A regular dose of gross

Sometimes walking into the bathroom is not a good idea. Today was one of those days. Sewer backup from somewhere down the line came up in the bath when "the throne" was flushed. Eeeeeew!!!! Took most of the day to slowly flush everything out but it seems to be moving along now, at least temporarily.

Yeh to Sir John Harrington and then Alexander Cummings & John Crapper for inventing and refining the flushing toilet. Life is so much more livable because of them.

Gotcha Lucy, lily and that darned woodpecker

Our darling dog does not like me taking her photograph. She used to ham it up when she was a puppy but now ....... not so much. She'll be cavorting around the living room or garden - quite the lively thing - but as soon as the "contraption" shows up she goes all sedate and/or hides.

So today I finally got something half way decent and wouldn't you know it a passing bird pooped big time on out wooden log "sculpture" !!!!

Our big lily has started blooming. Not at it's best yet but coming along.

Our resident woodpecker would make a great saw. Our last remaining Bradford Pear is covered in pecker holes. It's a wonder it hasn't fallen down yet.

Birds of Tennessee

Now here's a pretty nifty set of photographs by Bruce Cole http://www.pbase.com/brucecole/birds&page=all

Here's the list of which ones I have seen since moving to Tennessee - a number of them in our neighborhood and/or yard.
Goldfinch
Cardinal
Blue Jay

Tufted Titmouse
Chickadee
Nuthatch
Wren
Eastern Bluebird
Swallow
Mockingbird
Towhee
Mourning Dove









Pileated Woodpecker
Killdeer
Song Sparrow
Cowbird
Starling
Mallard
Canada Goose
Great Blue Heron (now that was quite a majestic sight)

Wild Turkey
Turkey Vulture
Red bellied Woodpecker
Waxwing
Hummingbird
Yellow throated Warbler
plus a few others not shown. (photographs taken by Bruce Cole).

On My Honor

My nephew is serving a mission in Santiago, Chile. We receive weekly e-mails from my sister-in-law. Today I felt impressed to share part of the current one.

This weeks email title comes from my years of Boy Scouts. We had interviews a few weeks  ago, and Sister Laycock informed me that I accidentally have made myself somewhat famous for bringing my Scout manual to the mission. Apparently someone emailed her asking to use the photo on the mission blog and my story as part of a presentation on the importance of Scouting.

"On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight, and to obey the Scout Law."

I've given a fair amount of thought to that over the past few weeks, and frankly that spirit encompasses a lot of what it means to live the Gospel. What it really comes down to is our honor - our word. Can we be trusted, or not? Can our friends, family, fellowmen, and even our God, trust us with what we've been given? Will we remember the promises we've made? Will we keep our word, or not? That's one of the biggest questions in this life, I think. Not that we need to necessarily find the answer for, but that we need to decide for ourselves, and stick with that decision for the rest of our lives.

And perhaps we're still terrible at communicating what we really think about things, and perhaps sometimes we don't remember everything we need to do in the day, and perhaps sometimes we're too impatient, too easily frustrated, too much of too many things. But at the end of the day, I feel like God doesn't look at all the things we weren't able to do, did wrong, and downright messed up, and say, "Well, you're useless. I'll go somewhere else." He says, "I'll make up the difference and set things aright. Because in spite of all your imperfections, I know your heart - I made it - and it is good." And, little by little, as we work with what He's given us that is good, those imperfections start to fade away into the past, and finally disappear. And all that's left is what's good.

If we put our hearts with God - with their Maker - where they need to be, all things will work out in the end to our good. We may not understand the ridiculous, unpleasant, and sometimes downright awful and bumpy ride that comes in the meantime in the exact moment, but at the end, looking back, we'll be able to see the journey and say, "That wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed, and the destination is so much better than I'd actually thought."

Everything's gonna be all right.

I don't think I was that wise when I was his age :)

Life amongst the rubble - The guardians

Tall trees standing guard, with stories of their own to tell,  remind us that this too shall pass and all will be well. They will still be here after this is gone.

Life amongst the rubble - a desert path

What once was a dirt path softened to mud now sports the traces of trucks. These vestiges of work that look akin to rhino skin, will soon pass with time and weather. Along side stands evidence of what had been there.

Life amongst the rubble - on the far side

Mama (Killdeer) pops up to protest my closeness. She runs in circles, she feigns injury, she threatens, she squawks. Her babies are somewhere close by. Satisfied that I mean them no harm she returns to her normal elegant self and walks slowly off into the scrubby dirt/rock pile.

