadianton Robbers in our government,
 the Constitution,
the Bill of Rights,
the Magna Carta,
the Monroe doctrine,
the proper role of government in our lives,
evil political systems,
separation of Church and state,
 etc.?

Then go to that site and read all you want.

Rebuttal to a complaint about the Michelle Obama picture

(A friend wrote to tell me she was offended because of the picture I posted yesterday.  This is my response.)

I felt compelled to put the picture up because of many, many things Michelle Obama has said and done which have caused me to believe her to be a judgmental, demanding person, uncaring about others feelings and spending money left and right while saying she cares about the plight of others who are not so fortunate.  When I saw what I thought was a comical comparison of her to a Marie Antoinette lookalike it made sense to me.  Sorry if I have a different viewpoint of her personality, but that is what she appears to be to me.  Let us just say we have a difference of opinion on her.

I especially don't like the fact that most of the vacations they have gone on, she has flown in a different plane causing the public to pay twice as much for the planes and security, etc.  The Obamas or just Michelle and the girls have flown all over the world, whereas the presidents you mentioned in many cases went to their own ranches or property owned by the U.S, which were inherently cheaper for security, no hotel bills, no setting up of roadblocks or reserving whole hotels.  Not attempting to try to change your opinion, but I do have my reasons for what I believe.

I choose to put my opinions on my blog so that I don't confront anyone in person.  I am not comfortable with one-on-one arguing about politics, so I try to publicise those ideas in a way so people can take them or leave them.  I grew up with a dad who absolutely drove everyone away with his political arguing, and I hated that.  I never want to force my ideas on anyone, yet when I believe something I want to share it.  That way if I am correct, my correct ideas will be able to influence others.  If I am incorrect, I hope that I will someday know it and be able to change my opinions. 

And by the way, I am quite sick of both parties myself.  Most of the Constitution has been trashed, and I feel helpless as I watch politicians from both parties looking the other way as religion continues to be more persecuted and limited, and more rights being taken away, especially of freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. I truly feel that the whole country is on the edge of a cliff, and I am not sure that we are going to turn it around.  I'm sure you have noticed that my "Monetary System" blogposts are all about the economy going to heck.

There is not a single policy that Pres. Obama has done which I have agreed with.  But if we get a Republican president I have very little hope that the Constitution will be followed any better.  I believe we need a smaller government and more freedom.

My one hope in life is that as we follow the prophet we will be protected.  I try to listen to our leaders and do those things which will make this a better world, and pay attention to prophecy, because ultimately, no matter who is correct about politics, the Lord is in charge and things will play out as He wants.  We just have to do the best we can, and live according to the Holy Ghost's guidance as much as possible.

Still, sorry for the offense.  But I still stand by the picture, because it is exactly the caricature of her that I have gathered from the stories I have read.

Buying a gallon of gas for a quarter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N5OWwDbxK8&feature=player_embedded

Watch this 5 minute video, learn about the value of a silver quarter.

Untitled

The Obama Vacation List

• President’s Day 2012, Michelle and the first daughters in Aspen, Colorado to ski.
• Christmas 2011, the first family in Hawaii for an extended vacation.
• Summer 2011, in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., for the annual beach break.
• June 2011, the first lady, her mother and daughters traveled to South Africa and Botswana.
• President’s Day 2011, the first lady and first daughters travel to Vail to ski.
• Christmas 2010, in Hawaii.
• August 2010, the first family traveled to Panama City Beach, Fla., for some sun and fun at the beach.
• August 2010, Obama spent the weekend alone in Chicago for his 49th birthday bash.
• August 2010, the first lady and daughter Sasha traveled to Spain for a mother-daughter vacation.
• August 2010, summer vacation again at Martha’s Vineyard.
• July 2010, the first family went to Mount Desert Island, Maine.
• May 2010, the first family had a four-day trip to Chicago.
• March 2010, first lady and daughter spend Spring Break in New York City.
• Christmas 2009, Hawaii again for the annual break.
• August 2009, at Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon for a short vacation.
• August 2009, their first summer vacation as first family at Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

And in an unrelated story.....

http://theulstermanreport.com/2012/02/20/white-house-insider-pump-and-dump/

Another top secret interview Ulsterman had with his Washington Insider.

Some cute pictures Marilu took Part 2

Tiffany

Hannah, Rachel, and Isaac

Hannah and Rachel

Whatever happened to freedom?

5 minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2tC-npvuGk&feature=player_embedded

This was the last 5 minutes of Judge Napolitano's final show.



Another good article:

Bob Janjuah: "Markets Are So Rigged By Policy Makers That I Have No Meaningful Insights To Offer"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/20/2012 08:38 -0500

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bob-janjuah-markets-are-so-rigged-policy-makers-i-have-no-meaningful-insights-offer

Some cute pictures Marilu took part 1

Hannah and me

Janette, Tessa, and Seth

Zac and his bottle of root beer.  (I didn't want you to think otherwise.)

Glenn Beck in Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/why-we-are-all-catholics-now/2012/02/19/gIQAZFYVOR_blog.html Why we are all Catholics now By Glenn Beck,  Sunday Feb. 19, 2012 I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but today, I call myself a Catholic. Why? Because the state is telling the Catholic Church to violate its principles and teachings. So if you are a person of faith, you must call yourself a Catholic. Today, the Catholic Church is defending a historic American freedom. We tend to forget that many of America’s earliest European settlers were religious refugees. Europe was not a kind place to the faithful if the state didn’t approve: Jews in Spain, Puritans in England, Protestants in France and so on. You were cast out, or worse. Our Founding Fathers remembered this. They knew if you can’t serve God as you choose, you are not free. And so they enshrined that right in the First Amendment of the Constitution: The state “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” This is why Americans are offended by the ruling from the White House that would force church-run institutions to pay for birth control and morning-after pills, which are tantamount to abortion. The so-called compromise is no compromise – under government-approved health insurance plans that the church pays for, abortifacients would be covered. Sin by proxy – that’s the compromise. This isn’t a fight over abortion or birth control. This is about whether the state can force someone to pay to have their religious beliefs violated. Many people – including those who use contraception and abortion – respect those whose faith teaches them that God wants them to do or not do certain things. They recognize such faith in themselves. Some people don’t drink alcohol. Some don’t eat pork. Some people wear a hijab. Some work in soup kitchens. Some tithe 10 percent of their income. All because God tells them to. That is what a conscience is – a belief in a higher power, greater than the state, greater than any man. That makes religious people a danger to the state – and a powerful force for change. Religious people stood against slavery. They stood against injustice. And today, they stand against a culture of death and a culture of hatred. On July 28, in Dallas, I will convene a meeting of the faithful – all faithful – to celebrate life and restore love. Because when the state comes against the Catholics, or the Jews, or the Muslims, or the Pentecostals, or the Mormons or those of any other faith – exotic or familiar – we must all stand up as one: We are all Catholics now. This is a broad struggle. I have met many Catholic friends, including high-ranking church leaders last weekend at the Vatican. I told them this struggle is similar to the fight against anti-Semitism. They understand, and they agree. To them, this fight is everything. And there will be no compromise. Perhaps this is a hard line. But when it comes to the separation of church and state, we need absolutes. The state needs to be free from the church, and the church from the state. The state has no right to say how much religion any American can practice. It’s our right, and it is the first one our Founding Fathers protected.

Great Grandma with babies

 Wickie with Anson.

Wickie with Hannah.

I'm very sad we didn't get any shots of her with the other three great-grandchildren.

What does Target know about you?

Their database figured out this teenage girl was pregnant before her own father knew it, just by using their knowledge of what she had been purchasing.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/

Cruise Feb. 2012 to the Bahamas Part 3

Wed. Feb. 8, 2012 NASSAU, BAHAMAS

We got off the ship at 9:30 am and met Joe, with his lovely airconditioned tour bus. There was only 6 of us, it cost $40 each, $240 total for a 4 hour private guided tour of Nassau.

“Island Marketing/Nassau Private Island Tour”, Bahamas local phone number: 242-424-8294

At Fort Fincastle in Nassau, Bahamas

We got out and toured Fort Fincastle, walked down the Queen's Staircase, then got back on the bus. He showed us all the government buildings, then drove us to Atlantis, the huge casino/hotel complex.  Back in the van, he took us to the docks under the bridge, similar to a farmer's market for fishermen, and he bought a live conch. 

The fisherman whacked the shell with a hammer, then stuck a knife in to kill it, then Marilu got to pull the conch out of its shell. 

Eewww!  The conch looked like intestines.

Here is a photo as the fisherman was cutting up the conch.  Notice the dirty old plywood table on which he is chopping the meat.  Notice the white plastic container, that was filled with water and he kept washing off his knife in it, also rinsing the meat off in it.  I can't believe Wayne ate here!

