It All Works Out

“It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers.”
--Gordon B Hinckley

(Jordan Utah South regional conference, priesthood session, 1 Mar. 1997)

The Time that is Given to Us

"I wish it need not have have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
--J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Fashions for Old Ladies

So, I'm up late doing some research, and I ran across this page from a 1902 Harper's Bazar and thought I would share.  Hope you enjoy. Can you imagine how well an article with this title would go over in today's fashion magaines?!  ha!

Trivia for the day: the magazine didn't add the second "a" in "Bazaar" until 1930.

Getting out Alive

My grandma just told me a funny joke.  We were talking about an elderly relative's passing and grandma made a comment that his children will, of course, miss him very much, but that is the way of life.  Then she said, "None of us are getting out of here alive!"  Hahahaha.  I laughed so hard and I think that made her happy.  She said that is what Uncle Bill used to say.  Sweet Uncle Bill, gone so many years now.  Gruff Army Sargent Uncle Bill with his little smile and twinkle in his blue eyes.  His jokes and heart of gold.  His cowboy hat and stories told from a lawn chair at family reunions. The quarters he pulled from the ears of awed children.  How we miss him-- but he was right, none of us are getting out of here alive.  Thank the Lord that there is a better life on the other side of death.

Fellow Travelers

"Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life."
-Thomas S. Monson
"Charity Never Faileth" Ensign, November, 2010

Artsy Barbie

Barbie's got a new look and it's museum inspired.  In July, Mattel will release these three Museum Collection Barbies.  For only $38  each you can get your two favorite things (art and barbies) all rolled up into one (as long as art and barbies are your two favorite things).

The designs are inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's Italian Renaissance work Mona Lisa (1503-1519), Vincent Van Gogh's Post-Impressionist piece Starry Night (1889) and Gustav Klimt's Art Nouveau depiction of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907).

Now I know that as we get into the modern era of art, things get less and less representational-- but does Mattel know that Starry Night is not actually meant to be a portrait of a woman?  I just feel like we have a "one of these things is not like the others" game going on here.  Don't misunderstand me-- I actually think I like the Starry Night barbie the best, I just am not exactly sure how they chose which art would become a barbie.

I think that next they should pay homage to Henri Mattise and turn this little 1905  Fauvist portrait of his wife (Femme au chapeau) into a barbie.  It would be perfect-- when your kids colored all over her with markers you probably wouldn't even be able to tell!  I call that a win-win.

What Boats Were Made For

"When a battered, weary swimmer tries valiantly to get back to shore, after having fought strong winds and rough waves which he should never have challenged in the first place, those of us who might have had better judgment, or perhaps just better luck, ought not to row out to his side, beat him with our oars, and shove his head back underwater. That's not what boats were made for. But some of us do that to each other". 
-Jeffery R. Holland
(Taken from a devotional address, entitled A Robe, A Ring, and a Fatted Calf, given on 31 January 1984, when Jeffery R. Holland was president of Brigham Young University).