Eyes of a Child...by Chee Vai Tang

"If we all could see the world through the eyes of a child, we would see the magic in everything."

~Chee Vai Tang~

Devil's Slide...by Jim Terry

Travel season is just around the corner and this location may just be something to add to your list this year.   I’m sure the title of today’s blog may have some of you a bit concerned of what this may elude to but for the adventurous please read on. A lot of times when you put the word “devil” in a sentence with another term it may not be as bad as you think…for instance have you ever heard of a “devil’s advocate?”…”devil”ed eggs?...”devil’s food cake” (one of my favorites)?…the “devil’s highway”? Or how about “devil’s tower” in Wyoming?  Of course this “Devil’s Slide” I am going to talk about today is not a slide in the traditional sense like on a swing set or even a ride at any given amusement park, it is an area on the coast of California very close to where I work in Pacifica.  

Devil’s Slide features several areas being slowly eroded away by the strong currents and waves of the Pacific Ocean and the inclement weather that compromise it’s rocky cliffs, valleys and shores. And PLEASE DO NOT go off the trail while hiking here…the cliffs and landmasses in this area encompass and boast of grades 30-80% that will easily allow you to fall up to 430 feet straight down. Think about the steepest pass you have driven on…in my case that would be a thirteen percent grade.  Then take that same grade and then six times the steepness of that grade and try and drive or walk on that…”Good luck!”

The term Devil’s slide comes from what has happened to Highway 1 along the coast. Since the completion of this highway in 1937, it has been known for the landslides and erosion that often occur and will sometimes make the road impassable. The first major landslide destroyed much of the road in 1940, only three years after completion and a succession of building and destruction has existed in this area ever since that time.  Longitudinal cracks along the length of the roadway in both 1995 and 2006 in both lanes show a slow slippage of the highway towards the ocean indicating that devil’s slide was taking a toll on the safety of the road itself.

This area was also part of the location of a military triangulation station and observation site used during World War II as part of the harbor security of San Francisco and the United States.  “Prior to the dawn of radar, military personnel would use binoculars and compasses to search for ships at sea and relay their coordinates to a central post. By combining information from multiple observation posts, a ship's precise location could be determined by triangulation. There were six military structures at the Devil's Slide: three concrete and steel observation pill-boxes, two concrete and earth bunkers, and a reinforced steel observation tower. The pill-boxes were used as hardened observation posts, and one of the bunkers was used as a communications and command post. The site was sold to a private owner in 1983, but some of the structures remain.”

California closed this portion of Highway 1 to traffic in 2013 for safety reasons and has now made a wonderful footpath and hiking trail for everyone to enjoy.  I recently had the privilege of hiking on this new trail that embodies Devil’s Slide.  I had driven this stretch on the coast many times before but you were unable to pull off and see it’s surroundings because of traffic and because there was absolutely no where to pull off and enjoy it’s beauty…Now you can hike, jog, sit, think, smell and listen to nature without the hassles of a lot of traffic and trying to stay on the road. 

As I was sitting there listening to and experiencing nature, I couldn’t help but to think that this area may not be named appropriately anymore.  Sure “Devil’s Slide” if you have to drive on it but as the sun slowly slipped into the ocean, warm pinks, yellows, purples and oranges in the clouds began to form that made a sharp contrast to the blues that encompassed the sky.  The smell of a cool sea breeze...the wildlife...the plants...the landscape…How could this still be named after something that generally has such a negative connotation?

So as you look at the photos and/or may have already experienced this area,  I am thinking that a more appropriate name may be..."HEAVEN'S GATE." What do you think? 

 

♦ Hope you'll share YOUR stories and photos with us at: nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

Don't plant yet...by Mary Hazlett

Yikes... I did it again.  I froze six tomato plants and have to replant again.  I almost wished that I would have put the wall-o-waters on and not just got into bed.   It kind of reminded me of the movie Madagascar 2.  The penguins and the stranded animals get onto this rickety old plane and soon into their flight something goes wrong.  The penguin pilots quickly get on the PA system and say, "There is good news and there is bad news...The good news is that we will be landing immediately.  The bad news...we will be CRASH landing."  Oh well... we live and learn and YES... I get to work in my garden again!  


