The End of August 2010

Month's end has been filled with lots of activities as school begins and folks are coming and going in every direction. On Monday Denise came to town and Hank and Colette hosted "compound dinner" at their cabin so we would have a chance to visit with Denise. It turned into a larger gathering with Brad and Anne and their BYU girls joining in as well.

Late Thursday, Mike, Linda, and Chelsea Gibbs arrived for a few days while Chelsea gets settled into the Elms prior to the start of school. They are very excited for the New York visit of Anna and family early in September. It has been fun to have them staying here and we enjoyed an evening meal together at La Capizza on Friday.

Saturday dawned a bit rainy and cool exactly as it did last year when we went berry picking at West Mountain. It was a beautiful morning, the picking was successful, and, following tradition, we had lunch at the Farmers' Market. Emily and family also joined in this year.

Yesterday (Saturday) evening we had a send-off dinner at P 712 for Tom and Katy who leave for Shanghai on 1 September. They will be teaching English with the China Teachers' Program that Jeff runs for the Church through the Kennedy Center at BYU. We are going to miss them a lot, but one of the upsides of their leaving is that we will be sitting one of their paintings. It is hung and feels like it belongs. Possession is nine tenths of the law, n' est ce pas?

This evening we gathered at Emily's for a wonderful lasagna dinner. Phillip tried his hand at making Lion House rolls which he happily shared. They were killer. We missed the Youngs, Hastings, and Katy Kathryn.

Such a great little cabin!

Denise, Kris, and Uncle

Scout with her opa

Holden is a stick guy just like his opa was

For a man who likes his meat cremated,
Hank did a splendid job at the grill

Mike, Chelsea, Linda, and Kris in Springville

A perfect morning for berry picking

Empty containers

Late-summer berry fields in Utah

Full containers

Fantastic tamales at the Provo Farmers' Market

Relaxing at the Farmers' Market

Farewell dinner at P 712

We will miss Tom and Katy . . .

And will take good care of their Kershisnik painting

Family Sunday dinner at Auntie Em's

School starts tomorrow and summer fun will be at an end. BUT . . . now the fall fun begins and soon it will be High Dickie Days!

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Recommitted

You may remember that I decided to give up sugar last November. I have been faithful except for a period during the month of July when all the family was back under the same roof and it was extremely difficult to stick to that commitment.

Maren recently suggested that we look at some sugar-free treats that she discovered at Sprouts, thinking they might be something we would be able to eat (very thoughtful...no irony). The problem is that fructose is fructose no matter the source. So agave, chicory syrup, maple syrup, etc., are essentially the same, and the treats were, alas, no better than sugar treats. But that's not the point of this story.

In researching the ingredients in the treats, I encountered a rather long (1 hour 29 minutes) presentation on YouTube called Sugar: the Bitter Truth. Dr. Robert A. Lustig, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist from the University of California, makes the case that fructose is a toxin, pure and simple. It, unlike rat poison, is a chronic rather than acute toxin, and consequently is overlooked by the FDA and the population in general. I had to watch it twice to understand it (I still don't understand all the biochemistry completely -- I believe Rob would), but I have come away recommitted to leaving sugar behind.


Lustig shows why fructose is responsible for metabolic syndrome so prevalent in our culture and unhappily exported to the rest of the world with our diet. He debunks the notion that a calorie is just a calorie no matter where it comes from, and instead shows how the body metabolizes glucose vs. fructose and goes on to explain that when "God made the poison (fructose), he packaged it with the antidote (fiber)." That's why fruit is not toxic while sugar/HFCS are. (High fructose corn syrup and sugar are metabolized in the same way.) He reinforces the enormous value of fiber with the understanding that it has its own "drawbacks:" he wryly said you can choose "fart or fat." And he clearly demonstrates that the American low-fat diet is unhealthy

His clinic deals with obese children and uses an extremely simple protocol to treat them:

1. Get rid of ALL sugared liquids including chocolate milk -- real milk and water only
2. Eat carbohydrates with fiber
3. Wait 20 before taking seconds (by then satiety will have set in)
4. Exercise, but not just to burn calories -- the exercise is important for healthy metabolism

Bottom line: I liked his presentation a lot. I found it very cogent and I believe you will too if you have the stamina to watch it.

FYI: My weight has stabilized between 185 and 190, down from around 215, my blood pressure is normal for my age. My cholesterol was good before November and I haven't had it tested since. And I no longer have heartburn.

So I am recommitted.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Early August 2010

Here we are in the early part of August already. The nights are getting cooler and we will see color on the mountains by the end of the month. Nothing earth-shaking is going on, just summer life as usual. The plants are growing profusely, Uncle's hens are still laying, the honeysuckle vine is going crazy, the reduced-size family is gathering, and we are picnicking with dear friends. So all is right with the world.

1 dozen beautiful eggs from Ann, Stephen,
and their chickens

The family says "Hi!" to the Hastings and Young
cousins and to Auntie Katy

The Freestones and Ostergars at our
recent summer picnic

The trumpet vine is finally meeting
the measure of its creation

The promise of cantaloupe

We are just a few days away from
home-grown tomatoes

It's not much, but that's all for now.

