Beneath the Wraps

Have you ever had your mind (or heart) set on a specific food or dish – which you have had several times – only to have your server put something entirely different in front of your face.   Well, perhaps not entirely different, but noticeably different.   The name is the same, but the taste and appearance is off. Take corn bread for instance.   Here in the west it is light and yellow and fluffy.   It crumbles as you eat it and has a sweetness to it – even before you drench it in gooey honey.   It is delicious. When I was on my mission and had learned from one of the sisters that we’d be having corn bread with our dinner, I got excited (as it had been a while since I had it)   I didn’t dislike the flat and heavy white no-sweet-to-it-whatsoever southern version of corn bread – but I must say I was disappointed.   I think adding honey to that particular batch would have tasted gross. There are many of varieties of food that have the...

This morning Roland made biscuits with sausage gravy.   Biscuits and Gravy had been a morning staple for those who lived where I served my mission – at least my first area.   I recall a conversation (after we pointed out to her that biscuits and gravy in the west was not that common.) She said that she couldn’t even imagine life without biscuits and gravy.   We said that someone in the west missing biscuits and gravy would be as easy to imagine as for her to imagine life without scones. What?! “What are scones?” “Exactly. That’s how much we would miss biscuits with gravy” Because scones was such a foreign concept to the members of my first area, my companion decided it would be fun to introduce several of them to our idea of wonderful. Several members were invited to the bishop’s home where my companion (though I think we had made the initial dough at the dinky trailer where we had lived) fried up scones and put me in charge of the h...

I suppose I should have waited for Pamela to call back before I created that last post.   She had told me that she’d be going out of town.   I didn’t think of that until after I left the message.   I had tried to contact Scarlet when I thought that Pamela was out of town.   (Perhaps it’s Scarlet who is out of town?) Pamela returned my call and will be helping me on Super Saturday rather than at the Appreciation Dinner.   I still had not gotten a hold of Scarlett, but sent another email to ignore my first.   But for some reason I had entered the wrong phone number and so I turned the computer on in order to look up the correct number. Before the computer warmed up, my cell phone rang.   It was Sharon – another sister in my ward – offering to teach a class on making popcorn balls.   Seriously!   Super Saturday is looking like it might be super after all.   Thank you to my readers who took the time to pray for me. ...

If anything can go wrong, it will – Murphy’s Law Okay, this post may be a bit long and a bit drawn out especially if I put it in verse style.   You don’t have to read it. Just after we moved to West Valley and   attended church, I was called to be on the committee for  the activities for  the Relief Society.   Kristen was the activities’ director  (or enrichment hostess or homemaking guide or whatever they called it then) I was grateful to be and enjoyed my calling on the committee but not as the chief. It couldn’t have been more than five months (or so it felt) before Kristen was called to be the primary president and Loretta was handed the reigns of  RS activity director.   She did not seem to want a committee.   I thought she was bananas. When Loretta moved out of the ward, Hannah was asked to do the calling.     Enthusiastic Hannah who always p...

Johanna Hurwitz edited the book “Birthday Surprises” found in the juvenile literature section in the library.   Easy reading and highly entertaining.   I think Jenna will enjoy it. Johanna Hurwitz had asked ten children’s authors to come up with a story involving a child celebrating his or her birthday; several presents and a beautifully decorated box that’s empty.   I LOVED it.   I loved the creativity.   I loved how different each story was. Pam Conrad wrote quite a touching story about a man in a rest home who’s about to celebrate his 100 th birthday and is worried about what his sister will do when she shows up for the party. His great great grandson listens to the details of a memory of the last time he had seen his sister and his gift (or lack thereof) and how his predictions were so different from what had really taken place.   The only story that brought tears to my eyes. Ellen Conford’s story was hilarious.   A gi...

During the summer Jenna kept on hounding me, “When is the next reading club?” Not until September. I LOVE the line-up of books we get to read this year.   I’ve actually read half of them already. Our first meeting was   last night.   We had checked the book out just the week before.   Fortunately for us, it was easy reading and we had finished the book on Tuesday morning.   I was happy as we read that what we read had historical truth – meaning the book “Riding Freedom’  I did not realize until just before the last two chapters that Pam Munoz Ryan had written this historical fiction about Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst   or one-eyed Charley – Charlotte was an orphan who lived at a poorhouse along with several other orphans – all male.   Charlotte was needed in the kitchen and those in charge made certain that there would never be an opportunity for her to be adopted.   When Charlotte’s best friend, Hayden, is adopt...

                 I love hearing Jenna sing.   Often I am surprised to hear her sing along with songs that I have never even heard before.   One of those is the catchy “Cool Kids” by Echosmith.   Here is just one video with lyrics.             As we were walking to school yesterday, she was not only singing the song, but made comments as well – how she and her friend Paul wish they were “cool kids”.   She was spending her recess with Paul and another boy who recently ditched them for his sports and Paul actually has safety patrol duty and so Jenna often feels alone.   She does have friends at Vantanna.   I KNOW she has friends.             It’s not like her first school when she really was among the more popular kids at her school – in fact still is popula...

I so love this time of the year In the morning just before the sun rises At night – just as the sun is setting. The weather is fair.   I like the cool air. But the sun beats down in between. It shouldn’t be this warm hot in September I think it feels like Baker or Death Valley, California.   I suppose that would be a slight exaggeration. 94 degrees might be considered cool for Death Valley   I remember one year my family was on our way to Bakersfield, California to see Corey in a play We stopped off in Baker to get a bite to eat The air was hot.   Unbearably hot. And dry.   It was said the temperature was 117. Patrick had gone into the men’s restroom to remove his shirt and douse it in water.   What a great idea!   I went to the women’s restroom and did the same.   Our shirts were dry before we got back in the car.   Baker boasts to have the world’s tallest thermometer .   It is 134 fee...

I notice that when Jenna and I walk to school in the morning, the sun casts long shadows ahead of us.   Our shadows are tall and thin.   My morning shadow is not fat like I am.   People that know me now would never guess that I had once been mistaken for being anorexic. Jenna wishes she could touch the shadow, jump on top and hold it down or something – but knows that when she moves her shadow will too.   She knows she will never catch it. I smile when I think about the animated series “Peep” which featured an episode about the three friends following their shadows.   Their destination is to visit the island located in the west.   They start their journey in the morning when their shadows are long.   By noon they are tired and their shadows seem to have disappeared.   The three decide to take a nap under a tree and hope to find their shadows when they awake.   They do. Not realizing the sun has cast their shadow...