woolen socks packed away

Whether I will ever wear my fuzzy tights or my will and socks again depends on how long I survive.  Lucinda cleared out my dresser today and pack the tights and Lou and socks together in case I last until the weather turns cold again.  While I personally was pretty inactive, Lucinda and Eliza were quite busy.  Elijah has been taking pictures of various photos and works of art.  She helped Lucinda move the bureau from it's occasion over the tub in the bathroom the area that was occupied by my drafting table until yesterday when Mary took it away. David has a scheme for covering my many colored southern wall with a huge flag and the Western Wall at least a portion of it that isn't curtain where's the Washington Banner which is a navy blue banner with six pointed white stars on it.  I asked him to wait until his sister's remove the furnishings from the room including the stained glass storage chest for Mary and that case for Tisha and the heat paint work chest for Nancy.  My daily wardrobe has been reduced to long sleeve t-shirt and WYD like yoga pants with elastic waistband worn over my garments with no bra.  I have a nice selection of long-sleeved lightweight t-shirts in many colors although my yoga pants are limited to Gray and black. However in my opinion they are suitable to wear in front of strangers and male relatives without feeling the need to wear housecoats or pajamas and change several times a day. Elijza prepared a white skirt and blouse for me to where when I'm buried and my temple robes.  Lucinda consolidated my garments and pants and t-shirts into a small plastic dresser that is stored in my bedroom instead of in the bathroom.  A certain amount of detritus plus two bookshelves remain in the area I have been using as a closet for several years.  When everything has been cleared away from the bookshelves they will be removed to the back porch of the downstairs area where are books that have been stored under some of my living room furniture will be sorted out, removing an eye sore that has bothering me for a while but Richard didn't have room in his room for the books.  I may fast tomorrow aside from my morning dose of apricot pits. 

a loungy kind of day

Meg was my overnight attendant last night and today she has mostly been involved and making masks I'm trying to deal with my machine.  It is a new machine and there shouldn't be that many problems because she's the only one who has used it for the last several days but she has made a lot of masks. David brought back a selection of commercial paper masks and left a few with me.  I had expected to do taxes today but I didn't have Lucinda print out the forms as I had hoped.  so mostly I have lounged in my bed trying to figure out whether or not to take a pain pill.

Closer

There are two different meanings to the word that is spelled closer.  The word that most of us were familiar with having more into the proximity of something, someone, an object or a date. The other refers to a person who finishes an operation or a deal.  I assume my death is growing closer as time goes on.  On the other hand I feel like someone who is a closer as I complete various assignments along the way.  Today I paid off utility bills contacted the emergency doctors billing line to give them my social security numbers so they can bill me property and use Medicare to pay part of my bills I contacte the mortuary to  get a clear copy of my agreement.  I destroyed copies in earlier wills and consolidated my current will and living attorney documents.  Furniture was arranged and very took the stained glass window that she will have in her home up to South Jordan with the help of her sister Lucinda. You nicer stained glass of Joseph Smith cutting the ice in place of the stained glass Mary took away. 

Stroganoff and Carrots

Meg fixed a luncheon of stroganoff carrots and salad this afternoon Brian had purchased salad makings yesterday at the creamery and Lucinda had provided the noodles and sour cream. I had Richard pull some steaks out of the freezer and put them in the refrigerator to thaw. We ate before other family members arrived and had sacrament meeting in the evening.  Eliza is spending the night here.  I'm a little uncertain about whether or not I should take another dose of pain medication.  But it's handy so if I need it it's no big thing to take it. Tomorrow I need to contact the mortuary and make sure plans are in place.  I may or may not have enough energy to do my taxes after the visiting nurse comes by at 11.  We have resolved so many things in the last week or two. Shriving myself of so many positions by giving them away to those who are happy to receive them has been very nice. I don't exaggerate when I say that my oldest granddaughter Tara what is invaluable in dividing and categorizing the many art supplies I've accumulated.  I feel glad that I finally reached out to my sisters and told them about my impending death and that there's not much I can do about it except to greet it with a smile and the fairh that I have claimed since my childhood.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth my savior pay the price for my follies and sins.  God loves me and wants the best for me and the holy ghost is my sacred friend. 

biggest project ever

I love to make plans and create projects has my granddaughter Tara inventoried and divided my art supplies and as the rest of this considered the jewelry collection I've accumulated I realize that most of them are based on my desire to do it project small things like making earrings or entire system such as creating if it was needed to do encaustic.  Dividing and disposing of my legacies has now become the project of the moment. So far it has been very satisfying. After receiving the diagnosis for my doctor or should I say my friends doctor and oncologist that I was going to die and further treatment would be not only useless but ,as he said; cancer would not kill me as fast as chemotherapy would.  There has not been a steady progression I've disease.  The day before yesterday I took several doses her morphine after the previous day when I didn't take any.  Yesterday I was once again spared any pain serious enough to reach for my little bottle of liquid morphine with a syringe to administer it under my tongue.  Today I took some in the morning and then again around 10:30 and then again around 1:30 or 2 p.m..  I just took a another dose at almost 11 p.m. as I retire to sleep.  I am grateful that my way of life for the past 2 years has resulted in a relatively tidy environment.  If I had to deal with a lot of clutter and waste while sorting out my clothing, jewels and art supplies, there are probably several reasons that I would have felt a great deal worse than I do.  It has been pleasant to set aside various objects and to watch my children and grandchildren make choices from things I value .

Family

It has been sweet for the last 2 days do you have conversations with all of my children..  Tricia visited today with Hannah and Rudy and I gave her the slide that I have been trying to get around to installing for months now.  I also gave her outdoor chair that swivels and rocks and if it's not used by Rudy will be a comfortable place for those who need to tend him.  Yesterday I gave up ox of cake making pans and supports to Sela who loves to bake and loves to watch others bake on TV and YouTube.  She and her sister we're excited and diverted by the prospect of making cakes with the various sizes pans I'm supporting them on the various faces I also gave them my cupcake racks.  The process of opening the large box that contained all the bacon gear then trying to fit it back in again when they were finished examining it was very diverting from the topic I was talking to their parents about, my cancer.  Jacqueline and Diana came by yesterday to offer what help I might need and I enlisted them in doing the test but they stopped doing a couple of months ago when they felt at favor exposing me my continuing to come into my house given the current virus problem.   The gadianton robbers are abroad in the land, instigating violent and destructive demonstrations.  Secret combinations invest the governments of the world hand in the name of freedom the most innocent among Us the babies arer being killed..  other than having a tumor damaging my health I have a very comfortable life most of all I value the love of my family.  My physical condition has improved radically since the  urinary tract infection that was identified at the hospital has been under treatment with sulfa drugs cantharis and .cranberry pellets. 

Prepare to Die

On Friday evening I began to feel really poorly difficulty breathing and general malaise.  I called my daughter Nancy to come and help me out she drove me to the hospital where  they treated me is an active covid-19 patient initially.  I thought that my problem stemmed from something like a bleeding ulcer or another bleeding tumor and that I had low blood levels.  I gave me a cardio exam and then begin to do X-rays not long after which they took me down to the CAT scan room and get upper and lower scans.  Good news was that my little animals are in good area play there's nothing wrong with my heart however the doctor tells me I have a mass you're my spine between my kidneys and from his description is fairly extensive including spots on my lungs.  For a little over a year I've been suffering from vague back aches the real orientales lately.  This was probably a sign of the tumor slowly growing.  I send out an email to All My children telling them of what I have been told.  Their responses were sympathetic and sensitive.  Mary brought her family for a visit and I realize that it was a good time to give Sela who's talented and interested in baking buy stock of wedding pans and supports for making wedding cakes.  I appreciated Mary bringing some pain pills,. I will likely choose palliative care, hopefully carried out at home.  Most of the preparation I need to make have already been accomplished. 

Diana's birthday

I drove over to the Hancock house this afternoon with two boxes of pastels two pieces of sanded pastel paper and a phone car rental to use as an easel support a drawing.  Diana should me a couple of pastel drawings she has done using my set a still implement she got for Christmas and a book of pastel paper I gave her then.  I continue to struggle to eat enough food of the right kind.

Lazy Tuesday

I accomplished a few things today possibly the most important was that I determining that there were three screw holes and that they are big enough to accommodate the bolts that I purchased to fasten the slide to the slide Tower.  I made some shrimp with noodles but probably because the shrimp was boiled instead of fried or otherwise cooked it was somewhat bland.  I gave about a third of it to Richard.  My stomach has been a little uncomfortable but not as painful as on other occasions.

Food

I made some oyster stew this evening which I wasn't sure would be okay.  It motivated me to send off some e-mails in the event I managed to poison myself.  So far it seems I'm okay.  Reprise burps are nasty but my stomach and lower parts seem relatively unaffected.  I sent money to Mary after visiting the bank and got both a raspberry shake and some Parrot Island Shrimp before stopping by to see Lucinda's family..  I think I may have ingested sufficient calories today.

Oh sweet memory foam

I had originally planned to return to Jordanelle Reservoir but I changed my mind after a night of misery because of the firm mattress in the cabin and the need to drive each time I had to use the bathroom.  After aching and feeling pain and fatigue almost continually for several reasons and waking to a sleety morning, I decided that my return to Provo would be one way.  I made it home without stopping although I was doubtful I could do it without pulling off the road to recoup.  I immediately went to my room and took refuge on my bed and didn't wake from restful sleep for several hours.  Last night's sleep was pretty much painless.  Needless to say I texted those who were gathering at the reservoir that I wouldn't be joining them. 

I drove to Jordanelle

This is my first time at the reservoir although I've driven past it many times.  Nancy rented a cabin and camp sites and a boat slip.  I'm going back to Provo tomorrow and returning on Sunday to spend two more days.  I have been useful by being on shore with Talitha while David ventured out on the lake with his paddle board.