Happy Monday!  Please share your stories with us at nutshellstories@gmail.com

A Day's Work...by Mary Hazlett

I smiled the other day as I was taking care of my very spirited son and my very sweet daughter.  I love my job right now.  Almost two years ago, I began my "sabbatical" to raise my children.  Prior to this I worked either part time or full time as a dental hygienist.  You know, I loved that too...my patients that is.  I got to hear so many wonderful stories from them on relationships, graduations, births, deaths, retirements, and trips.  In fact, I loved some of my patients so much that I still get emails from them once and a great while.

But today...I got to walk around a pet store with my children with no kind of agenda, schedule, or list of items to get.  Unforgettable the fun we all had. Fishes, ferrets, bunnies, a bearded gecko, a love bird, neon tetras, snakes (yuck), kitties, and I even enjoyed looking at the bin of live crickets. 

One of my favorite life quotes is from a very talented man, Thomas Edison.  As you might know, he overcame amazing odds.  He was the baby of seven children, was considered a "poor student" (which it was then his mother took over the role of teacher and nourished his excitement for learning), and raised himself from quite the humble circumstances.  All of which he developed over 1000 patents that  included the telegraph, phonograph, electric light bulb, alkaline storage batteries and Kinetograph.  All the while he began his own electrical business which evolved into the General Electric...Even after all this he stated "I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun."

Amazing perspective! Don't you think?  Happy Friday Everyone!!

Please share your stories with us at nutshellstories@gmail.com

Glitterfied and Sugarfaced...by Gina Waite

Good Thursday Morning...much better than this last Monday morning, that's for darn sure!  Why,  you may ask...well besides the fact that Monday morning's are the bane of my existence...it was the Monday after Easter!  I'll be the first to admit...I love spring and most especially the reason for the Easter season...but it's something about spring and all the spring color that makes the Martha-Stewart-wanna-be in me come out...and with that comes A LOT of creativity and  A LOT of mess...let me explain!  

My Mom was always a great example to me of being an involved parent!  I mean this gal would write skits for school plays, she would get down on her hands and knees to scrub the dance floor I practiced on AND she would throw the BEST class holiday parties!  Having had it so good...I have always wanted to be involved and do my best as a Mom...not only for the happiness of my children but to "Pay It Forward"...so to speak!   And that's where the GLITTER comes in....

My daughter, in her last year of elementary school (sniff...sniff) asked her Room Mom (ME) if I could boil enough eggs so that the entire class could decorate two eggs each!  That meant about 60 eggs...a seemingly simple request of eggs, dye and crayons!  Pretty simple....but my brain and simple don't dwell together!  My Steven Spielberg expectations took over and before I knew it...I had half of Martha Stewart's Michaels section packed in the trunk of my car to take to the sixth grade spring party...including the aforementioned GLITTER!  

Glitter in several shades and sizes...all sealed and easily transportable...that is...BEFORE the spring party!  The Sixth Grade Spring Party was a great success!   Complete with awards given at the end for: "The Most Eggs-cellent ________" accompanied with an academy award red carpet walk with paparazzi photographer (ME) for each of the designer eggs and their creators (you know...the sixth graders who were probably sick of me by the time we were done!)

In packing up my Creative Findings (otherwise known as crap) I did not realize that I had NOT sufficiently tightened the glitter lids...UNTIL I got home!  When, as the wind was blowing a typically-light-47-freakin-miles-an-hour, I opened the trunk of my car and SHAZAM!!!!!!!   Only Tinker Bell could appreciate the amount of shiny particles that swirled and gently graced the front of my body and face!  As the title of this post would indicate....GLITTERFIED!  