We could watch the guy slaughter it, but it made me sick to look so I got back in the van. Joe, Marilu, and Wayne each ate some raw conch chopped up with onions and peppers. DISGUSTING.

Then Joe took us through the slums of Nassau, and on to the fancy rich neighborhoods. We saw Cable Beach, where the first telephone cable was laid under the ocean from Jupiter, Florida, to Nassau.

Wednesday night we went to see 2 comedians, Azeem and William Troxler, both were funny. Marilu, me, and Wayne played cards in the buffet, “Up and Down the River”, that has become our favorite card game lately, ever since the De Oliveira's taught it to us. At 11 pm the Mexican buffet started, so we ate that and then went to bed 1:00 am.

Thursday, Feb. 9 AT SEA

Went to debarkation training, then Wayne and I walked all over the ship for exercise.  There was a chilly wind so we couldn't stay outside long. At one point we cut through the buffet, and the desserts looked so good we had to stand there and eat a few (defeating the purpose of us exercising.).

I started feeling a little seasick, so I went back to our room. Wayne went to the hot tub for his only time there.He never swam in the pool at all, every day was too cool. He also went to a Magic Show with his mom.

We had another great dinner, but I ate so much it was painful. The overfull feeling mixed with the rocking of the ship, and I got very nauseous. I had to go in our room and go straight to sleep. Luckily, I felt better just in time to go to the theater and watch the production show, “Ticket to Ride”, with the ships dancers and band. It was a tribute to the Beatles, and I had been looking forward to it. 

However, it was a big disappointment, one of the worst shows I've ever seen. Lame “acting” to the words of “Eleanor Rigby” and “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Lovely Rita Meter Maid”, too much sexually suggestive dancing, and thong underwear under all the short skirts costumes so they looked like bare bottoms when they twirled. 

That show made up my mind, I will never sail Carnival ships again. Their choreographers and costumers are too lewd for me.

Friday, Feb. 10 Charleston, SC. Debarkation.  We took Cindy and Mother to the Charleston airport and dropped them off, and then drove home.

Sunday: Marilu and Wickie flew home.

Cruise Feb. 2012 to the Bahamas Part 2

Monday Feb 6- KEY WEST FLORIDA. Wayne went with his mom and Marilu, they walked all over Key West.

Cindy, Mother, and I took the free Conch Tour train to the center of town, and paid $15 to go inside the Ship wreck Museum. It wasn't worth $15 but it was interesting. I wish we had paid $12 to go inside the Mel Fisher museum, one of our tour guides said it was the best thing on the island.

Then we walked through the Truman Complex and looked at the outside of the Little White House. Then we found the Curry Mansion Inn and had a self-guided tour. It was amazing! Everything I ever wanted in a home tour. I especially loved that we were able to take photos. (The two homes we toured in Charleston didn't allow any pictures.)

The Curry Mansion Inn at 511 Caroline Street, Key West, Florida

The interior was JUST GORGEOUS!

                Photo of Cindy coming out the trapdoor in the roof onto the widow's walk.  We could see all over Key West!  We were 5 stories up.

The owner, Edith Amsterdam, must be the most trusting woman in the world, because we were all over that house, looking at her beautiful antiques and family photos and knick knacks, with no one watching us. It is a bed and breakfast, so the occupied beddrooms were locked. The rest of the house was well worth seeing. What a gorgeous bed and breakfast!

Then we went back to the ship....

Usually the formal night is a night when you are at sea, and have time to get dressed up. However, the Superbowl messed that up, so we had formal night that evening when we got back from Key West.

We convinced Wayne's mom to get lots of portraits made, and we bought one of her alone and also one of her, Marilu and Wayne.

Wayne's mom

 Wayne, me, my mother, and my sister Cindy

Me, Wayne, his mother, and his sister Marilu

We went to the big dancing and singing show, and were disappointed that the female dancers wore thong bottoms with their costumes, you could see their whole rear ends. The men danced really gay and had really gay costumes (shirtless and little bikini bottoms in some numbers.)

Tuesday Feb. 7- FREEPORT, BAHAMAS. Wow, what a disappointment. I had read on the internet that this port was really depressed since Hurricane Wilma had wiped out a bunch of high rise hotels in 2005?. But it was a complete loser of a port for me. I could have stayed on the ship and had more fun.

Wayne and Marilu and Wickie rented a car for $70, and paid $20 for gas. He had to drive on the left side of the road 20 miles to Lucaya National Park Beach, and they absolutely loved it. I don't like beaches so I am glad I didn't go with them.

