Farmer's Market Dinner

The Farmer's Market is now open on Tuesday evening. So this last Tuesday we stopped by the farmers market on the way home from work. The veggies and fruit there were all just beautiful! So much better than what is available at the grocery store. And it was all cheaper than the grocery store too. So we will probably be stopping by the farmers market after work on Tuesdays more often.

We bought some beautiful eggplants, various squashes, green peppers and Anaheim peppers, two different kinds of cucumbers; one Japanese and one lemon cucumber and some big garden fresh tomatoes. When we got home we made a wonderful vegetarian dinner. We made some really good eggplant parmesan, and I made a big pan of sauteed squashed with onions and roasted peppers. We had sides of sliced tomatoes with cottage cheeses. It was all so good, nobody missed the meat.

A Quick Max Update

Max is doing so much better lately! He no longer shakes very much. And he doesn't seem like he feels anymore pain, he doesn't whine. In fact, last week I was carrying in a large armload of laundry to the couch. I couldn't see the floor in front of me and I tripped right over Max. I landed right on top of his back. I expected him to yelp, and be hurt again. But he just looked at me like he was wondering why I was on top of him.

He is getting pretty good at stairs again. And sometimes he runs up them. But other times, as he is running up them, he trips on his own legs and falls sideways a bit. So I do think there is some damage done somehow. But Max doesn't seem to notice at all. Another difference I notice since his injury is he will get on the furniture much less often. He used to bound up onto the couch or recliner very easily. But now if he gets up at all, it is with help from one of us, or he carefully climbs rather than bounding up in a single jump.

Since Max is pretty close to normal now, he is as annoying as ever. He loves to vocalize his opinions to us and to Chloe both inside and outside the house. He likes to say "Hi! I'm here!" to our neighbors over and over. And he likes to stand at the sliding glass door and let us know he wants it opened. I'm pretty sure he thinks he is in charge.

He has discovered a new favorite toy recently. He loves to play with empty water bottles. I think he thinks they are an interactive toy. Since as he plays with them they crackle and make all kinds of noise. Don't even try to drink a water bottle around him. He will jump up and down in front of you expecting you to throw it to him. He is not patient enough to wait for us to finish our drink first. Max and Chloe had a special treat courtsey of my grandson Gabriel a few days ago. Gabriel took them in the back yard and for some reason squirted chocolate syrup all over both of them. He used quite a bit of the bottle before he got caught and stopped. But Max and Chloe didn't seem to mind.

My New Way of Thinking About the Word of Wisdom

I know I have been slacking on keeping up with my blog. To tell the truth, I have been going through some stuff, and just haven't felt like sharing my feelings. But I am over that now. So, time permitting, I will be doing better at sharing what I think and feel.

In my reading this week I came across some scriptures in 1 Corinthians that helped me to think in a new way with more understanding. I have been doing my best to follow the Word of Wisdom now for the last couple of years. I have given up alcohol. Although I sometimes would like a drink or two, especially in social situations. But all in all, it hasn't been that hard.

Giving up coffee has been a different story. I love coffee. I used to drank it every day. My family still drinks it. We have a fancy coffee maker that grinds the beans automatically every morning, then brews really fresh delicious coffee. Let me tell you, it smells wonderful! I've been doing pretty good about not drinking coffee for the last couple of years. But it has been hard. I crave coffee every day.

Now we all know the health benefits of following the Word of Wisdom, but truthfully, it's not been my biggest reason for following it. I can't see how the little bit of coffee I drank could be all that bad for me. So the reason I have been following the Word of Wisdom, is because I am choosing to be obedient to what the Lord has commanded me. And that is a good enough reason to make it so that most the time I am pretty good about it.

The scriptures for this week are in the sidebar to the right. 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17 and 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

To me these scriptures give me another very good reason for me to follow the Word of Wisdom, even when I don't really want to. My body is God's sacred creation. It is a temple for my spirit to dwell in. I should respect it as a gift from God and not defile it in any way. It is a precious gift given to me, and there was a price paid for it. That right there is a great reason to take care of it, but it is not only for me. It is also a temple so that the Spirit of God can dwell in me too. I need to keep it clean so the Spirit of God can be with me. Is there anything better than having the Spirit of God dwell with you? I should do whatever I can to take care of it. I should keep it clean, and treat it with the respect it deserves.

So anyway, that is why I am going to renew my resolve to follow the Word of Wisdom to the best of my ability.

Now I can also see how this can apply to keeping your body morally clean. And keeping it well groomed and neat too. And if I think too long on this line, then I also have to start thinking about keeping my body healthy by exercising too. (Ugh..) I suppose I'll keep working on that.

My Adorable Grandkids.

No words necessary....

Before and After

Before
See this nice picture I took of my family when we were out camping this last week. Sharaya and Gavin were sleeping in the cars so they were not in the picture. And I was the one taking the picture, so I was not in the picture either. Travis fixed that for me.

Scroll down to see the After picture...








After
It just cracks me up every time I look at this picture! I should kick Travis' but, but I laugh too much every time I see my face.

Freedoms I am Grateful for

I am grateful for the the freedom I have to travel when and where I want to. I am grateful for the freedom I have to vote, and let my voice be heard. I am grateful for the freedom I have to raise my family in what must be the greatest country in the world. I am grateful for the freedom to play with my grandchildren. And take them camping! I am grateful for the freedom to write whatever I want on my blog!

I am very grateful for all the freedoms I enjoy. I have the freedom to choose. I can choose how I want to live, and the kind of person I want to be. I can choose to follow Christ and his teachings. I can choose to live the gospel. I can choose to obey God of my own free will, and abide by His covenants, so I can have his Spirit with me to guide and direct me.

Here is a very nice little video clip where people from around the world reflect on the freedoms they enjoy.
The Freedom To...

Happy Independence Day

My Glamorous Job

I know the picture isn’t very clear. I took it with my cell phone. This is a circuit board out of one of the cameras the reporters use here at work. It has some problems I am trying to fix. One of the problems is an IC s has about 6 legs that lifted. The legs are so tiny and close together that I have a heck of a time re-soldering them down. This picture doesn’t really show how small everything is. But all the components on the board are surface mounted. I don’t have the proper equipment to do surface mount soldering. I sure wish I did. I use my smallest tip, and it is still too big.


Another problem is seeing the tiny things clearly. The leads on the ICs are less than a millimeter apart. My eyes just don’t go that small. So I have been trying to repair this board wearing 2 pairs of reading glasses at once, plus using my light that has a magnifying glass in the center at the same time. It is still not good enough, partly because I have to use one hand to hold the magnifying glass where I need it, and that only leaves one hand for soldering. It just wasn’t working.


I finally gave up and borrowed a co-workers weird glasses thing that straps to your head. They sure look silly! But at least I could see fairly well, and I still had my hands free. Besides, I’m sure I looked silly wearing 2 pairs of reading glasses anyway. One of my co-workers thought I looked pretty funny, so he graciously took a picture of me so I could share it with the world. Don't look too closly at the glass on the head thing. From this angle, it shows my nose extra wide, with a huge nostril. Nice.
If you are interested in seeing how surface mounted soldering is supposed to be done, Here is a link to someone who has the know how and the equipment to do the job right. I wish I had the equipment and the experience he has for this repair. I think my head might hurt less. Surface Mount Soldering