Every bottle of glitter had jiggled loose and spilled throughout the entirety of the trunk of my car!  Edward Cullen, handsome vampire of the famed Twilight book series, would have been envious of the prisms of light that reflected from the brilliance of my face and décolletage!   Heaven knows...my glitterfication process was a much superior effect than Edward's skin...in the sunlight....in the first Twilight film (BACK you Twi-hards ...BACK...you know I'm right!)

One hour of vacuuming the trunk followed by a warm shower...and much less vampire-like...found me happy with my kids talking about the weekend of upcoming events.  This included, of course, the menu for Sunday's Easter dinner...and lest we forget....the dessert for said dinner.  My kids and I collectively decided that rather than a baked dessert...we wanted Easter chocolates...lots of different kinds of them!  

As I walked into the grocery store to get our Easter chocolate in my yoga pants, I felt confident that my recent HEALTH efforts would keep me in check and that I could resist all the different kinds of chocolatey-peanut butter goodness!  Sunday came and went....and by Eve of Sunday night, I was completely baffled that all the chocolate was gone and we were ALL......as the title of this post suggested.... SUGARFACED (a state of chocolate SUGAR HIGH giddiness that irritates the normal person!)  That brings me to the chocolate-hangover Monday morning that started my rant in the first place...

NOTE TO SELF: In the future if you are wearing yoga pants into the store to buy chocolate...If the pants say YOGA but the BUTT says McDonald's...perhaps you should re-evaluate your WILL POWER...just maybe you should stick to the GLITTER isle at Michaels instead!!!  

♦ Hope you'll share YOUR stories and photos with us at: nutshellstories@gmail.com. 

Spring Showers and May Flowers...by Gina Waite

"Spring shows what God can do

with a drab and dirty world!"

~Virgil Kraft

Photo courtesy of Mike Terry

Hakuna Matata...by Angie Terry

Hakuna Matata....what a wonderful phrase!   Hakuna Matata....Ain’t no passing craze! It means no worries for the rest of your days.   It’s a problem-free philosophy....HAKUNA MATATA!

Yeah, it is my motto! What's a motto witch you...Not following me? :-)

It started a few days ago when I was loading ring tones for my family and when I got to my little sister Mary...the baby of the family who is now a mother herself...I thought of her with her two children and her wonderful Husband Ben, all living with my father and trying to make the best of the situation!  Mary has always been the sunshine of my family's lives and most especially for my mother!  She has taken on the responsibility of combining two households and going through all of my mother’s belongings with mass amounts of tears and memories flooding her mind as she decided what to keep, what to give away, and what to sell, and what to put in the garbage. I was thinking about Mary and trying to decide what song would remind me the most of her and Hakuna Matata came to mind like lightning...I knew that was the ring tone for her!  

Ever since I downloaded that song..it has been on my mind.  I was working at the salon the other day and talking with one of my clients about T.V. and I told her I have almost quit watching T.V. ...mostly because what I want to feel from entertainment is not there. She asked me what I meant by that and it came to me like lightning again! I then told her that I decided to compare whatever I was watching on T.V. to the song Hakuna Matata...if the two didn't emulate each other...then I wouldn't watch that particular program  My client then said with a smile, “well then...I guess you’re not watching much T.V. these days!"   I thought about her comment...and you know what...she was right, I don’t watch much T.V.!  

After that great exchange with my client...I decided then and there that this would be my life's Motto: If I can’t have Hakuna Matata playing and have it fit the situation, then I am removing the situation from my life!   I immediately felt happy about my decision and started thinking of the things in life that fit with Hakuna Matata!  

I have often thought how lucky I am to be given the natural instinct to be happy. I love to share my ability to be happy with people who find themselves depressed and unhappy in life. My father also has that wonderful gift! Even in difficult times, I have seen him knocked to the ground and he will stand up...dust off his pants and smile and go forward...My dad is amazing!  After losing his wife, and mother, in just a few months AND his home totally changing with family moving in....he still finds the joy in life!  My dad can laugh and cry in the same minute and then say something really corny, smile and go about his day wiping his tears away. I find myself able to follow my father’s lead and I thank God for his example!  

