Kjirsti & Tom

I recently finished “Girl with the Pearl Earring” by Tracy Chevalier. I enjoyed the book as a follow up to my art history class. We often talked about the lives of artists and I was intrigued to learn more about the life of the Dutch painter Jan Vermeer. The story is fictional, but set around…

I found this on another blog, and loved it. Enjoy! Be A Kid Again Do a cartwheel. Sing into your hairbrush. Walk barefoot in wet grass. Play a song you like really loud, over and over. Dot all your “i”’s with smiley faces. Read the funnies. Throw the rest of the paper away. Dunk your…

After the reception on Saturday, which was beautiful, well-attended and enjoyable, I traveled up to Phoenix with Derek and Audrey to spend New Years with them. Tom joined me on Monday. We had a wonderful time. I enjoyed seeing their house and playing with the kids. Ryanna was kind enough to give up her bed…

Tom and I safely arrived home from Phoenix tonight. Somehow we were blessed with a very short flight, and I am happy to report that I didn’t get antsy or claustrophobic! Rather I finished, “Girl with the Pearl Earring” and made a lot of progress on my scarf. I haven’t blogged in a while, as…

Swaddling Bands While the groom built their new home, the bride also made preparations, including the embroidery of the swaddling bands with which the couple’s hands would be wrapped under the wedding canopy. Later these bands would also be used to secure blankets or swaddling clothes around the couple’s infant children. The symbols on the…

http://www.mccollam.com/fun/geoquiz/

I came upon this picture today. I had to smile at the excitement of all of the children and the observing guys in the background. Landen’s little side kick looks like it’s straight of the Newsies cover, and the swarm of girls behind me is so endearing. I am so grateful for children, and their…

The weekend was successful. My audition for Ohio Light Opera was fine, not fabulous, but not terrible. The performance of Messiah on Saturday went well, and the ward choir sang beautifully for the program. Sacrament meeting did run about a half hour over but they ended up canceling the following meetings, due to a blizzard,…

I just finished with a Saturday morning choir rehearsal for our Christmas program tomorrow. It was “an experience” lets say. The whole situation is strange, because the ward music director decided she wanted to create the Christmas program this year, so she selected all the songs, wrote the program, and arranged for solos. Which is…

INGREDIENTS 3/4 cup margarine, melted ( 1/2 cup works great) 1 cup white sugar (brown) 1 egg (2 egg whites) 1/4 cup molasses (1/3c) 2 cups all-purpose flour (1 White, 1 WW pastry flour) 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ( and a little) 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon…