Cross Stitching

I was looking for a fun, new crafty project to start and was inspired by my aunt who is making a beautiful tablecloth with a cross stitch pattern. I decided to ease into things though and have started with some (much) smaller projects. I found this fun Mary Englebreit book and had some fun last month sewing some little gifts. They turned out to be more labor intensive than I planned (for instance the one with the little flowers involved a total of 20 different thread colors!)-- but were still alot of fun.

Shiloh goes to Shiloh

That's right. I can now say I've visited the famous Civil War site of the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. While you might be led to believe that my parents were Civil War buffs and that this was a visit to my namesake, please know that this is not, in fact, the case. My parents were in fact Neil Diamond fans and that is where I got my name. But I still have always thought it would be cool to visit the Shiloh Battlefield. It was my first visit to a Civil War site, and I thought it was quite interesting.

This picture is near the site of The Peach Orchard where shots through the orchard brought the blossoms down, reminding many soldiers of falling snow.

This is a monument to the fallen Confederate soldiers. The three female figures in the center represent Defeated Victory with Death to her right and Night to her left.

This is a 1990's replica of the original Shiloh Methodist church after which the battle was named. The original church was destroyed a few weeks after the battle.

This is one of the mass graves where Confederate soldiers were buried after the battle.

This is the national cemetery where all Union soldiers were reburied after the battle. Most are marked with just a number or "unknown soldier".

One of the highlights of the trip was that I bought a T-shirt at the gift/book shop that says "Shiloh". I'm pretty proud of it. ;)

Destin

I don't have many friends in high places, but I do have a sister who works for a company that caters to people in high places, and that turned out to be just as good. She had a business trip that took her to Destin, Florida--a beautiful resort town on the the white sand beaches of the panhandle of Florida--and I got to come with. It was amazing. I got some sun, ate fabulous sea food and learned a thing or two about the South.

These two pictures show the view from our room and the beach we spent time on. We played in the waves and swam out to the sandbar and basked in the sun. And the fancy umbrellas made for a nice place to nap when it was time to get a little break from all that sun.

This was the swordfish meal I had at Harbor Docks. It is a fun restaurant on the harbor with lots of boats going by. We sat out on the balcony and watched the water, waves and birds. The fish was yummy! I opted for fries over the alternative of cheese grits but did enjoy the hushpuppies.

This is a sunset somewhere in Mississippi on our drive back to Memphis. It was fun to drive through the South. The green trees and abundance of water were a welcome change from the deserts of Phoenix (not that I don't think Arizona has its own type of beauty)!
This trip was a much needed escape from real life (if only I didn't have to go back).

LOVE STORY (Taylor Swift) meets VIVA LA VIDA (Coldplay) - Piano Cello - by Jon Schmidt

This is a little bit long, but really pretty. Thanks for sharing it with me Mandy!

Where I Am Right Now

Driving This Road

Drive This Road

-Peter Breinholt

That's about the time [he] turned away
Keeping all the things I knew that [he] could say inside
That's about the time I fell apart
And how I ever could get by without [his] piece of heart
And so I sit here looking down that way
It's getting colder round here day by day

Well I've been driving this road
And I might drive all night
And I've been talking out loud
Cause everything is quiet
And I still remember fighting everything in sight
How to love the wind blows
And now I think we're losing light
And they say it's getting cold out there tonight
Oooooooo
Hi li li

Well I could see a million stars last night
And I could see a thousand travelers fading out of sight
And suddenly I'm think about my home
And every reason that I have to feel alone
And so I sit here looking down that way
So familiar I could find my way

Well I've been driving this road
And I might drive all night
And I've been talking out loud
Cause everything is quiet
And I still remember fighting everything in sight
How to love the wind blows
And now I think we're losing light
And they say it's getting cold out there tonight

Now I can see her fly
Like a lullably
There's no one there beside her
And on this holy road
All you need to know
Is I can get along till then

Ooooo

But I've been driving this road
And I might drive all night
And I've been talking out loud
Cause everything is quiet
And I still remember fighting everything in sight
I still remember fighting everything and everyone

And I've been driving this road
And I might drive all night
And I've been talking out loud
Cause everything is quiet
And I still remember fighting everything in sight
I still remember fighting everything and everyone

And Ooooo Hi li li

Hi li li Hi li li Ooooo

Big Broccoli Ocarina:Angels We Have Heard On High

Thanks for sharing this Heather! I love it!

A Commode Among Commodes

I don't want to make anyone feel bad, but, my grandpa's toilet is cooler that your grandpa's toilet. I'm serious. My grandpa and his wife just had two Japanese toilets installed, and let me tell you, you have never had your fanny on a more technologically advanced piece of plumbing than these babies! The seat lifts up when you walk up to it. If you want the seat as well as the lid to go up you just push a button. There is also a button for lowering the seat and lid. There is a computerized control panel and an instruction manual for crying out loud! Pictured here is the quick overview set of instructions. There is also a book sized manual for the finer points of operating this marvelous contraption.

The built in bidet offers both front and rear cleansing. You can choose oscillating or pulsating and normal or soft water pressure. Then you can dry your derriere with the dryer feature. The bidet feature only works when you are sitting down-- there is a sensor. This ensures you don't accidentally spray water all over your bathroom if the buttons are accidentally pushed. (I mean, really, most drive though car washes are not this sophisticated!)

Oh, and did I mention that the seat is heated? It sounds a little weird at first-- but let me tell you it feels great! I lived in apartments on my mission that had heated toilet seats (its not uncommon in Japan, even with normal toilets). With the lack of central heating (also not uncommon in Japan), a heated toilet seat can be a pretty welcome attraction to your bathroom in the winter.

When you are finished, you can stand up and the toilet flushes itself. Or should you so choose you can push the flush button on the control panel. In case of a power outage, there is no need to worry, a manual emergency flush handle on the side of the toilet will do the job as well.

I tried a couple of these type of toilets on my mission when visiting the homes of wealthy folk. It is a little crazy to see one here in America! I hope that you, too, will one day get to use one of these technologically advanced commodes! Here is a little video to give you a taste of the experience (or at least the lid opening).

*If you feel you must know more about Japanese toilets through the ages, I discovered an entire Wikipedia article on it. Enjoy.

A Critique Of Modern Art

Learning from Crayons

“We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box. ”

—Author Unknown

Timpanogos Cave

Have I mentioned that I love Utah?? It is so pretty this time of year! May now my official favorite time in Utah. The mountains are green, and the peaks still have snow, the weather is perfect and everything is just lovely! :) My family and I hiked to Timpanogos Cave last week. If you haven't been there, or haven't been there in a while, I would like to suggest that you try it out. The caves are really, really cool! And the views up the mountain are fabulous.

Horsetail Falls

My brother (aka "TMT", or Trail Master Tim) planned this great hike for us to do while I was home. The water is really rushing since its spring and we had a great hike, even if it rained on us a little.

Oh! How I have missed Utah!!

The Ride Home

I drove home to visit my family now that school is out for the summer. :) I discovered that a road trip without friends is just a very long drive. But it wasn't too bad! Here are some fun pics, including the new bridge being built by the Hoover Dam. I didn't take the dam tour, but for some reason I still get a kick out of that joke. ;)