Fatigue or Anemia?

I have been eating more but I am still far from feeling well.  A little exercise, like walking out to the chicken coop, exhausts me and my back muscles burn.  I plan to drive up to join Nancy at the lake tomorrow.  Mostly just so she won't be alone in her camp.  I offer very little chance of really helping her with boating or other endeavors.  I have begun eating apricot pits again with the possibility that I have a rumor.  It is possible I suffer from some kind of infection.  Maybe I'll recover. 

Varied Diet

It has been some time since I have eaten something that set my innards on fire.  On the other hand I continue to operate at a significant deficit of energy.  It is somewhat similar to how I felt when I had severe anemia because of my gut tumor.  Today I didn't do very much.  I watched some romantic comedies and some youtube homesteading videos and ate a fairly varied assortment of food.  I plan to drive to Jordanelle reservoir to join Nancy for the Memorial Day weekend on Friday and Saturday, then come home on Saturday night, spend Sunday at home and return to the Lake on Monday. 

shopping

Early on the morning of Tuesday is my shopping time I go to Walmart. Because I wear a mask I ride a cart that lets me sit down as a tool around the store and pick up. Items.  Since I get up around 5 to get to the store by 6 I make it part of my plan to go back to bed when I get home.  I plan for a very little other things to do on Tuesdays because of my limited energy.  Today I started out A-frame and sketch paper for Jacqueline to use in preparing for the exhibit at Riverside country club.  I watch The fifth Element which is supposed to be an anti-war science fiction film but which is actually mostly a comedy.

another Sunday

We got into a discussion of books at our Zoom Sunday family meeting.  David requested that I send information on some of my favorite authors and series so I did so in an email.  My membership in audible has been that I have probably accessed more authors than I would have otherwise.  my interest in Reading either listening to audible or paper books has declined somewhat with my energy. I have developed a craving for fresh red grapes which are available at Sprouts.  I'm going to check the availability of pick up from the store in the morning but I may go ahead and get delivery.  I also plan to shop at Walmart on Tuesday early in the morning and I may order a mat for underneath the slide.  I didn't let the chickens out today partly because of the neighborhood project of looking for pictures of Jesus in the windows of neighbors.  It is past time for me to plant my wildflowers in the plantagenets in the backyard.

Lord of the rings

Having skimmed through The Hobbit movies mostly zipping through the battle scenes, I was more than ready to watch the far superior series, lord of the Rings.  However my DVD player on my laptop would not recognize or accept the discs.  Finally somewhat late in the evening Richard I was able to get my Blu-ray player going and the discs seem to be working.  Meanwhile today my grand daughter had her graduation party on Zoom.  I excused myself to get my chickens in after listening to them play participation game for a while.

More Hobbit

The Hobbit is really quite boring.  Sententious and overdone.  Some of the scenes are effective and the characters sympathetic but too much is resting on a fragile base.  I didn't accomplish anything much today.  I had a strange assortment of food but my digestion is only mildly bothered. 

Hobbit

Today I watched the first of the Jackson 'Hobbit' movies which includes entirely too much monster crushing and improbable survival.  I also vacuumed the rug in the front room which was my most intended project for today.  The bathroom is quite pleasant after a deep cleaning.  I plan to use the rack from the bathroom in my bedroom to hold my silk comforter overnight now that the weather is warmer.  I want to return to the routine of making my bed each morning instead of only straightening the top cover. 

Indulgence

I wanted something full of calories that tempted my finicky appetite.  Today I published the UVAG May Newsletter.  Before taking the mailers out to the Post Office I tried to secure the feeder wall with the hardware I purchased but I realized that I will have to return to finish the job when the feeder is empty.  I was sitting in the coop to do the work so I returned to the house and showered and put on clean clothing.  Then I went out to do the mailing and also deposit the stimulus check.  I stopped at Red Lobster and got coconut shrimp and a lobster pizza along with a raspberry lemonade from curbside pickup.  The raspberry lemonade had no ice in it but I put fresh ice from filtered water in it when I got home.  I had cleaned the bathroom very early in the morning and locked myself out, but I was able to unlock the room this morning.  I also cleaned and dried a load of laundry so all in all it has been a fairly busy day considering my energy deficit.  I also called Eliza on messenger for the art lesson but they hadn't done the lesson.  She was making a meal for another family so didn't talk for long.  My tender new law is coming up. 

Early and Late

I got up early enough to get to Walmart before six AM.  I took a handicapped cart to do my shopping since the mask puts me at risk of fainting.  When I got home and put away the most perishable items I went back to sleep.  Later I went out with a drill and saw and cut the 'planks' for my swing bench to fit the various intrusions from the pipe frame of the bench.  Later still I went out and drove some screws to initially secure the planks so they won't be casually knocked aside.  I need to do more securing, but at least it should be good enough for now.  Tomorrow I should fill the waterer for the hens and put the hardware in place to better secure the feeding wall.  It feels good to take a few steps forward even when it isn't much.  I need to get out a newsletter for the UVAG and deposit my stimulus check tomorrow.

Swing reboot

20 years ago I moved to Provo and prepared for the wedding of my youngest daughter, Eliza.  I designed a structure for the rear of our yard that would hold a swinging bench.  It is still there and looks better than I might have suspected it would do after two decades.  Someone broke a slat and I decided to put on a new seat using vinyl fencing rails recovered from a planter I had the boys dismantle in order to extend the lawn we planted last year.  I cut the rails to near the size that they need to be today with a few adjustments.  I received all my items from Amazon including a pale blue dress that should be suitable for summer wear. 

Motherhood

Being a mother in all it's different aspects has been by far the most significant part of my life.  There is nothing sweeter or more completing than to nurse a tiny child to satisfaction.  It is the great tragedy of the evil conspiracy that robbed my granddaughter Rochelle of her core meaning that it meant the sacrifice of her breasts.  The only evil greater than the denial of real gender and its meaning is abortion.  There is nothing in the scriptures that quite equates to this modern day horror.  I am so sorry for the damage that was done in the name of ideology.  I had a sweet Sunday, visiting with family via video and sharing a sacrament ordinance with my son Richard.  I am truly blessed.

Back to the Future

I spent most of the afternoon and evening watching the Science Fiction series 'Back to the Future'.  It was a fun watch with plenty of suspenseful drama even though I had watched it several times before and knew the endings of each movie.  It is easy to forget the middle scenes and how things are resolved along the way.  I ate more today than usual with not many digestive problems.  Tomorrow is Sunday and I imagine it will go like most Sundays.  It is Mother's Day and several of my children have already delivered gifts.

Feeling Better, Doing Little

It may be my expectation that when I get the remedies Nancy recommended next week my health will experience a turn-around, but I've felt better today.  I haven't done much today.  I washed some clothes and put them in the dryer, called Sam's kids and Hannah and Rudy.  I plan to water my plants again when I go out to put the chickens away for the night.  Mostly I rested. 

Steak ambition defeated

I did a few things today but failed to eat the steak I cooked.  I'm hoping Nancy's recommendation of CBD oil proves helpful.  I did some watering and let the chickens in and out and folded laundry.

Misery not Mandatory

I discovered that the pain that dogged my night hours was relieved by deep burping which puts a different face on it.  I paid some bills, sent out the May Newsletter and made some changes to the website.  I conferred with Eliza and her children about their art activity.  I went to Lowe's and purchased a watering can and a set of sprayers that I had delivered to my car.  There are still some things that need to be finished before I go to bed, the dishes, the laundry dried, but I have slowly done a number of things.

Gyro and yogurt with strawberries

I am not as afflicted in my tummy as I was last week.  Today I purchased another gyro since the one last week went well.  Unfortunately it stayed with me most of the day.  I 'washed it down' with some moistened dehydrated strawberries mixed with yogurt and it seems to have worked.  I wanted to increase my calorie intake since I worry about undereating.  According to advice from Nancy I ordered some polyethelene glycol powder for my constipation and some CBD oil to calm my revulsion for fatty meals.  I finally got around to putting some plastic fencing fabric into my planters that a cat attacked in order to discourage further incursions.  I mostly napped today.  Tomorrow I am going up to Bountiful to drive Hannah to a Walmart to buy hair supplies and treat her and Rudy to a treat from Wendy's afterwards.  Then I'll pick up Nancy on my back back through Salt Lake. 

Lawn and Boat

Nancy came down to look at a boat.  She purchased a vessel as large as the one she has in New York.  It needs a lot of work but it cost very little since it had been abandoned at a storage unit and nobody purchased it when the unit contents were auctioned.  She took the Volvo home with her to Salt Lake in anticipation of using it for the coming summer hauling her other boats.  Meanwhile she and Miranda re-positioned my trailer so they could fit the Leaf nearer the house.  This morning the Hancock boys took down a planting box and tilled and conditioned the area near my back swing so they could plant an extension of my new lawn.  They do good work.  This is the first time Calvin has come over to work since he started at Brick Oven.  The quarantine put him on furlough but he will likely soon return now that restrictions are easing.  Adam is too light weight to operate the tiller.  I sorted our my baking supplies and boxed them.  I will have to determine the best way to get them to Meg. 

Wobbly

I nearly fainted while picking up grass seed from Lowes today.  It was due to the mask that cut off my breathing.  Fortunately I made it back to the car without collapsing.  I had purchased a gyro from Arby's in an effort to pump up my calories.  It is possible I have another bleeding tumor and am suffering anemia, but it is also possible I am dehydrated and need to hydrate more often and deliberately.  Needless to say, I hope it is dehydration.  In any case I weighed this morning and came in at 128.4 lbs. which is the lowest I have ever weighed and almost 7 lbs. down from when I last weighed.  It would be utterly ironic if I died from starvation after fighting overweight for most of my life.  The gyro tasted good but a bit sour.  I received a gift of fancy slippers from Eliza with Sam and Meg adding to the pot for mother's day.  They originally cost $175 but Eliza had a gift certificate for $100 that she earned for making masks for donation.  She had planned to purchase fancy shoes for herself but decided to go in on a group gift for me instead.  They will make good house slippers since they have a plastic sole that can be cleaned.  I found that Annie's potential wedding cake baker had to bow out and Meg just purchased a fancy stand mixer for a bargain price and would like to make the wedding cake.  I am bestowing all my fancy pans and layers on her.  She is the kind of person who becomes an expert in things that interest her.  When I went to put the chickens away I discovered that the boys had moved the rubber mats onto the back area so the area that I want to be seeded as lawn is clear except for the planter I want dismantled.  I called Sam at noon and talked to the kids. 

Capable Helpers and Flyover

I am engaged in a number of projects but my energy is zilch.  Fortunately I have resources available in the form of Adam, Ralph, Lelia, Alden, and possibly Calvin.  Although I somehow summoned the energy yesterday to install my wall feeder, I couldn't summon the energy to fill it today.  I have decided to dismantle one of the planters I made along the back of my yard in order to use the materials in my hanging swing which recently suffered breakage of an important plank.  I have purchased some grass seed online and will need to pick it up from Lowes.  Adam can't quite handle the cultivator by Calvin does a good job.  I'm hoping to enlarge the patch of grass in the center of the back yard and plant some nice perennial wild flowers in the former attempts at growing vegetables.  I have yet to encounter the hardware to put together my 'bug out' shed.  Today I drove over to the road above the church and watched the flyover of the military planes.  They appeared right on the dot and were past in a flash.

Done

I surprised myself by successfully installing the chicken feeding wall today.  I also added an additional nipple to the waterer.  I had to climb into the chicken coop to install the acrylic panel but other than cutting off a little from the sides of the bottom bin of the feeder, everything fit rather well.  The chickens wanted to peck at me but everything worked out in the end.  I made some clip on earrings from the hook earrings that matched my pink pearl necklace that I rarely wear and gave the set to Jing for her birthday since her love of pink is well known.  Today is her birthday.  Completing the earring and necklace set and wrapping them was the first thing I did this morning which started out rather late.  I published another art lesson, leaving only one to finish, but Eliza and her children hadn't prepared to do the lesson today.  At least I have almost finished posting the lessons online.  I believe I am suffering from dehydration.  At least my stomach troubles don't feel as bad.  I am very like I was when I was just about ready for my cancer operation.  I would like to fill the feeding wall with chicken feed now that it is finished but first I want to put top soil in my planters and plant the flower seeds for color in the summer.

Bank, soil and plastic

This morning I asked Adam to come with me when I went to the bank to deposit my support check.  I deposited the check and drew out $50 in cash.  I then drove to Lowe's and had Adam go in with some money to purchase some top soil for my planters.  I also checked out the water situation.  The good news is that the faucet is not the problem.  The bad news is that the long silver hose seems to have suffered some kind of internal kink.  I will see if it can be straightened out.  I then used my Dremel to make the base of the wall feeder and later used the Dremel ultra saw to shorten the plastic panel.  It took some time to remove the paper covering the acrylic panel.  My final act of the evening after watching Galaxy Quest was to take out the garbage.  I feel I made some progress today.

Project essentially finished

I worked on my laptop hood today and essentially finished it.  It meets two criteria: it folds and it does the job.  I am planning to add a flexible 'skirt' of either leather or fabric along the bottom of the wings to better obscure light.  I just barely had enough flat black paint to finish covering it.  I recovered leather from old boots to make the skirt and it seems to fill the bill.  It took me about three days to complete this project.  Today the President went ahead with a press conference and although some of the questions from the reporters were snide, it turned out well.  I think he is wise to cut the length.

Now if I only find the energy

I have several projects I am ready to put in place, first of all my viewing shield to more easily enjoy movie watching.  That should involve only spray painting the shield and putting on magnet fasteners that don't compromise folding it up when not in use.  I have found an old refrigerator box that I had used in my aquaponics system but which will be suitable after being cut down to use as the feeder box at the bottom of my wall mounted feeder.  It is my aim to finish both projects tomorrow.

Shield

Today I went to sleep several times after waking up.  I did my morning routine at last then let the chickens out and began to watch the final segments of 'Hunger Games'.  Glare from the windows made viewing difficult so I began to consider making a shield that would provide a better viewing experience.  I had some fairly sturdy foam board bought at Regional Supply but not enough of the black to make a good shield.  I ended up making it of white foam board.  I still have to apply black paint or fabric to make it suitably dark but I made it foldable.  I had a fairly varied diet today but I may have pushed the limit on my Nancy Pelosi indulgence.  I did have a nice lamb chop with tziki. 

Indulgences and Avoidance

I got up early this morning and did my morning routine before driving to Smith's for groceries during the 'elderly' hour from 7 AM to 8 AM.  I got there a few minutes early when there were only a few people in line.  I had a list and purchased most of the items listed including ice cream bars, Delizza treats, a couple of cans of beans, cucumbers, bananas, lamb, cream, and half and half, which was on a special sale, and The Greek Gods' yogurt.  I ate a banana first off after returning to the car and later ate a HD vanilla almond bar.  I had a few Delizza treats before trying to eat a rather rich combination of beans, ground lamb, sour cream and cheese. 
My main activity today has been watching movies.  So far I have watched a couple of Jane Austen movies, Harry Potter except for the Chamber of Secrets which had damage to the DVD, Twilight, and now I'm watching Hunger Games.  All of the movies from the last few days have had a similar theme of a young person being confronted with evil.  The manifestation of the evil is remarkably consistent with what is taking place in our world now, domination, displacement of responsibility, and falsehood.  I had soured very thoroughly on the narrative that is taking place in our country.  The latest entry in the game of subterfuge appeared yesterday after the daily press briefing.  It saddens me that so many that I love are blinded to the deceit and disdain displayed by those who are willing to wrench the truth to push their political agenda.  It was refreshing to watch the briefing today and see the President shut down the press and leave the podium after brief announcements.

Sunshine

Today one of the scientists at the President's briefing said that heat, humidity and sunlight were effective at diminishing the life of Covid virus.  This means the press and the democrats and those in their spell will begin to dis activities that take people outside.  It is a stupid game for power at the expense of life and freedom of others.  Today I saved myself some time by deciding to settle on the panel of siding already cut for the coop.  Otherwise I have mostly relaxed and watched movies from the Twilight Saga.

Design Revision

Today I realized my plans for the wall feeder wouldn't work, mostly because I lack the right size of hole cutter.  But I came up with an alternate design which should work well enough.  I impulsively suggested it might be a good idea to move the remaining portions of the air cooler that hasn't worked in several years.  Ralph and Adam got it most of the way to the trailer but Alden added his efforts and before long we had both the cooler case and the cupboard on which it had rested into the trailer and over to the dumpster at 7 Peaks.  I still have several projects in my back yard to finish as well as finishing my stained glass project.  My fatigue continues.  I am just about as tired as everybody else about the virus and the political shenanigans that have ensued.  I conducted a brief art lesson with Eliza and her older children via Messenger.

Considering Covid

When one is engaged in any interaction whether with a person or a force it is important to define the nature of the interaction, either positive or negative, the true nature of the other, the wisdom of taking action versus letting things precede as they have been.  I recognize for a number of reasons that those things and persons which restrict responsibility are negative.  Evil usually tries to assume control and restrict responsibility.  When it comes to parents, bad parents subdue their children and subject them to authoritarian oversight long past the time that the children should be assuming more stewardship over their choices.  They supervise them long after they should assume their adult roles. 
Our society encourages the institutionalization of people of all ages and puts 'experts' and authorities in charge of choices, leaving little but folly to the option of the young.  This persists throughout the life span with the elderly facing the demeaning warehousing in 'senior centers' and nursing homes where they must divest themselves of most of their decision making. 
As our world, nation, states and cities we are facing a sickness that seems to merit supervision by experts.  Unfortunately there is apparently a lack of information.  Point of view and prognostication based on scanty evidence and the rise of choruses of contradicting experts are manipulated by those who want to frighten us into following their agenda.  In many cases the agenda is purportedly beneficial, life saving etc.  but much of it is manipulation into achieving secondary aims. There are several potential long term solutions for the virus and they all show promise, but naysayers are quick to say they won't work, particularly the remedy put forth by the President, and that mostly because of  his dedicated enemies.  They apparently would rather see people die than accept a potential remedy that Trump recommended.  There is also the question of a failure of natural immunity, meaning the virus would not have a very effective vaccine. 

Plans

Today was mostly a day of thinking and planning.  I finally went out to the chicken coop and made measurements for the new piece of siding.  I did it mostly sitting down.  I have not felt unwell, but I have felt rather weak.  Fortunately we got the rear area cleaned off and I have plans to repair my picnic table.  I ordered some good long shanked phillips bits, some plant seeds and some tights.  It will probably take a while for them to be delivered.  Tomorrow I hope to complete the feeding wall.

Shopping and Junking

Today I got up earlier than usual these days so I could go to Smith's for and pickup.  I got there earlier enough to get some testing treats, cucumbers and lamb.  As I had feared. the leg of lamb I ordered was not in stock.  It was also out at Walmart.  I ordered a delivery from Sprouts and while I waited for it I supervised Adam, Lelia, Ralph and Diana in cleaning up the work area in my back yard.  They did a good job and shortly after my groceries were delivered I took Alden and Adam with me.  First we went to Rock Canyon Park parking lot but the dump had moved over to the Seven Peaks parking lot.  Meanwhile I experimented with the HD treats.  I wondered if a sweet treat would trigger the agony I suffered the other night, but today I ate a lamb chop with Tziki, several Delizza treats and several HD treats and so far I have not had any extraordinary gassiness or aching organs like I had the other night.  I have been watching Harry Potter movies. 

Return to Normal?

It will be interesting to see the results of this social experiment in a few years.  There is a very different agenda operating on behalf of the two political ideologies.  On the left there is the urge to generalize and 'protect'.  Harsh rules are imposed in an almost random manner and the perception is that it is the job of the federal government to micro-manage every aspect of life from child care to social distancing.  On the right there is the perception that people should take responsibility for their own choices.  The desire to 'do it myself' is strong.  I predict that most people will see their own self interest in rejecting the harsher measures of the 'nanny states'.  The sorting will continue with people moving away from states where the government continues to impose punishment on behaviors that seem defiant of the sanctions put in place.  But I believe that there will be hold overs of behaviors that foster social distancing.  Once I had experienced the convenience of ordering in groceries and other items shopping on the open market appealed to me far less.  Some items are best shopped for in person, but I would happily abandon in-store shopping if the items I wanted were available for pick-up or delivery. 

Lamb and tziki

After my really painful abdominal problems the other night I have been trying to hew a line that keeps me relatively comfortable.  My stew meat from Nancy and the yogurt and cucumbers she brought me were my recourse this morning.  So far I detect no evil results from eating quite a bit of the tziki made from the cucumbers and yogurt plus spices and garlic served on top of the braised stew meat.  I kind of overcooked the lamb which made it difficult to eat, but I ate about half of it.  I am tempted to expand my diet today to include some other items but my memory of the awful pain keeps me cautious.  It is interesting to be worried about losing too much weight.  Fortunately I have not lost rapidly.  Tomorrow I will eat the second half of the lamb and tziki.  I hope my online pickup order from Smith's is fully filled.

Heeding Leading

Getting a $1.38 off of each of three bags of mulch may not seem like much, but I needed mulch and I needed some new sprinklers and this morning I woke up at 5 AM and decided to do my morning routine and go to Lowes.  I found the mulch was on sale for 45% off and was one of the few shoppers in the store at the early hour I arrived.  A store worker loaded the mulch on a cart and took it to my car where he transferred it into the trunk.  I'm leaving it and the other package in the car until Adam unloads it on Saturday, giving it time to air out.  I left a package from Walmart on the porch with the same intent.  Now and then I have a sense that it is time to make a purchase and the manager of the checkout area seemed to think the sale on the mulch had expired a couple of days ago.  However the scanner gave the same results and what I had seen on the internet.  I ate some eggs today and over corrected the cutout of the siding that goes around the window of my chicken coop so I plan to remeasure and re-cut tomorrow.  I'm grateful the close down of the country is being eased.  It is possible that there will be some recovery before elections are due. 

What Do I Think Should Be Done

Because the plague called Covid-19 has caused fewer deaths and there are several remedies aside from the vaccine that would take more than a year, I believe the various states should relax their rules according to the path the infection is taking.  I believe that random interactions with strangers in crowded conditions including mass transit is a primary vector of the disease.  Since the target population is generally well known as being people with underlying conditions, particularly overweight and immune compromised, particularly the elderly, they can be advised to continue taking care.  I am in that category and have not felt overly constrained, although I acknowledge that I am somewhat anti-social.  The actual death and injury toll seems consistent with varieties of influenza. 
Therefore I feel that restrictions should be tailored to the actual problem. 

Inventory

It is a chilly morning in April.  Although deer ate at the tulip foliage in the strip along my front yard they did not destroy the  plants.  Blooms are forming.  Spring is coming in slowly with occasional lapses into really cold weather.  I went out to check on my propane generator this morning since I hadn't really noticed it for some time.  It is stowed at the bottom of a pile of other items.  The good aspect of this is that a thief might well overlook it.  It shouldn't take too long to get up and going if the need presents.  We had a minor earthquake last month and in the past few days there have been two major aftershocks, around 4.2, which is not much, but still worried those in the area concerned.
Since I regularly listen to the Book of Mormon with its account of famines, wars, storms, earthquakes and probable volcanoes as the wickedness of the people brought the wrath they earned I find our current level of panic rather excessive.  People seem mainly concerned with a threat to a lifestyle that is excessive and largely quite wicked.  So much of our economy depends on self-indulgence, in games, social mingling with strangers, entertainment of a wide variety from sports to concerts. 
I had been  prepared for danger and threat of starvation and thirst.  Instead we have to worry about whether or not people can continue to willfully associate with crowds of random strangers.  The worst crimes and abuses of human life continue virtually unabated.

Burning bands of hot acid.

I was miserable most of last night.  I think it is because I made some cookies with brown sugar and ground almonds.  I had eaten roast beef with gravy and diced tomatoes earlier.  I assume the brown sugar was the main villain, although the ground almonds could also be implicated.  I tried to take various remedies but ultimately fasting and taking salted water today has improved my situation.  Tomorrow I will probably eat salmon with lemon on it.

Another day of divesting

We got started removing things from the carport at around 11 AM today and eventually made two trips to the dump and one to the storage space David rents.  I recovered the elements of my bug out cooler and some other items.  It was doing something.  I hope we get some more divestiture done tomorrow.

Trailer back in Action

I made a couple of runs today.  I drove my car pulling the trailer we built last year and David brought along Alden and Adam to load and unload.  We took a refrigerator and a few other items to the transfer station in Springville then took a load of trash to the temporary dump at Rock Canyon Park.  I managed to turn up onto the trail around the water storage and a nice man volunteered to back my trailer up the trail back onto the road.  I wiped down with disinfectant afterward.  In the afternoon we took some items over to the house David owns on 800 West and then took stuff from there to the Rock Canyon dump site.  I knew it was going to get really cold tonight so instead of letting the chickens out I plugged in their water heater.  I made some warm cream of mushroom soup with a few beans and some mushrooms.  I added cheese and sour cream.  Later I made some pita, broiled lamb chops and tziki.  The lamb, pita and tziki that I made yesterday worked well for me.  Tomorrow as soon as it warms we will take more things to the dump.

Good Easter

.I have been really low energy today but I managed to open the chicken coop and refresh their water.  I made an Easter meal of lamb, unleavened bread and taziki and Richard and I ate while we joined the family on a Zoom meeting.  We then had the sacrament, following our sacrament by viewing a short talk on video by the Bishop.  I spent the remainder of the day relaxing and listening mostly to Tabernacle choir presentations, although I also included a video of Andre Bocelli.  I still need to close the chicken coop for the night.  I have been moving slow but I was able to eat my meal, although I did it in two attempts. 

Easter Food

Yesterday I remembered that I usually celebrate Easter with a special meal.  I texted Nancy who I expected to come down today to take care of her car, and asked her to shop for a few items including cucumbers, plain Greek yogurt, and lamb, and whipping cream.  She did so.  I hope her car passes inspection.  At least it was an outing for her and Miranda.

Offering

I had planned to fast for at least 24 hours, but I hadn't considered making a Fast Offering until I got an e-mail from my bishop.  I thought it through and made my normal fast offering amount.  I am very fortunate to be able to do so.
I had several plans for today, the most important was putting a barrier of blocks along the long side wall under the coop.  I blocked the chickens out of the space this morning but my plans have proceeded slowly, at first because of weakness from a 24 hour water fast followed by a 25 hour dry fast.  I decided to wait until after I did a zoom meeting with Rudy and Hannah at 3:00 PM.  I finished the job as twilight began to fall.  It was tougher than I had anticipated and more necessary.  The chickens have been undermining the foundations of the posts that hold up the coop, at the same time making incursions by raccoons and other pests easier.  The blocks I used were heavy and I was still quite weak.  I also fastened up the siding under the window.  I left my phone in the back yard but the chickens are still out so I'll retrieve it when I go down to close the flock in for the night.  I didn't do much but I exerted quite a bit of effort.  I left the drill downstairs with the intention of doing other things tomorrow.  I would like to put the slide in place.

Heeding the Holy Days

Tomorrow will mark 'Good' Friday which traditionally marks the day of my Savior's crucifixion.  Because of the fast called by President Nelson I fasted today until about 1:30 PM on water and have continued a true fast since then.  I fast for those who are sick and dying, for those who have been afflicted with financial problems because of the shutdown, for those who are caring for the sick and for all of us as they distribute food and do other tasks as nurses, as doctors, as clerks, as truck drivers.  I fast for the restoration of health to our economy and the opening of churches and temples.  I fast that those who have led heedless lives devoted to folly and pleasure will turn their hearts to God. 
I abstained from social media including news broadcasts today.  I have spent time talking to friends and family.  I dropped by Lucinda's house to get rice and exchange 'air hugs' with my family.  I met online with Eliza and some of her children for art lessons.  I called Marge Lewis.  It has been a relief to remove myself from the loop of political intrigue, although I did talk to Richard about it. 
We are ripe for destruction, but we have been for a while.  The time of the harvest is near, but it will come in the due time of the Lord. 

Eggs

I purchased 100 lbs. of chicken feed a couple of weeks ago, one of my last purchases after I mostly became quarantined.  Now April and warmer weather has arrived and my chickens seem to have hit their stride, producing several eggs a day.  I believe one of them just joined the other two as a layer if the much paler color of one of the eggs I just gathered is an indication.  Having a couple of fresh eggs daily is a nice backup to our food supplies.  Of the six items I pre-ordered to be picked up at Smith's on Monday, three were not available.  Although I have plenty of supplies on hand because I purchased a lot of food that was vacuum packed several years ago and already had other staples, knowing that there is something fresh available is good.
I had a fairly knarly night last night, dreaming of schemes about the plague that intersected with pains in my back that might have been my kidneys but could have been gas. 
Today I worked on another page of my online art lessons, made some cheese waffles, took care of my chickens and did a lot of somewhat obsessive internet browsing.  I'm doing fine with being quarantined.  My home is pleasant and has a lot of opportunities to be creative, but I am still a little worried about my lack of appetite.  Tomorrow starts the Good Friday fast.  I believe it will be best to do a water fast throughout the day and begin a dry fast in the evening until Friday evening.  Although there is a call to fast on Friday, I haven't noticed any particular notice of the time to start and end.

Banking, Creating Online Content and Visiting Hannah and Rudy

I was able to eat a serving of liver today as well as some bean thread noodles with egg.  I also received my support check in the mail and took it out to be deposited.  I posted two new episodes of my on-line art course to the web in addition to adding content to the color section.  In the afternoon I visited Rudy and Hannah via Zoom.  I am currently waiting for my laundry to dry.  I am very grateful that I was prompted to try Magnesium glycinate the other night when I began to fear that I might have a bowel obstruction and worried in my half awake state that I would have to die a very painful death fairly soon.  I'm grateful to Father in Heaven and his Son Jesus Christ and to the Holy Ghost for all I have been given.

A Day of Miracles

Today General Conference was very different in some ways and in other ways very similar.  Instead of the Tabernacle Choir and other choirs acting backup to the General Authorities and other speakers on the stand, a recording of various performances of hymns was played from the impressive library of songs recorded through the years.  The speakers practiced 'social distancing' as they sat at least 6 feet from one another on the area near the podium.  But the inspiration and instruction were generally the same degree and quality.  The Hallelujah Shout was surely voiced from far more throats as people in quarantine or isolation all around the world joined in.  A new Proclamation was added to the small number that has been issued, and it was fitting.  The variety of people who are now general authorities was somewhat increased, and as a final touch, in addition to a new logo, feature the Christus, President Nelson announced 8 new temples near the very end of the last meeting.  They will be in many places, but the greatest surprises were DuBai and Shanghai.

Surprise Reaction to Post

Over time I have made a number of relatively popular posts on Facebook but nothing like a relatively mild comment today.  I said I felt my change of way of life and way of eating had probably given me a margin in the current pandemic because most, if not all of those who die have been overweight or had high blood sugar.  It resulted in a lot of comments and quite a few likes.  There are a lot of varying opinions on the subject, although most feel that working for better health is beneficial.  I think what happened is that I tapped into the common 'zeitgeist' and many people felt the need to express their feelings. 
I finished the watercolor instruction page for my online art course and got it posted.  I made a call to Eliza and reviewed the drawings the children made.  I made a point that they would make little progress if they didn't practice.  I'm looking forward to Conference tomorrow.  I don't feel there will be a major announcement.  We are at the will of our Father in Heaven and he has run out this current time far longer than I would have anticipated. 

Summing up the day

I didn't let the chickens out today because it was cold and snowy.  I found a fairly high resolution photo of the painting of my dad and posted it on Facebook in response to an inquiry from my niece.  It was widely appreciated.  I woke up and did my daily routine early so I could do a zoom meeting with Eliza and her children.  As it turned out, she was just getting the children into doing the sketch associated with my lesson.  I arranged to talk to her again tomorrow after they had done some sketches we could mutually critique. 

Disappearing Posts

One thing I particularly dislike about this platform is the way I will often write a paragraph or more, only to have it disappear.  I wrote a post last night and before I could hit the 'publish' button the program shut down and I lost what I had written. 
It has been an interesting time for me.  Although I am under self-imposed isolation, I have Richard here to share it with me which is a great blessing.  Not only are we able to share the sacrament because he has the priesthood, but he is an interesting and intelligent conversationalist although he does tend to go off on a rant now and then, or to put it more mildly, he gives a lecture on a side topic when I am interested in conveying something tangentially related.  Neither of us is dependent on the other for food or other needs. 
I have more than enough projects to fill my time.  I still need to complete the stained glass project of the burial of Job Welling, I am still somewhat short of completing my chicken coop and although I woke this morning to snow, April has brought burgeoning growth to the yard.  Adam and Ralph will have plenty to do.  The girls have chosen to avoid coming to do housework.  My alarm is now set to 8 AM instead of six.  With seminary and the temples closed I see no particular reason to get up early.  I have done my morning and evening routine daily and my house is generally in order.  I have several different projects to motivate me enough to keep me from spending the day on movies or novels, although I do spend too much time examining the political situation.
The current conflict in ideas seems to be the difference of opinion on whether or not the virtual shutdown to the economy is in order.  Some have argued that is would have been better to require those particularly at risk, people in my general demographic, to stay isolated for their own protection and let those less at risk to carry on as normal.  However, although the worst effects of the virus tend to affect the elderly, many younger people have died and even where restrictions have been put in place for the population in general, there is sickness and death enough to strain the system. re
I take comfort in the guidance of the Prophet and other leaders of the Church.  They made the decision to take radical action in shutting down public meetings and had long since created programs and altered practices to make the transition to home based church quite easy.  For the immediate future I am relatively well off.  I have food supplies, cleaning supplies etc.  I had worried that my weight was dropping too low, but when I weighed this morning it was stable. 

Annie is back in Virginia

Today I met Annie by the bicycle racks near her dorm.  She asked me if I would store her bicycle while she returns to Virginia.  It didn't quite fit in the back of my car, but enough that the brief drive to my house was no problem.  This evening I called her and found that she had just landed.  I'm happy that she and her fiance Tim were able to make the trip before further difficulties in travel disrupted their plans.  I let the chickens out and refilled their feed bottle and then closed up their coop in the evening.  Other than those activities I have mostly napped and haunted the internet.  I watched the daily briefing from the White House and once again President Trump highlighted all the amazing progress that has been made in providing tests, sanitizers for masks, additional commitments of various businesses to helping the effort against the pandemic.  As usual the press mostly asked petty and persistent questions.  Trump defended his hopeful message while telling the very personal tale of the death of people in a hospital near his neighborhood.  I wonder if he was inspired by the video taken by a man who wept as he filmed bodies being loaded into a truck near a Brooklyn hospital.  I ate the remaining waffle brownie and some buttered popcorn. 

Fasting, Wedding and Brownie Waffles

I fasted until after 1 PM today after saying a prayer at 10 AM in concert with other members of the Church around the world.  Not long afterward I was scheduled to join the broadcast wedding of a nephew.  I enjoyed the sacrament with my son then I broke my fast with some waffle brownies I invented for the sake of switching up my diet.  Although I have a freezer full of beef steaks, they can become boring.  I made the brownies with primarily cream cheese, eggs and butter with enough chocolate and flour added to make them stiff.  I added baking powder and vanilla and sweetened the mixture with stevia.  I have a waffle iron that makes waffle bowls.  I decided to use it instead of the oven and they turned out well.  I completed my meal with some salmon.  My stomach seems to appreciate the food I ate.  I have been wary of carbohydrates but I find that a small amount of flour seems okay.  In the evening I was able to use the video conference software to visit with Lucinda's children. 

Beginning Fast

I am an experienced faster.  I have fasted since my youth on the first Sunday of each month except at General Conference time in which case I fast on the Sunday designated.  Tomorrow is the last Sunday of the month of March, 2020.  We have been asked to fast for those affected by Covid-19 and for the various countries caught the the plague.  At 10:30 AM we have been asked to pray as a focus of the fast.  I began the fast at about 12 noon but didn't finish eating and drinking until after 1 PM.  I ate leftovers from yesterday, some chunks of steak and some cheesecake with pineapple, strawberry dices and extra whipping cream.  It did not settle well and has made me feel out of sorts for most of the day.  I am anything but hungry.  I watched President Trump attend the embarkation of the hospital ship Comfort from the dock at Norfolk Naval base.  It was a very touching scene.  He was criticized by the press for flying a few hundred miles to speak.  Yet it brought attention to the effort made to make the ship ready for action in four hours instead of the month that had originally been scheduled.  We are a wicked nation.  Abortion is the chief sin of which we have borne the stain, but there are other clear abominations that have festered and grown.  I frankly think the burden of abortion and these other sins are worse than the virus.  This may well be a turning point for our country.  Our economy has been based on a flimsy structure with entertainment and diversion as its chief aim and product.  Only 'essential' industries are allowed in most area and cities and that means that only medicine and primary food sources remain open, along with the transport of food and medical supplies by truck, train and plane.  Those few people who did not shop for goods 'online' are being brought to do so by the closing of the many stores that carry non-essentials.  Today I took some masks and tissues to my granddaughter, Annie, who is heading back to Virginia by air with her fiance.  I hope that their decision doesn't put them in danger of infection.  I don't know if they will take advantage of the items I gave her, but I can only provide and advise, I cannot insist.  It has been  about 17 days since I began quarantine.  My granddaughters, Jacqueline, Diana and Leila decided to avoid my house for my sake. 

Travel Advise

Annie and Tim are flying back to Virginia on Monday.  I am planning to provide them with masks, not so much to keep the virus off their face as to keep them from touching their mouth and nose.  Both of them have glasses they can wear to protect their eyes.  I have been somewhat dilatory today.  I baked a cheese cake and broiled a steak but I still have half left of both which I assume I will eat tomorrow.  The fifty pounds of popcorn I bought for Richard is being well utilized.  It makes the house smell nice.  The grandchildren won't be coming up tomorrow.  They are concerned for my safety.  I will miss seeing their sweet bright faces.

Snow and Online Birthday Gathering

It snowed again overnight.  I made some cheesy bisquits with quite a bit of butter.  I ate salmon and some yogurt with crushed pineapple added, then I had a handful of buttered popcorn.  In the afternoon I joined an online birthday celebration for my neighbor Becky Williams.  I responded to an e-mail from Diana Graham and watched the daily update of the White House Covid-19 update. In evening I put a load of dark wash through the washer and finished up a page about acrylic paint for my online art lessons.

Sleeping Late

March 25, 2020.  I woke up when my grandchildren arrived for their bi-weekly tasks.  There are two reasons I continue their duties.  For one thing, I regard my employment of them as a way of helping support their family, particularly in this time of uncertainty.  The second reason is that although I can't get near them or hug them, even with social distancing in place I enjoy their presence.  About the only other things I've done today is let the chickens in and out of their coop and add some beef to my beef stroganoff from yesterday and share it with Richard.  Today I added a can of green beans but so far it doesn't seem to have done any damage to my digestion.

Testing the Battery

I went to the bank today.  I carried a bottle of hand sanitizer in my car and used it everytime I touched the canister that carries money and messages between the inside of the bank and my car.  The teller was wearing plastic gloves.  Fortunately they dispersed the money in an envelope.  I took the car out today to make sure the battery still held a charge.  It is a little over a year old and has been 'gently used' so there was no problem.  My fifty pound sack of popcorn from Amazon was delivered today and Richard stored it in assorted canisters.  I ordered some supplies from Walmart that will be delivered and bagged up the steaks I cut and froze last week.  After more than 40 hours of fasting my blood glucose was under 70 and my ketone level over 3.  I decided to make beef stroganoff with the steak I broiled.  I left a lot of it for tomorrow but so far I don't have the gastric distress that plagued me for several days. I enjoyed watching President Trump's townhall from the Rose Garden, particularly because the questions asked were from ordinary citizens who sincerely wanted an answer instead of coming from arrogant journalists who spend their time at press conferences trying to trap the president.  I also enjoyed watching his daily update.  The problem with America is not Trump's fault.  He is only trying to ride a bucking horse that has a spike under the saddle.  Our people seem to have forgotten normal skills and behaviors that protected people in the past from many of the ordeals of nature and economics.  Prudence is rare.  Most people live from paycheck to paycheck.  A lot of our economy rests on 'Fried Froth', entertainment and recreation of various kinds that bring people together in crowds.  These businesses have hit a wall with social isolation and quarantine.

Change of Profile Picture

For several months I have been using a picture that contrasts my weight when I was riding a mule in Bryce Canyon to a picture of myself after returning from Alaska last year.  I decided to change to a picture of the First Vision that Jacqueline created.  She has talent both for capturing likenesses and for composition.
I have written more pages for my art lessons site. I still have quite a few more to go.

More Art and other Things

I continued working on my online art classes.  Today I began to address the subject of color and have completed setting up two assignments.  I only ate animal products today aside from a few kernals of popcorn.  I am much less gassy than yesterday when I foolishly tried gruel again although I had already had two bad experiences.  I contacted several of my children, particularly Nancy and they seem to be doing alright.  Tomorrow is the Sabbath and once again we will be doing the sacrament in our home, just me and Richard. 

Art Work

Eliza asked me about doing remote art lessons.  Years ago I made a booklet for the women in the group that met in my home but I have not been able to find a copy.  I decided to put it online and linked it through my PatChiuart.com domain.  I didn't do much else today than work on the lessons.  I should finish up the section about sketching by tonight.  I really have to stop eating Cream of Wheat with cream.  I get a really gassy, acid stomach not long after I eat it. 

Earthquake

This morning I felt a shuddering and heard a sound that I tried to identify but very quickly realized was earthquake.  Since I was browsing Facebook at the time I quickly got a notification that my daughter Tricia had posted about an earthquake.  It took place about equal distance between her home in Bountiful and mine in Provo, but I am on the hillside and she is on the flat.  The seismic waves traveled through the flatlands easily.  My daughter, Mary, in West Jordan was quite a bit closer to the epicenter.  She felt the earthquake which was a fairly mild 5.7, although the strongest felt in more than 20 years in Utah.  It was followed by many smaller aftershocks.  I felt the 4.8 after shock that came about 5 hours after the initial shock.  I prepared my car as a bug out vehicle after heeding a post from someone who claimed that a stronger quake was anticipated.  I lifted two 50 lb. sacks of chicken feed out of my car and stored them in the storage bench where I keep straw.  I used a dolly for most of the way, but I had to lift the sacks into the bench.  This winded me.  I put down the wider back seat and installed some cushions I prepared for traveling east more than a year ago.  Mostly I kept up with news of plague and earthquake on my electronic devices.  I am grateful that for now I have what I need to 'shelter in place'. 

Redesign and Watching

I thought I might need to ditch the 1.5" pvc els I had purchased because they were too small in diameter for my feeding wall project but I discovered that if I mounted the retaining rings on the outside they were about the same functional diameter as the 2" els in the bottle that I have been using.  I put some chicken feed in other containers for the meantime and added some water to the reservoir in the green house.  I intend to store some water eventually and I also need to locate and inventory the propane tanks that I will use for the generator if that becomes necessary.  There are a number of possible outcomes of the current crisis.  Worst case scenario is that this current crisis is the trigger for societal dissolution.  Although I have a years supply and more of food, it could be more than years before things are relatively stable, and that may only come when Christ arrives.  On the other hand, we have been in a bubbling broth headed toward the end time for some time.  The ship of state may well resist tipping completely over once more and we will have more time to either lose ourselves or repent.  At least for the time being my children and grandchildren are taking precautions and being wise. 

Group Limit

My daughter Lucinda has 11 children and a husband, making 13 people in their home.  Today the federal government recommended that no more than 10 people gather.  This is probably good advice, certainly limiting the possibility of crowds gathering for groceries.  I went out this morning and bought two bags of chicken feed and filled my tank which was half full.  The only person I approached closer than six feet was the cashier at the farm store.  I was slightly ahead of the curve in my decision to self quarantine.  Events rapidly overtook my decision.  I am probably in a far better situation than most people.  I have plenty of food, I don't have any duty to leave my home for work.  In fact I only went out for chicken feed because there is some discussion of making home quarantine for 'vulnerable individuals' mandatory and chicken feed was the one commodity that was growing low. 
I have been stalled in proceeding with my feeding wall because I used a smaller size of plumbing els than are needed.  One alternative is to use the els from the jar feeder.  In any case I don't feel impelled to take definite action at this time.
I received the 2020 Census form and filled it out online.  I only received one copy for this house so I filled in the names of David's family as well.

Interesting Sunday

Today was the first Sunday of a period of uncertainty of whether Church will be held or whether we will avoid crowds.  Richard and I had a simple sacrament meeting with a prayer, a sacrament hymn and the ritual words read from the scriptures.  I learned that Mary was short on basic supplies and within a short time I loaded food and sanitary supplies into my car and drove to her home in West Jordan.  David added some other supplies in the form of a rifle and some bullets in a rifle case.  I knew about the bullets but no the rifle.  It's a good thing I didn't get stopped along the way.  I contacted all of my children in the past two days and each seems to be okay.  Nancy has a cough and decided to work from home, using the phone to consult with those who require her services, which is just as well because her daughter Miranda is suffering from a cold.  I have plenty to do in the following days as I finish up my chicken coop; installing the feeding wall and finishing the siding. 

Corona Corona

Officials seized fake corona virus testing kits at LAX airport.  This is how it is.  Government and private industry are having a real problem getting testing kits distributed but scammers have them hot and ready. 
I accomplished a bit today.  Mostly I talked to Annie, Meg, Sam and the two women I am supposed to minister to.  I mostly called to reassure them I'm okay.  I raked some waste from the coop, prepared a board to go at the base of the feeding wall and re-positioned the secondary roost.  I have mostly spent the day on the internet.  I guess I'm 'caught up in the moment' over the corona virus news.  The suggestion I made to the bishop about having family members with the appropriate priesthood take care of providing sacrament for their own families may have had some influence on the letter sent out this morning by the Stake Presidency.  As I had suggested in my e-mail to Bishop McMurray on Thursday, the priests will take the sacrament to those without priesthood in their homes.  They will do so by appointment tomorrow morning.  This means I will be having a meeting with Richard since David and his family are going up to spend Sunday with Taylor and his family. 

Nothing to get Dressed up for

I have a lot of attractive 'Sunday' best dresses, skirts and sweaters.  I wore them to Church and the temple, meaning I dressed up at least three times each week.  Now the temple and Church are canceled, unless someone wants my presence at their sealing, which is very unlikely.  On the other hand, with the cancellation of schools, I will not be required to get up earlier than eight each morning, and that is only because if I sleep much beyond eight my entire schedule of sleep will be tipped on its head.  My prettiest jewelry is not required since I wear it mostly for art meetings and going to Church.  It is now March 13 and I wonder if Church will start again before it is full spring.  Meanwhile my default daily wear is the comfortable yoga pants with boot cuffs that I also wear as pajamas along with a turtleneck shirt.  I altered some corduroy pants to fit me after losing quite a bit of weight last year, but they are still and not suitable for wearing at night.  I adopted the practice of wearing the yoga pants when I decided to dress in such a way that I could leap out of bed and quickly finish my usual morning ritual before driving kids to seminary.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays I would get up a half hour earlier in order to drive to the Provo City Center Temple to act as patron in an 8 AM endowment session.  So now my life is simplified.  The only thing I do now is drive up to Bountiful each Friday to take Hannah and Rudy to the park and McDonalds.  Today I had planned to maintain 'social distance' by staying in the car.  But Rudy was quite insistent that I join them in the park and I realized that my presence means a fair amount to him.  I would be more exposed to him by failing to join him. 
I am tempted to pack up all my fancy 'go to meeting' clothing, but things may change greatly before the season turns completely.  Today I faced sleet as I began my drive to Bountiful.  I stopped to get gas and my sweater was soon loaded with icy particles.  At least I got the plastic cut for my feeder wall.  I plan to finish it tomorrow.  I hope the weather cooperates.

Doing hardly anything

Today was chilly and after taking the kids to seminary and shopping for meat at Days Market I came home and prepared the roasts I bought to be cooked as steaks.  Afterward I went back to bed.  I have decided to self quarantine and therefore had no plans to attend the temple.  Tomorrow I will drive up to Bountiful to spend time with Rudy and Hannah.  I doubt my normal routine with them will change much.  I didn't eat my steak yesterday but it warmed up well for today.  I have browsed the internet a lot as I watched the slow reordering of things because of the threat of Corona virus.  There are definitely several points of view on the subject.  To those who are under very minimal threat it seems ridiculous that such seemingly Draconian measures are being taken.  For those of us under more immediate threat because of age or health issues it seems sensible to slow the spread of the virus by canceling large meetings and delaying events.  There are economic consequences either way.  As for me, I am letting my physical energy lead the way.  I don't believe I am actively ill, but I also believe I am fairly vulnerable. 

Semi quarantine

My experience at the temple yesterday was good until a woman entered the sealing room and proceeded to cough in her hand, which she then used in the sealing ceremony.  I realized that I have to avoid situations where I have little to no control about the actions of others.  The discovery that an active case of Covid19 from one of the cruise ships was being treated in the hospital where my daughter-in-law who shares the downstairs portion of my home, is employed in the lab made me aware of how close I could be to a risk situation. 
Today I had hoped to make more progress on putting in my feeding wall in the coop, but at least I finished up the gate gap closer.  Fortunately I have a small stock of suitable face masks, some hand sanitizer, and sufficient supplies of other items.  I plan to shop in the morning after dropping off the kids at seminary.  Day's Market has a good price on beef steak.

One run, one strike

I took a tube of hand sanitizer and a small packet of tissues with me to the temple today and my new dress pocket worked well.  On the other hand, the pocket I had sewn on what I thought was the left side of my slip was somewhat toward the back and I ended up not using it.  I had a pleasant time at the temple.  I did some shopping on the way home and indulged in some bananas and treats which left me with a very gassy stomach.  I stopped by Lucinda's house to visit with the younger children who I haven't seen in some while.  Later, after I had rested for a while, Lelia and Timothy came over and made a dice from clay.  Jared came over later in the day which put a stop to any plans I had of cutting my plastic piece for my coop feeding wall.  We had a nice visit, but he is still a somewhat confused man.  I have taken out the trash, folded laundry and now it is time to end my day.

Interrupted Post

I hate it when I have written quite a bit and something happens to erase it.  That just happened with a post I had nearly finished.  At any rate, to recap, I finished one of the projects I hoped to accomplish today; installing pockets in my temple dress and slip so I can carry a tube of hand sanitizer.  There is no way to avoid touching hands in the endowment ceremony or sealing ceremony so the best way to deal with that vector of infection is to use sanitizer as seems wise.  It will depend on the amount of sniffling and coughing I hear, or my own behavior.  I am feeling somewhat better than I did a week ago when I decided against going to the temple for two days.  I still have several active projects that I will do according to available energy.  I have some things to do with my chicken run and coop and I need to clean out the area near my storage sheds. 

Another Sweet Maple Sunday

Jared brought his three older children to Maple Sunday today.  Miranda was enthusiastically telling her mother of how much she liked Calvin and Jacqueline as they loaded their car in preparation to return home.  Jacqueline had expressed some worry about going to a different seminary next year when Adam is eligible for seminary.  She worried about finding friends.  I assume the seminary at Timpview has people from her ward.  I assured her that she would have friends, but if not, if the group she joins for seminary is haughty or exclusive she needs to deepen her relationship with the spirit.  I baked a pork roast and a cauliflower casserole.  Nancy brought bread, desserts and a salad plus drinks.  Jing brought up a rice dish, Taylor brought drinks, and Tisha brought cake in honor of her husband, Brad's birthday.  I gave small paintings to Jared and Brad.  Jared had first choice and he chose a blue encaustic snow scene.  The other painting was an oil of pomegranates which Tisha said Brad favors.  It was a rather random gathering.  Rudy stayed in my room where he played with the marble game and a world globe.  The youngest was Lilah who mainly refused contact although she is willing to give me a 'high five'.  The teens played games and the adults conversed on a number of topics while avoiding politics.  I ate nothing, although I did take a few bites of dessert as I cleaned up the dishes and tidied the kitchen.  Tomorrow I hope to make renovations on my temple dress so I can carry a pack of tissues and a vile of hand sanitizer.  I want to get back to temple attendance and I am feeling somewhat better today. 

Pictures

Today my major labor was preparing pictures taken at the art exhibit for publication on the website, the Facebook page for UVAG and the newsletter.  The corruption of my Word Perfect file created some difficulty.  The most serious is that I can no longer prescribe the degree of rotation, but I've developed a number of work arounds.  I create and manipulate most images in Presentations, save them as an image file then either upload them to the web or print them after dropping them into Open Office.  I also came much closer to the goal of protecting the chicken run and only a gentle rain kept me from completing the barrier over the gate.  Adam and Ralph pulled up the mulch along the sidewalk and revealed some rather alien looking tulip and daffodil sprouts.  They should recover in a few days.  Tomorrow is spring forward time.  I plan to have Maple Sunday and leave church after sacrament meeting.  I am feeling much better today and feel I was under hydrated instead of being anemic.  I had a lovely ribeye steak today after having two eggs in the morning.  I think some of my abdominal discomfort stems from a form of constipation.  The one thing I had planned on was getting the mess in my storage area straightened out.  Jacqueline came over to watch 'Enchanted' and I pointed out that although the costumes worn by the key character were 'immodest' she had an essential innocence. 

Lovely, Busy Day even if ill

Today I got quite a bit done.  I took the kids to seminary, purchased some ribeye steaks and liquid hand soap at Day's, worked on securing the chicken run against coons, drove up to Bountiful for my usual activities with Hannah and Rudy, and returned home in enough time to take Jacqueline to the art exhibit opening at the Covey Center along with the candy palettes the girls made yesterday.  I was feeling very weak while working on the chicken run and was unable to finish the job all the way.  The weakness was reminiscent of the way I felt when I had severe anemia but I'm feeling quite a bit better this evening.  Tomorrow I hope to finish closing the obvious weak points along the lattice fence and gate.  Maybe I can also mount the wall chick feed container.  Adam noticed that it was time to remove the mulch from the front strip and let the tulips and daffodils up.

Feeling Sickly

I had hoped to go to the temple this morning but although I woke in time I realized that my physical level was still somewhat compromised.  I'm conscious of having a mild inflammation of my throat and less energy than normal.  I went shopping for supplies for the special molded chocolates I provide for openings.  I also bought some supplies for my chicken house and groceries for the Maple Sunday this weekend.  I got some cauliflower, a pork roast, loaves of cheap bread and sour cream.  I didn't use a cart either at the craft store or the grocery store and felt almost ready to faint.
Jacqueline and Diana came up and made the candy treats which they packed in transparent treat bags using silver twist ties.  I feel this is the best way to present the chocolates since they offer less threat of melting.  I had hoped to do some securing of the chicken run using screw eyes I purchased at Lowes but I couldn't find the supplies my grandsons used the other day.  I also cut the angles to make a feeding wall in the coop.  The current feeding situation takes up too much room and gets too mucky to see the level of the contents since it perforce sits beneath the perches.  The feeding wall I had in the coop previously worked quite well and had a good capacity.  I hope to get around to fixing it tomorrow, but since I plan to go to Bountiful and bit earlier than usual in order to return in time for the UVAG exhibit opening I may not get around to it.

Tidying up UVAG

The other day when I purchased an independent website for the Artist Guild I made new graphics to refresh the look. Meanwhile I have the responsibility of accounting for memberships and proper addresses for the newsletter, both electronic and printed.  I spent a lot of time today on my computer tidying up the ragged ends.  I made a new mailing list complete with new mailing labels.  I tried to complete a list of members.  Tomorrow in the afternoon Jacqueline and Diana will come over to make the molded palette candies that I have formerly placed on cupcakes.  This year I will make them stand alone.  Or rather my skilled helpers will make them.  I hope to go the temple tomorrow.  I hope to feel somewhat better after taking it relatively easy for the past few days.

No Hand Shaking

Probably as a result of eating carbs I have had inflammation of my lungs and frequent coughs.  It is flu season and the Corona virus has increased the awareness of how personal contact is a major vector for disease.  I had planned to go to the temple as usual this morning but last week I had a difficult time suppressing coughs.  When I found that seminary was canceled because of ACT tests at the high school I decided to sleep in late and do the tasks I had planned after going to the temple, none of which would involve personal contact with others.  I picked up my check from the lawyers office, took pictures of the award winners at the Covey Center and went shopping at Smith's with the aim of building up my gas points.  I found a sale on beef, a good price on toilet paper, a bag of buns for Richard, and an unanticipated sale on Kerry Gold Butter.  I purchased ten packages of Kerry Gold, three packages of steaks, a large package of toilet paper.  I also bought a hand of bananas.  I ate one as I drove to the bank and deposited my alimony check at the drive through.  Once at home I waited for a visit from the president of our Art association, Sandy Whitby, who came to pick up the awards I printed out and provide me with a copy of the sign in for the exhibit.  After she left I cooked my steak.  I also ate some pastries and another banana.  For a while I worked on getting the photos of the award winning pictures onto e-mail.  My digestion was rumbly so I took a nap.   When I woke up I continued working with the pictures, cropping them and putting them with their titles and the names of the artists. 