If I could write a book about Hakuna Matata, I would suggest that everyone commit to  one act of service for someone other than yourself, per day!   I have put that mantra to the test and it is incredible the joy you feel and the lessons you learn from applying that simple principle!  Ironically, it helps you feel better about yourself as you realize how blessed you are.  I recently put this into action while meeting a man at my local grocery store.

I will never forget that man in line at the grocery store.  It was just before Thanksgiving and I was lost in my own grief about losing my mother and not paying much attention to people around me.  As I was standing in line to purchase my groceries, a man starting to engage in conversation with me.  My initial reaction was not to talk back to him as I really didn't feel like talking...but as he continued in his attempts I found out he was all by himself and he was buying Thanksgiving dinner for himself and his cats. He told me of the food each one of his pets loved and how much joy these animals brought to his life.  He continued and related how much he enjoyed his truck. In the short time we talked, he was so appreciative of my listening to his story that by the time we made it to the register, he encouraged me to go ahead of him in the check-out line!  I was shocked...and I thanked him for his kind offer but I explained that I wasn't  in a hurry.  After he was done at the register he thanked me for talking to him and wished me a very Happy Thanksgiving. As he walked out of the store I thought of my own sorrow and it seemed a little lighter after meeting him and I am so glad I could look past my own self for a minute and spend some time with someone who just needed to talk.

So I ask you....what is your Hakuna Matata? I challenge everyone reading this post to find "no worries for the rest of your days." However, that doesn't mean we won’t have hard times...but rather look for the positive among the negative!  Find joy in the simple things that can fill your life with happiness! ...I challenge you to play that song in your mind and heart and if the situation doesn’t fit…change it!  Then dance like Timon and Pumbaa when singing Hukuna  Matata!

One of a Kind...by Mary Hazlett

You might hear that "no two snowflakes are alike".   This weekend was Easter.  Hopefully you all got to enjoy the festivities of the weekend.  My family likes to play outside, eat candy, and dye eggs.  Has anyone else noticed that the egg dying kits have become much more elaborate over the years and, of course, more expensive?  Going down the Easter goods aisle is not what it once was..... remember Paz... that is what it used to be and now you see tattoo kits, tie dye, glitter (which would be my sister's favorite), sports balls, volcano color eruption...I could go on, but won't.



When, I was young I loved dying the eggs.  In our kit of Paz, was the ever coveted egg wand that could lower and lift your egg perfectly into the dye, stickers, the shrink wrap thingies, and the amazing magic wax stick to draw shapes on your eggs with.  We used to fight over the special wax stick...no one was  bright enough to just pull out our endless box of crayons, but the highest honor was to have in your possession the egg wand.  The egg wand seemed to mesmerize all of us... who would want to use a plain spoon when you can have the wand...the little wire hexagon of magic.

Good thing that I have grown up some, because now I know the reality of that silly little wand and how it just makes us all work harder because if you don't angle it just right... SPLASH and CRACK the egg goes...So I just throw the dang thing away and give my kids spoons.   Not to mention, I now just get out the big box of crayons and allow the kids to go for it.

This year has been extra special though, because now that I live with my dad he gets to participate in our fun family traditions.  My parents never did miss an Easter to dye eggs though.  Even the last few years when children or grandchildren have not been in there home for this tradition, they persevered with the tradition and have dyed eggs on their own.  So, this year we were all giggling and enjoying the wide array of eggs that were being masterfully designed by all of us and my dad says, " I have never seen that before.  It is one of a kind".  I immediately thought how unique it was to hear my dad say that because I thought he had seen and done everything... however, I looked over at my two year old's creation and I believe that she created a very unique egg herself, just like a snowflake there is none of its like... take a look for yourself.  

Wouldn't you agree?  Good job darling girl...you are unique in so many ways!