OXO

D.

Three Birds with One Stone

Here we go with three posts in one:

#1: Those Amazing Beck Girls

On Saturday, Kris and I drove to SLC meet Grandmother, Carol Boynton, and her four sisters for supper. They are so darned spunky. They range from 93 years downward but are all going strong. They have so much fun when they get together. They read, watch DVDs, go to the movies, go to plays, eat out, eat in, eat chocolate, and laugh and enjoy themselves thoroughly. It was so good to see Grandmother back to her old self and feeling so good. She gave us (and herself) a bit of a scare in April, but now seems fully mended.

L to R: Bonnie, Raye, LaVee, Donna, and Carol

Dinner at the Olive Garden with the Aunties and Kris's cousins

#2 Happy Birthday to Emily

Yesterday, 2 August, Emily celebrated her 37th birthday. That says way more about us than her. Yikes! Jayson called and invited us to join them for the celebration at the Bombay House followed by birthday cake at their home. It was all delicious and very fun.

Those who celebrated looking happily
satisfied with an Indian nosh

The kek

Happy birthday dear Emily. We love you.

#3 A Rococo Morning

This morning as I gazed out the kitchen window at about 6:30 A.M., I noticed the light hitting the clouds above Squaw Peak. When I stepped outside I was greeted by the most beautiful sunrise that I have seen in years -- maybe ever. It was the kind of sunrise that inspired Boucher and informed many a rococo color pallet.

The Rape of Europe by François Boucher

Clouds over Timpanogos by a loving God

Rococo Sunrise

Sunrise over Squaw Peak

It was a tender mercy: Heavenly Father loves us!

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Finished!

Yesterday morning, with Katy's help, I finished the index for the 5th edition of Interiors an Introduction. It has taken the better part of the summer: the total hour count is 120 hours. The irony is that in all the years this book in its various editions has been in existence, I have never looked at the index. It has always been done by a professional indexer before, but the cost was deducted from our royalties. So since I had the time, I decided I would do it. It wasn't difficult, just tedious and time-consuming and I am very pleased to be done.

I have also been creating PowerPoint presentations from all my old teaching slides (now scanned) for use in the classroom. I always resisted because I thought the resolution on scanned slides was lousy (which it is), but what I failed to realize is that there are millions of high-resolution images available online at Google Images. So while I waited for galleys of the chapters and revised chapters to dribble in so I could index them, I made PowerPoints and actually enjoyed it. Gavin and Phillip were great tutors and really helped me learn my way around. I have given the new presentations a trial run during summer term. With all the additional photos from cyberspace, they are so much richer and more interesting than my old slide shows.

Katy took this photo of me working on a PowerPoint

120 hours of fun indexing at the computer

I want to offer huge thanks to Katy who spent about 8 hours at my side entering new page numbers into the index as I dictated. Her help was invaluable because once the final revised pages arrived, I only had the weekend to finish what would have taken me at least 30 hours on my own.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

The Week of the 24th

Last week was busy. Hank and Colette are staying at their cabin and they invited us up for supper at the beginning of the week. It was a delicious meal and the company and surroundings were wonderful. It has been hot here, and the canyon is many degrees cooler than the valley. On Thursday 22 July, the Ringers hosted a get together prior to Kelsey's wedding so that the various extended families could mingle informally. Friday was Kelsey's wedding at the Draper Temple followed by a luncheon nearby. The reception was that evening at Kevin and Tessa Santiago's. They fixed up their yard for the occasion and it was a great party. Everyone stayed until the last dog was hung: a real fomo fest.

Saturday was the 24th and we went to the farmers' market for lunch prior to the kids swimming at Emily's. Everyone met back here for hot dogs and fireworks. Maren spent much of the day washing and packing for their departure on Sunday. They went as far as Las Vegas yesterday and should be back in the Valley of the Sun this evening

Sunday the family, much reduced in size, met at Phillip and Meagan's for a delicious dinner. Jayson captured the feeling when he said it just didn't feel right.

Grammy making cookies with the Finn and Harry

Colette serving up some good enchiladas
and chile-relleno casserole

On the porch of the H&C's cabin

Millie doing the flowers for Kelsey's reception

The pre-wedding nosh at the cabin

The Ringers at the Draper Temple

The Taylor brothers at the wedding breakfast

Some of our gang at the breakfast

There was time between all the festivities for yet
another extraction

Katy, Brad, and Ann at the reception

Kelsey and Matt waiting to try the lettuce wraps

Lunch at the farmers' market on the 24th

Maren, Beckham, and Kris with the flag of
our pioneer ancestors; we should get a
Danish flag, too

Gavin put on a great show for us and the neighbors

Finn and Harry ready for take off on Sunday morning

Katy running with the Youngs as they depart

Sunday dinner at the Taylors

The house is empty and will be emptier still on Friday when Katy returns to Texas. We miss everybody!

That's all for now.

OXO

D.