Cindy and mother convinced me to take the $10 each round trip taxi bus out of the port area to go to Port Lucaya. What a waste of money and time. It was just a little collection of junky souvenir shops. I bought one $4 deck of cards and we got back in the next bus and came back to the ship.  I spent a couple of hours on free wifi in the port.

To Be Continued

"Crash Course" by Chris Martenson

I recommend that everyone read/listen to the “Crash Course” at this website. 

http://www.chrismartenson.com/martensoninsider

The button to access the course is on the upper left hand side of the home page. 

There are 20 sections, some are 6 minutes long, some are 17 minutes long.  It takes a bit of organization to remember where you are and to click on the next one, but it is worth the trouble.  May I suggest that you get a little piece of paper and write down which ones you have already listened to, so you can remember to keep going.  I wish it had been a podcast, since that would have been much easier to hear as one long self-contained program.  He has a lot of graphs, so I guess that is why he didn't do it as a podcast.

I have listened to the whole thing and found it excellent.  At every point he seems to be right on target.  He never mentions Republicans or Democrats, this is basically all economics.  He makes a number of suggestions for preparedness that ought to sound familiar to Latter-day Saints.  So, no rush and no panic…but please hear him out.

Awesome Table

Here is the perfect bedside table for someone who is afraid of intruders:

Cruise Feb. 2012 to the Bahamas Part 1

Wayne's mother and sister, and my mother and sister, came with us.

First, we all stayed in Charleston.  We went to historic Charleston, and toured the Aiken-Rhett house, which was not restored. It had all original interior that was deteriorated, to show it the way it was donated. Then we toured the Nathaniel Russell house, which had been restored to its glamour. It had a floating spiral staircase which was amazing, only supported by the landings on one side.  It irked me that they wouldn't let me take photos, because I really love historical home tours, they are my favorite.   

We also rode the ferry to Fort Sumter, which was great because I have studied extensively about the Civil War.  It is always good to visit historical places because then I can picture where everything is.

Sat. Feb. 4- We got onto the ship "Carnival Fantasy" at 12 noon. 

Cindy, my mom, and me. 

Carnival Fantasy is the only ship that sails out of Charleston. We picked this ship because it is the only one available so close to our house. We were able to drive to Charleston in exactly 5 hours, and on one tank of gas. So we were really glad we didn't have to pay for airfare.

This was our second cruise, we went with my Mother in March 2010 for her 80^th birthday (on the Princess Sapphire). When I found the price of $435 per person in November 2011, we opened it up to both sides of the family, but these 4 people were the only one who decided to come with us.

 I wore seasick prevention wristbands the whole time and never felt seasick until the last evening. 

Sunday Feb. 5- AT SEA:  It was the SuperBowl Sunday night, so all the lounges and theaters in the ship had big screen TV's showing the game. They were serving fingerfood everywhere, so lots of people didn't go to the dining room for dinner. Also, because of the Superbowl, there was no big show tonight.

I got the impression that the reason this particular cruise was the cheapest price of the year was that it was SuperBowl Sunday.  I can imagine that every husband said to his wife, "I don't want to go on a cruise that week!" and so most people chose another week to go.  So they had to put this week on a special sale to fill it up.

To Be Continued

I bet you wondered where I've been

We went on a cruise to the Bahamas last week, and had a wonderful time.  Then the day after we got home, some relatives came to visit, and they didn't know it, but they were still contagious from having the NORO virus.  Seven people who were at my house that day all came down with vomiting and diarrhea, just from being around them.  BOOO!

Thankfully, I did not get sick.  I attribute that to my constant handwashing, especially after using the computer or opening the fridge or touching doorknobs.  I am a germophobe.  And I think it paid off this time.  I actually think all the people who got sick probably got it from touching the serving utensils at dinner.  Everyone touched those except me.  (I didn't like the main dish so I ate salad instead.)

Now it looks like everyone is well.  So I will try to put a few posts on here about our cruise.

Indefinite Detention of Americans, law passed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2r1JSR8EC8&feature=player_embedded

Goofing off in Durham

During Christmas break, Bryce and Marianne came from Utah.  On one of the days they were here, we went to the Bennett Place in Durham.  I had never been there, it is where Johnston's army surrendered to Sherman's army, the biggest surrender of the Civil War.  (And you thought that happened at Appomattox Courthouse!  Ha!  You were wrong!)

Sitting in a gazebo near the Bennett Place.

Marianne and Bryce in front of the waterfall at the American Tobacco Campus.