Happy Monday to you all.  Hope that your day is unique and wonderful as my Easter was!!!

Share your stories with us at nutshellstories@gmail.com

Building... by Ben Hazlett

Quite often, when discussing various professions, my father-in-law will say something like "well you know who else was a carpenter and a fisherman, don't ya?"  What are you supposed to say to that...

Luckily, I can try to compete a little  by saying that Jesus healed people who couldn't speak and fed the multitude with only a few pieces of food.  As a speech-language pathologist, everyday I teach people to both speak and eat.

However, now we have launched into the building an addition to the house that will add a "father-in-law suite.  This will hopefully give him a nice private space to escape from the constant flying of airplanes and noise making doll houses... not to mention the noise making kids that invariably go with them.

Since we just poured the foundation for this addition yesterday, I have been forced to begin to draw even more comparisons to carpentry and The Carpenter.  First, you have to have a plan.  Even after over 40 years of construction experience, Verl still uses blueprints.  Although, he has the uncanny ability to memorize every measurement on the plans and then barely need to refer to them.  Next you need the master.  Without Verl, those blue prints wouldn't even be able to compete with our 4 year old son's artwork for fridge space.

After those things are inplace you need a foundation.  I have seen this done a couple of times, but until now I have never participated.  I have been shocked at how much preparation, time, and materials it has taken.   But I get it now.  If I'm going to let my family live in this house, it had better have a strong foundation.

Next will come framing, roofing, sheet rock, plumbing, electrical, tile, cabinets, carpet and finish work.  Each one of those steps has to be completed and inspected and all under the direction of the master builder.

I know, this is the point at which I would normally start spouting off how this applies to our lives and how making it through the addition without either falling off the roof or stepping on another nail is a symbol for success in life.  Well, a much better writer beat me too it so I will defer to him:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Not that I am admitting any comparisons here, but since Easter is this weekend, I guess it's okay to continue with the metaphor. I pray that the Master Builder, who laid down his life and suffered for my sins, will continue to help me with my spiritual homebuilding.  He has the plans and doesn't need to refer to them but wants me to, He has paid the price for the work to be done, He laid the foundation, and now with his help the rest is up to me.  I hope there aren't too many nails along the way.

"And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:11-12)

Eggs-cellent...by Gina Waite

I walked passed the dairy section in the grocery store the other day and a couple thoughts occurred to me: First, that I had better pick up several dozen eggs for the upcoming Easter weekend; AND second, I was desperately hoping that I could find my Mom's hand-written, hard-boiled egg instructions! I don't know if you're like me but for years I struggled with understanding how to boil the perfect egg..that is until my Mom explained the process to me (which I have since found out that she learned from Better Homes and Gardens!) With Easter upon us, and the underutilization of all those left-over hard-boiled eggs, I'm sure you're trying to find a tutorial on how to boil the perfect egg...and ideas of recipes of what to make with all your left-overs....so let me make your job easy and help you out a bit!

My Mother, in addition to all of her innumerable talents...could boil an egg to perfection...all without the green-ring around the yolk and seemingly easy to peel! Once my Mom had those hard-boiled eggs in hand, she then would make the BEST, deviled eggs anyone EVER tasted! So if you're wanting perfect, hard-boiled eggs this Easter season...or anytime in the future for that matter...make sure to follow ALL the directions below:.

Hard-boiled Eggs

Step 1: Place eggs and water in a saucepan

§  Arrange the eggs in a single layer in a large saucepan so they cook evenly. Do not stack them.

§  Add enough cold water to cover the eggs by 1 inch.

Step 2: Bring water to boiling

§  Heat saucepan over medium-high heat until the water comes to a rapid boil (water will have large, rapidly breaking bubbles).

§  Immediately remove pan from heat.

Step 3: Cover and let stand

§  After removing from heat, cover the saucepan and allow it to stand for 15 minutes.

§  Drain the eggs, then run cold water over them or place them in a large bowl filled with ice water until the eggs cool.  Drain water and dry eggs.  Place in the refrigerator to help with ease of peeling! 