Just another Sunday

I struggled against waking up on time this morning but Richard and I made it to church on time.  I scanted on my exercise and shortened my prayer, but I made my bed and left my room tidy.  I fasted for those caught in the plagues that are raging around the world.  I couldn't raise my hand to sustain Brother Youngblood as a Sunday School teacher.  He nibbles at the edge of orthodoxy but his doubt seems all too often to outweigh his faith.  My ministering brothers came over for a visit and I showed them Diana's diorama.  Tomorrow I will likely help Jacqueline make a silk painting of the scene.  Jared came over for a visit with Patricia and Timothy and they did quite well aside from a brief tussle over the Star Wars trading card album. 

Fairly Useful Day

This morning, February 29, 2020, I went to the Covey Center to finish the installation of the Spring Exhibit.  I did not do the installation but my wiring equipment was useful as one of the artists had forgotten to put wire on the back of her painting.  I mostly registered artwork, prepared the checks and cash for deposit, made out extra checks for Sandy to co-sign and fiddled with the information sheets.  It's a varied and full exhibit.  We took in over fifty works of art.  When I got home I reworked the logo I created for the new website.  After resting I installed it after cleaning out the chicken coop and making some more changes to protect the chickens from the coons.  Tomorrow is Sunday.  I 'loaned my nice set of colored pencils to Jacqueline.  I rarely if ever use colored pencils.  She plans to make a silk painting of the First Vision, making it about the light instead of the figures.

Busy Day

I had a busy and productive day today.  I woke up way too early and ended up purchasing a three year contract on a simple stand alone website from Bluehost for the Utah Valley Artist Guild.  I used a little less than the cash I removed to pay my helpers and tore up the check I had written to reimburse the Guild after putting a little cash I had on hand into the cash I collected.  I purchased the domain name UVAG.org.  I redesigned the logo based on a painting by Sandy Whitby of the south peaks of Timpanogos which I altered with her permission.  This way the website can be left to others to edit and work with if that becomes prudent.  I like the look of the new website.  I drove to Bountiful after spending the morning doing intake for the Guild.  I will help again tomorrow.  I deposited almost $400 cash but retained the checks until I have photoed them for information.  I started the redesign of the website before leaving for Bountiful and redesigned and finalized it after coming home.  I also checked on my chickens and plan to tighten up the run against the nasty intruders in the afternoon tomorrow.

Intake

After I went to the temple today I stopped to fill up with gas at Smith's.  After making some preparations I headed down to the Covey Center and did intake for the Spring Awards Show for several hours.  I wrote a check to cover the cash I removed from the fees in order to pay my helpers when I drove by Lucinda's house.  I was tired when I got home so I took a long nap before heading out to the UVAG meeting.  We had more than 34 entries in the two hours I did intake.  I don't know if we will have the same load of artwork as previously but we have a good basis of excellent artists as members of the group and several new ones to offset those who are aging out.

Death and the Masked Marauder

Today is February 26 and I was waked an hour early by my son Richard who said the chickens were upset.  I got up and took my lantern out to see why they were squaking.  I counted one in the coop and two beneath the coop.  I found the third in a heap towards the back of the run.  I thought I first I would leave the body there and take care of it later, but I reconsidered and picked it up.  A gray shadow ran from under the recycling barrel.  I smacked the raccoon several times with my lantern and it was having a problem finding an exit.  I think it forced its way out through the trellis under the coop.  I need to reinforce the run before I let the chickens out again.  Fortunately they have plenty of food and water.  I finished up my pictures and some paperwork for the intake for the UVAG tomorrow which I will do after I go to the temple.

First Vision

Diana came up this afternoon and finished her diorama about the First Vision.  She made figures of God the Father and Jesus and Joseph Smith out of Sculpey clay, painted them with acrylic paint and mounted them in a box from my air fryer.  I punched out a lot of tiny maple leaves to accent the floor and she used pearl mini glitter on the deity figures to give them shine.  I think it is an effective scene.  I have been feeling somewhat logy today.  At the temple this morning everyone was suppressing their coughs.  Nobody wants to be seen as a carrier for the dread Corona virus.

Self Indulgence and Industry

I went ahead a went for full out self indulgence this morning. I had a box of HD bars distributed throughout several hours.  I didn't suffer as much intestinal distress as I expected.  I got up early to take the kids to seminary but I had been awake since before 4 AM because of noise from a wind storm.  I worked on various aspects of preparing for the intake on Thursday.  I printed out awards and arranged some labels instead of colored dots to use on the pictures.  Diana came over and worked on creating figures for a diorama of the First Vision.  She finished up the figures around 6.  One thing I didn't get around to was finishing the frame for my picture of Marge Lewis but I still have a couple of days.  Tomorrow I will help Diana in the afternoon and also work on my frame.  I think I've pulled the fang on my dietary yearnings  I learned on Facebook today that David has been successful in losing 40 lbs. with intermittent fasting and limiting carbs to one meal a day.  I'm happy for his success because it should have real impact on his health.

Slow Sunday

Richard didn't realize that today was Sunday and he is somewhat under the weather so I went to church alone today.  I've spent a lazy afternoon and evening.  Tomorrow I'll be up early to take the kids to seminary and try to finish framing the Picture of Marge.

"Best Gifts"

This morning I stopped by Mary's home with a gift for Heta on her birthday, February 22. I gave her a big plastic bottle containing 101 cookie cutters. I added two decorating tubes, a coupler, 4 decorating cones and gel food colors.  Heta enjoys baking.  I turned out her sister Sela has been watching videos of decorating cakes and cookies on Youtube.  She exclaimed that I always give the best gifts😉.  This afternoon I has Jacquelines help with finishing the framing of her picture.  This evening Annie stopped by with a problem with her car key and Richard gave her good advice.  I splurged on ribeye but I ate some celery and cheese before I started and I've been having gas.

all new movie

Today I made and mailed out rings and a bracelet for Beth and Meg.  I decided to stay at Nancy's tonight after visiting with Hannah and Rudy. Nancy was watching Poldark and I watched a few episodes with her then the two of us watched Northanger Abbey and I realize that I own this on DVD but it was fun watching and again.

Temple and Women of Faith

After going to the temple I went to Smith's and purchased a few items to start my fuel account.  I had a $30 check from accumulated points and spent around $2 more on the credit card.  I purchased some icing for the gift I am giving to Heta, some meat, and some forbidden items, namely Low Carb bars and bananas.  I washed my robe and temple dress and went to listen to a sister who has had a very trying time while sustained by the spirit. 

Framing

Today I spent time with Jacqueline helping her frame the pencil sketches of her family suitable for display at the Covey center.  She will pay for the acrylic glazing but otherwise I used materials I had on hand.  It was gratifying.

Mending

Today while in an endowment session I discovered that the heel of my slipper had de-laminated from the body of the shoe.  I also dealt as usual with the looseness of my slippers that inhibits me from going up the spiral staircase as rapidly as I would like.  This afternoon I took some of the satin faced elastic from the waist band of my 'fig' apron and used it to create two bands that I sewed into my slippers to keep them on my feet when I walk.  It turned out quite nice and still left plenty of elastic in the waist band.  I also replaced the fraying flowers at the tips of the slippers with ribbon bows.  I ate a lot of indulgent food today including bananas and sugar free chocolate as well as a bun with butter.  I'm not worried about falling off the wagon and back into a SAD diet.

1917

I went to the WW1 movie 1917 today with my son David and his son Alden.  We went to the early showing which cost a little over 5 dollars each.  The theater was mostly empty.  The movie was intense but not overly dramatic.  I was very impressed with the presentation.  There were many previews showed but I am not really interested in the movies that were promoted.  I ate a couple of eggs before going to the theater and a steak when I returned.  I finally got the image transferred for my planned painting of Layla.  I used watercolor for the initial transfer from the image on my computer.  I will use either watercolor or pastel for the next layer then add encaustic on top for texture and to make the images make sense.  I am glad I have the painting of the Payson Temple and Marge to take to the Spring Show.  I'm uncertain of how this project will turn out but I know that Taylor and Shazia will welcome it.  Tomorrow I go to the temple as I usually do on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I have had a new contact withe the land agent who arranged my previous leases of my Duschesne property.  I worked out that my car gets around 18 miles per gallon.  I require at least two fill ups per month to keep to my current schedule of driving up to Bountiful once a week. 

Good Sunday

The lesson I taught today, February 16, was fun.  I learned a lot as I prepared and the teenagers were mostly responsive.  Lucinda and her family came by to eat lasagna after church and stayed to play and visit.  I enjoyed viewing the audacious behavior of President Trump who not only spoke the phrase 'gentlemen, start your engines, but set the pace with the official limousine after having the pilot buzz the grandstand before he landed.  Tomorrow I plan to attend a movie with David.

Studying for Sunday School

I have been asked to substitute for a teen aged Sunday School class tomorrow.  I will be teaching about Jacob's sermon based on Isaiah and have learned some interesting things.  Previously I felt that Nephi was a bit too anxious to talk about his own ideas about Isaiah and somewhat dismissive of the further words of Jacob.  Now I have revised my view.  It seems that Nephi gave his much younger brother a significant honor, first by asking him to present the sermon which may have been a key address on the occasion of a festival which took him two days to complete.  It was more like the address of King Benjamin than the itinerant preaching Lehi used when warning the people of Jerusalem.  There would have been an audience gathered and the idea that Nephi felt his brother's sermon was worthy of being recorded on the small plates is significant.  There is also the idea that this was meant to welcome 'Gentiles' who were not some distant people but the people who had joined the community of the Nephites from the indigenous population is intriguing.  There are many clues to this such as the emphasis on 'adoption' into the tribe of Israel.  Isaiah was an adviser to King Hezekiah who listened to him and ruled righteously for many years as opposed to his great, great grandson Zedekiah who was king in Lehi's time.