Tara, getting wet.

After that, the rest of the group went inside a storm drain (thats another story), and then we ate at Mellow Mushroom, and toured the American Tobacco Campus, where there is water that runs down the middle.

  We find ourselves going there every time we have a relative visiting, it is just a cool place to take out-of-towners.

Helicopter hair

Hannah has the funniest sticking up hair.

She came over a couple of weeks ago, and it was sticking up like several blades of a helicopter.  Rachel had put it in a ponytail on top the day before, and the next morning this is what it looked like.

It doesn't have a rubber band in it, it is just sticking up this way on its own.

Three little cousins

Anson, 2 weeks,  Hannah and Tessa, both 5 months

We took this picture at Christmas.

The Tale of Dad's Shirt Tale

The Tale of Dad's Shirt Tale

written by Norma Shupe Clarkson, born 1905, died 1993.  Written 1975.

Written to her children, about her husband and their father, Joseph Edward Clarkson.

As a young mother, Norma lived in the small community of Carson, New Mexico.

Dad's shirt tail had quite a tale in our younger days.  Could I take a few minutes of your busy life to tell you about it?

First, I'll tell you a little about shirts in the early 1900's.  Shirts were a very necessary article of clothing, not only as a covering for the body, but a protection from sun, wind, and snow, as well as scratches from brush and limbs, bites of animals and snakes, stings of insects, the infections of poison ivy and other poisonous plants.  Only Indians were seen without shirts, in those by gone days.  Dad always wore long sleeved shirts.

The out of door work shirt was usually made of blue chambray.  When nicely ironed it looked quite like the blue chambray shirts we see today (1975) but certainly wasn't perma press.  You can't imagine how it would shrink and wrinkle when washed.  A shirt had to be bought three sizes too large to ever fit after being laundered.  Daddy didn't like blue chambray shirts.  He said that's the kind he had worn ever since he was a little boy when his mother made his shirts.  Some she made were white with a ruffle around the collar.

Dale, June, and Christine.  I doubt if either of these dresses were made from their dad's old shirts,
but Dale's overalls could have been made from an old pair of pants.

With World War I the tan or khaki colored heavy poplin shirt came into use for the soldiers' uniforms.  Later grey, blue and tan poplin was most common for out side work shirts.  (There weren't many "white collar" jobs at that time like there are now.  Most men worked outside.)  For best dress and special occasions, white shirts were worn, some with sewn on collars, but most of them had detachable collars that were stiffly starched, or collars made of celluloid (sort of like our stiff plastic).  This could be wiped clean with soap and water and saved much washing and ironing of the whole shirt, which was a great help, but how uncomfortable to wear. 

Then there was the mediocre type of shirt made of white or light colors with stripes, small prints, or checks or plaids.  This was Dad's type of dress shirt.  He felt too dressed up and uncomfortable in a stiff colored white shirt and long necktie so he liked and was more at ease in the more common shirt just described and a small black bowtie.   This was my favorite kind of shirt, too.  Besides being easier kept looking nice and being more serviceable, it had many uses later on.  I might say here, my father and brothers passed their used shirts on to me so I had plenty to choose from for my sewing.

My early motherhood was during the so called Depression Days of the late 1920's and early 1930's when we had to stretch our dollars to the maximum.  That is, if we had any dollars to stretch.  I made all of my children's clothing as well as my own, except our shoes and stockings, mending and making everything last as long as possible.

I surely tried to get all the wear out of Dad's shirts because they were "ready made" and special.  The first place on them that would wear thin was the fold of the collar. (You know men's necks.)  With the many scrubbings on the old corrugated wash board they wore out along with the knuckles.  The collar then would be carefully ripped off, the good side turned out and with a few pedals of the old treadle sewing machine it was back on and Dad had a good shirt again for a while; but eventually the elbows, and other parts became worn.  These were soft and were torn into squares for many uses--dust rags, wash rags, dishrags and hankies to wipe little noses.  These didn't have to be washed and ironed but just use and toss in the wood stove to burn.  Kleenex or toilet tissue was an unknown household item to us then.  Quite a different world fifty years ago--thats for sure.  We did have a Sears catalog which came in handy.

Well, on with the shirt story.  There was still some good in Dad's shirt.  Have you ever heard of "shirt tail dresses"?  They were quite the "thing" in the good ole days.  Here is how they were made using the part of the shirt that had been protected from wear inside the overalls, and the back which didn't require so much washing and wear thin.  From this we made dresses for little boys as well as girls--shirt tail dresses.