And for all those of you who'd like my Mom's Eggs-cellent deviled Egg recipe...follow the above directions then...follow the directions below:

Deviled Eggs to Die For

Ingredients:

*6 hard-boiled eggs

*1/4 cup mayonnaise

*1 teaspoon vinegar

*1 teaspoon prepared mustard

*1/8 teaspoon salt

*1 dash ground black pepper

Directions:

*Cut 6 hard-boiled eggs in half lengthwise.

*Remove yolks.

*Mash egg yolks with all other ingredients

*Fill egg whites with yolk mixture.

*Sprinkle paprika to taste....ENJOY!

Share your stories, or egg recipes,  with us at nutshellstories@gmail.com!

Finding Flowers...by Henri Matisse

Always remember..."there are always flowers for those who want to see them!" 

~Henri Matisse

The Lonely Road...by Jim Terry

How many of you have ever been on a road where you don’t see anyone and I mean anyone for miles?  I recently had that experience while on a road trip to Ely, Nevada for a funeral.  

As those of you know that have been following “In A Nutshell”, my last living grandparent passed on April 1^st.  Being nearly 100 years old, I can only imagine how awesome it must be for my grandmother to be free from pain, free from disease and free from a body that was holding her back in doing what she wanted to do physically.  As I was driving on this highway that is named, “The Loneliest Highway in America” to reach my destination, I had time to notice and realize how beautiful this stretch of lonely road really is.  I also had time to reflect and thought of how many "lonely roads" does someone who is almost 100--my grandmother-- have to endure in a lifetime?

Thinking back on history over the past 100 years, it really is overwhelming at times to know EVERYTHING that has transpired in those years that someone may have had to endure or enjoy during that time…

- I remember hearing stories about people--my grandfather--selling horse and animal pelts during the Great Depression for $5 a piece to help with the cost of food so families wouldn’t starve. 

- We all know both World Wars, the Vietnam War and several military operations occurred during that time.

- A man walked on the moon and least we forget the repeated shuttle launches.

- Modern comforts, due to technological advance, have become better and better…ie…radio, telephone, microwaves, car design etc.   

- President John F. Kennedy assassination with several FAILED Presidential assassination attempts

- The Beatles and Elvis take America by storm

- Pac Man, Centipede, Space invaders and the real start of the gaming industry begin.

- Hula-hoops, chia pets, slinky, Rubik’s cube, Barbie, Play-Doh, Yahtzee and the list goes on of fun toys created during that time.

-Cell phones and internet

- Wages that were once an average of less than $5 a day or $1,825 year to an average, according to the Social Security Administration, of over $44,000 a year.

I guess my point is…I’m sure that there are A LOT of lonely roads in all of our lives over the years but I guess it depends on where you want to focus your thoughts and actions. Do you want to dwell on the wars, the poor wages or the assassinations? Or do you focus on the excitement of hearing that a man walked on the moon? The joy you experienced the first time you were able to figure out and get the Rubik’s cube back to its original state?  Or is your focus on the first time you heard The Beatles or Elvis on the radio or, better yet, on your iPod or iPhone?  

As I bid farewell to my family after the funeral and saw them drive north to Idaho and I west back to California on this lonely road by myself, I couldn’t help but to think how thankful I am for my family, my health, my friends and for my life. Yes, I have had hard times in my life as all of us do, but it all depends on where you focus your attention during those times that makes them just a little bit easier. 

So next time while "driving" along and experiencing those moments in life, remember to take time to focus. You might just find some beauty in it and it may just help you get through those tough spots and reach your destination with a little bit more spring in your step and that twinkle in your eye knowing that you conquered the “lonely road!”