Stake Conference

Our Stake Conference was this week-end and darn it I missed a goodly amount because I was sick in bed. John & I usually sing in the stake choir but I had not been feeling good for a while so had opted out of both performances. He, as usual, sang well :) I also missed the Saturday evening session which is usually my favorite part of the week-end :(
Sunday went much better. John went to sing at the early session and then met us at our session later in the morning. The kids and I got there early because I wanted a "comfy" seat and the ability to let John know if I needed to leave early :)
President Tipps, bless his wonderfully kind heart, decided I needed to be introduced to our visiting general authority and sent John to get me. Can I embarrass myself and say it took a moment for me to work out who I was talking too? Then he heard my accent and things got silly. That was a hoot (awkward on my part) because it was this sprightly, young, gentlemen and he can do a really good rendition of a Scots accent !!!

Meet Elder Kenneth Johnson, another Brit. We got to chatting and all of a sudden I felt better. It appears I was in need of visiting with another LDS person from my homeland. Who knew... not me.... till after the fact. What ever cloud had been bugging me was gone by the end of the meeting.
I love living here, my friends locally and at church are great, I enjoy the volunteer work I do especially at the Family History Center, our Stake Presidency is amazing but...... it can be hard being the only one with my brogue and often quirky British sense of humor.
One thing I am thankful for is that Elder Johnson went with our Elders Quorum President to see the areas affected by the flood and also visit with some families. I'm sure it meant a lot to them.
Our wonderful Temple president and his wife were at Stake Conference and we got to talking for a few minutes after the meeting. Turns out that Derek Cuthbert, the Mission President that helped teach me the gospel (and also from England), lived in their ward in Salt Lake while he was a general authority. Small world.

Bluebeard's Castle

John and I went to see Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" on Friday night. I have to say I was delighted it was held at TPAC instead of the Schermerhorn. I love that place and it's been a while since we were last there together. It has a simple yet lovely acoustic and the symphony sounded wonderful. One of the highlights of the show was seeing the sets designed by Chihuly. Gorgeous. The closed stage environment showcased everything very well and made the production feel more intimate. The singers were marvelous, such beautiful voices. The acting.... not so hot. They were supposed to be a newly married couple but there was no real passion behind the singing. The production is a wee bit on the morbid side and I think Freud would have had a field day with some of the lyrics :)

The lilies of the field

I'm slowly adding lilies to our back garden. Gorgeous flowers. We have about 4 different colors in 3 different sizes and this one is currently in full bloom.

This one we inherited with the house. Doesn't look like much at the moment but give it a few days ....... it's huge. The leaves are currently about 6 feet tall with about another 2-3 feet of growth to come. I don't really like where it is planted (beside a bush) and one year I attempted to dig up the bulb. I dug and dug and dug and eventually found a massive bulb. Then it struck me ....... I am going to have to not only try to pick axe this thing out of the ground but also find (and dig) another deep hole area to put it in. We have clay soil and not many places that it would have "fit" so it stays where it is looking lovely for a short period of time.

Oh the joy of home-made chocolate chip-raisin cookies

John made the dough last night from scratch and I spent a good chunk of today making the cookies.

Peony 1

Playing with some settings :)

Amongst the sogginess lies beauty

Nature's life cycle continues to unfold. Beauty continues to appear, be it Peony blossoms dropping sedately in the rain or Lilies starting into bloom. Grapevine leaves unfurl with the promise of baby grapes to come. The birds will find wild strawberries ripening under the protection of Hostas. Succulents grow large with the abundance of rain in preparation for the dryness of summer. Plants intermingle and find fellowship with each other.
The past few days has seen the wonder of friends, neighbors, relatives and strangers coming together to assist those in need. While the rain this weekend hampers the drying process people still find ways to assist,  be it a smile and hugs that so many now need, laundry by the bagfuls needing cared for, babysitting and having a listening ear. For some, the heavy heartedness has started as they experience "survivors guilt", for others relief that they can forget about their own world and step in to improve the lives of others. Many are in awe of the trucks hauling away the debris. There is visual relief as areas of green return once more. People intermingle and find fellowship with each other.

Early morning Peonies

The trumpet shall sound

The guardian :)

"Guarding" home and hearth above the area Nik helped to demolish

while surveying this from it's vantage point.

Now there is stillness as homes dry out and wait for the next stage. Soon all of these visual reminders of the storm will be gone as huge double trucks haul everything away. People laugh and joke but then they look each other wearily in the eyes and no words need to be said.
Children are missing from their yards, except for one intrepid young man who played in his swing set amongst the rubble (not this location). Soon all their joyful laughter and desires to explore will return :) For the moment things are eerily quiet.