Our family came as follows--all the most special and precious younguns on earth.  There was Bobby June (Barbara June) and Teen (Christine) then two sons Buck (Dale) and Dizzy (Dean), next three more daughters, Sissie Boo (Alice), Doidy (Joyce), and The Baby (for awhile)  (Lynette), then Debbie (Steven) our for sure baby of the family.  Big girls and little girls wore dresses for every day and Sunday best at that time, so they needed many changes as wash day only came around once a week and was an all day job.  This is where the shirts came in handy-- to make more changes without more expense.

The lower part of the shirt was cut to make a little dress either open in the back or the front, making use of the buttons and buttonholes already made, which saved a lot of time, as these had to be done by hand.  Sometimes I used the back yoke of the shirt to make a front yoke on the little dress then finish it off with a Peter Pan collar and sleeves cut from the upper part of the shirt sleeve, and there was a cute dress.  This buttoned in the back.

Another style was made with the button part in the front, a ruffle collar, a wider ruffle at the bottom to make the length.  Now with a slip or underskirt made of a flour sack (flour always came in muslin bags then that were used for many purposes) and black sateen bloomers with inner tube strips for elastic, black or white long stockings, and shoes, my little girls looked like dolls and mother was very proud--new dresses that hadn't cost a cent.

How to keep the long stockings held up neatly was a problem I solved by making a deal I called a "harness".  Yes, made of flour sacks sewn in strips to make straps over the shoulders crossing in the back and attached to a strap or belt thing around the waist.  This finished with elastic supporters salvaged from a discarded corset was fastened to the top of the stocking.  Some children wore elastic garters, but I thought they cut off the circulation.

As the two older girls grew larger the shirt tails were used for blouses to be worn with pleated skirts made of the strong part of a wool skirt or dress handed down from aunts or some one of the family.  They were also made into baby dresses for Buck and Dizzy as they came along.  Believe it or not, baby boys did wear dresses (no cute stretch suits then) and everything had to be ironed.  As they grew a little older I made "shirt tail" shirts for them (no ruffles on these).  They were made like today's sport shirt which buttons in front with turn back collar.  These looked very nice worn with overalls made from the good backs of Dad's Levi's, or pants, after the fronts were worn.  The denim then didn't seem as stiff and heavy as that used in Levi's now-a-days.  It made very good creepers to protect little knees from the floor and bodies from the cold.  (We had no carpets but used woolen Indian blankets for a partial covering of the cold floor.)

These creepers were made of four pieces with a seam in the front, one in back, and a seam on each side.  They had a facing at the top which lapped and buttoned at the shoulder.  (Oh yes, and a pocket or two.  Our little ones did like pockets.)  I sometimes made another style that took more sewing.  These had a bib in front and straps over the shoulders, made of the good part of overalls and men's dress pants.  Good!  No under skirt or stocking holder-uppers needed for boys.

Of course these articles of clothing didn't wear as long as new material would have, but served the purpose and saved the money we didn't have, keeping little bodies cozy and warm those winter days when mercury dropped to from 20 degrees to 40 degrees below zero.  

Here's my thanks to my dear mother who passed many ideas on down to me including "shirt tail dreses".  My father often said of her, "She can stretch a dollar farther than any one I have ever known."  Their motto was "waste not- want not".  Brigham Young gave us many words of wisdom.  One slogan of his was "Eat it up, wear it out, make it do".

For old times' sake I made each of our younger children, Alice, Joyce, Lynette, and Steven at least one dress each and many training panties from Dad's shirt tails.

(Artwork here)

How do you like my art?  At least it shows our little ones didn't look like rag muffins.

To stop off with, here's a story I heard the other day--A politician was asked to explain the difference between inflation, depression, and panic.  "Well," said he,  "Inflation is when you have to tighten your belt.  Depression is when you don't have a belt to tighten, but panic is when you don't have any pants for the belt to hold up."  

(Written by my grandmother in 1975)

Adam made this when he was 8

I found some patchwork that Adam had sewn together when he was almost nine.  I figured he and Tiffany would think it was cool to have a baby blanket for Anson made by Anson's father when he was a child.

So I added some red striped borders, and put on a red flannel backing, and gave it to them for Christmas.

It is ugly but lovable.

Arigato from Japan

Great video, 8 minutes long.  Japanese thanking the world for help after the earthquake/tsunami of March 11, 2011.

Wayne as a senior in high school

Here is Zac.  See any resemblance?