Homemade Remedies...by Mary Hazlett

Wow!  Medicine really has come a long way.  I was contemplating just the other day about this amazing world of medicine (probably because my kids have been sick and I am so very grateful for antibiotics).  Think back now to the good old days of using leeches to heal the sick, or blood letting, or epsom salts.  Remember on Big Fat Greek Wedding the dad that used Windex to solve every kind of disease or infection.  I instantly loved that show and related to it because I believe my mom thought the same thing about Windex.   I remember some mornings eating my cereal and watching my mom clean up the kitchen...spray wipe the microwave....spray wipe the stove...spray wipe the refrigerator...spray wipe the stain on her pajamas...spray wipe around my cereal bowl.  Sometimes she was so excited about cleaning that she would spray nearly right into my cereal bowl as I was consuming it.  Laugh all you want, but I know that was a secret she knew to keep us kids all healthy and going to school everyday.

It seems that we all kind of develop our own kind of remedies.  Ones that we feel work.  For me, growing up, any kind of scrape or scratch got iodine in my house.  I liked iodine even for canker sores until I dropped that bottle and stained the light carpet in the bathroom and that was the end of that. I now prefer Neosporin for nearly everything from an infected fingernail, a zit, or a scratch.

Even my darling son of only four years old is coming up with his own remedies...remember I said he was a sick guy....

"I had to quit my nose from dripping, so I stuffed some tissues up there!"  He said this with quite excitement.  I am just happy that he is so confident in himself that he thinks "Function" before "Fashion"....Good Job Benson!

Happy Monday Everyone!!

10 Reasons to Keep on Living ... by Ben Hazlett

http://www.armstronggarden.com/pages/easter-lily

Our families have been dealing with a lot of death and trials lately, so I thought of 10 things from my life that help keep things in perspective.

1. Shoes with rubber soles. They are comfy and protect your feet from sharp stuff. Except for nails... One time I was playing on some old wood felt a sharp pain in my foot. I raised it up only to discover that I had succeeded in nailing my foot solidly to a board. 

2. Urgent Care clinics with tetanus shots for when you nail your foot to a board.

3. JB's restaurant where you can go eat after you get done at urgent care, because by now you have one hole in your foot from the nail and one in your arm from the shot... Food always makes things better... Plus there's soft serve ice cream.

http://thequestionable.com/brain-freeze/

4. Ice cream. You use to have to either turn a crank on a barrel for 2 days or eat snow and pretend it was ice cream. Now it comes out of the machine in chocolate, vanilla or swirl! And no one in their right mind ever uses the stupid little ice cream bowls... not when they have those huge soup bowls right next door at the salad bar.

5. Ice cream headaches... Sure, there not great when you have them, but they are fabulous when your sister gets one and you almost forget about the poking you have received while you laugh at her funny tormented faces.

6. Old embarrassingly huge family cars. Driving home from the restaurant I got to sit in the front seat with all the leg room because of the severity of my "injury." I used to hate that big old black car. My friends called it "Ben's hearse." Then I realized that not only was it roomy and comfortable, you could fit at least 15 friends in it with 10 more in the trunk. Plus there were so many dents already that even if you hit a brick wall no one was the wiser.

7. Friends. I had friends help me carry things to classes while I hobbled around for a few days following my harrowing near foot amputation. If you have the privilege of having even one friend in life, it is definitely worth living for.

8. School. Even with major set backs like puncturing my foot, teachers and l coaches didn't go easy on me and though I hated all the homework and challenging assignments to catch up on, I wouldn't have a master's degree and a great job without all of those great people along the way. Even a just a few hundred years ago most people with 2 good feet couldn't go to school... They had to toil in little hovels, raising pigs and deciding if they should eat their pigs or their children that day.

9. Children. I have never contemplated eating them but... selling them though... I'm not going to comment on that. Really though, nothing in life is a better reason for living than your kids. All it takes is a hug from my little girl or my son calling every 2 minutes after 5pm to see when I will be home from work. Now I'm just waiting for the day when my son nails a board to his foot... But if I had never done it I wouldn't know how to help my son through it. Good thing that there's an urgent care and a JB's with in 2 miles of our house.  Maybe I'll look for some bulletproof shoes on eBay.

10. Family. No matter how many wounds you get in life family can get you through it. At the time I was embarrassed and annoyed that we all had to parade into the doctor's office, now the horribly traumatic experience is actually a pleasant memory tied to loved ones.  It's funny how that happens with family.  You spend your childhood torturing your sisters barbie dolls and then they actually like you as an adult.  What's worse is that you actually like them back. Even in death family often continue to bless our lives.  The lessons and example my dad left with me, or the talents and zest for life Mary's mom left her just as 2 examples.

Christus Statue

So as Emerson put it "What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you." Even with a nail in your foot, life is totally worth living!  This Easter season, it's important to remember the one who had much larger nails driven into his hands and feet and in his agony of both physical pain and the weight of the sins of mankind, he took time to care for his mother, forgive thieves, and ask His Father to forgive the very people who put him on the cross.  My tiny nail and in fact all of my trials together pale in comparison.  And yet, He offers to take those pains away and guide us through the trials of life. And that is the best reason of all for living!

The Road Less Traveled...Robert Frost

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— 

I took the one less traveled by, 

And that has made all the difference!"

~Robert Frost

Walkie Talkie Wednesday...by Gina Waite

Technology is amazing isn't it?  With the push of a couple buttons we can be connected, through Skype or FaceTime, to a loved one in China...and watch them as they eat their Egg Foo Yung!  There have been times of frustration getting used to some of the new technology this day and age...but I realize the genius of having people, and information, so close at hand!  For all you young whippersnappers out there...communication has not always been so easy or convenient.

Growing up in the 80's...kids were limited to archaic corded wall phones and laborious letter writing.  I don't even remember when first my parents adopted the idea of an email address!  Limited communication, or so it seems now, made for the perfect storm of electronic enthusiasm once my brother and I adopted the idea of communicating through Walkie Talkie's!  In a family of eight children, my Mother instigated a structured bedtime hour that left many moments (seemed like hours) in quiet awareness...of how dry my Idaho eyes seemed to be...seriously...I could hear myself blink!  My brother, Mike, who has always been the Night Hawk's-Night Hawk, also had trouble lulling himself off to sleep and when he was gifted a pair of Walkie Talkie's...it seemed as though it were the simple solution to our insomnia problems!

The Walkie Talkie's themselves weighed about three pounds each and could cause damage to the skin if dropped on the head (or so I've been told...wink, wink!)  They had about a 30 foot range of communication which enabled my brother and I to talk into the hours of the night!   There was never a need to ask each other's location (10-40...in Walkie Talkie lingo...not to be confused with taxes) because we both knew the other was in bed like we should be!  We talked and laughed and used some basic Walkie Talkie codes to communicate back and forth with each other ...BUT... the Best feature of each Walkie Talkie was the Morse Alphabet listed on the inside of the handset.  Twenty-six letters, with corresponding dots and dashes, that could easily disguise any conversation for eavesdroppers nearby!  We loved it and would send each other messages, nightly.  I must admit, Mike was much better at it than I...most especially because I would fall asleep in the middle of one of his morse code messages!

It was much to my brother's dismay that I did not obtain the fortitude of Late Night Morse Coding that he possessed!  I always heard about falling-asleep-during-the-middle-of-morse-coding-message from him the next day...and rightfully so!  Each sentence was a time consuming orchestration of dots and dashes that had to be perfect!  It was great fun and a wonderful way for us to communicate, pre-text message days.  It's a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life!  

Let's have some fun...as it is the morning, and clearly I'm not at risk for falling asleep...yet...I'm going to morse code  a message down below this Nutshell!  For those of you who would like to experience the joy's of morse messaging, once you figure it out...how about you write your answer to the message in the comment space below!  I dare you to have fun with it...Heaven's knows my brother and I sure loved it for the better part of our youth!  

....drum roll please...NOW READERS...your morse code message:

in   

one 

word

describe

in

a

nutshell