Escape by Carolyn Jessop

After discussing this book with friends today, I feel kind of at a loss for words. I must have said most of them already. But, this is one of the most bizarre and chilling books I've read. It was interesting to read part of the tale behind all the headlines. And, after I finished the book, I felt so incredibly grateful for my life. I can't imagine having so little control over my own life. But, literally, it seems that as AG Mark Shurtleff put it.. we have the Taliban in our own backyard.

I've read as much as I can and still am reading about the Founding Fathers of the United states that I found this comment in the book quite touching, "Dan was telling me (Carolyn) about the crimes he was hearing about in the FLDS and said I was right to get my children out. 'I never knew what this country's Founding Fathers fought for until I left (the FLDS)' he said quietly. 'Even so, it took me years to grasp what it really meant and how deeply it mattered." Yes. It matters so much.

It interested me how many times she talked about liberty and freedom, and it saddens me to think how many live in a free country in bondage of one kind or another. I found it devastating at the end when Carolyn's daughter chooses to go back. Very sad.

I had a real problem in the book with the idea that a child's education could be so random and so halting. Children have a right to be educated. They must be prepared to do the work of the world and to be able to think for themselves and provide for themselves as adults. I think that was one of the saddest parts of this real story.

This is just kind of an aside. But if you read the book, you have to see this clip I found on the Huffington Post about the HAIR..., probably the least bizarre thing about this story, but still. Sadly, it reminded me too much of my own senior picture. I also found it interesting that the women in this clip all seemed to have new dresses cut from the same pattern all in pastel colors and no prints. That picture confirmed some of the things Jessop said in her book.

Garden Season...

My garden is getting started. I love this time of year.

One of my all time favorite trees. .. Bechtel Crab
In bloom.. Korean Lilacs.. I forget which...

The sweet woodruff is finishing off, but still smells heavenly..

My garden is granny chic :) I love petunias, lilacs, tulips, roses, dahlias, peonies... and I LOVE PINK. This bed doesn't look like much but in July you won't see dirt, it will be a froth of pink.

This Bacopa: Snowstorm Giant Snowflake is something new that I'm trying out in a part of my garden that stays pretty dry no matter what I do. The flowers are supposed to keep coming even when the plants are drought stressed. We'll see. :)

The tomatoes are in.. except the cherry variety. I can almost taste them. Yum. Lots to do in the veggie garden still. We follow the square foot gardening plan and it's beautiful and produces plenty for our family over the summer. We also keep fresh herbs in pots, and they often come back on their own... which is why they are in pots. We don't want a yard full of peppermint as much as I love it.

I have several varieties of crab tree. They are my favorite. This is Prairie Fire.

There is still so much to do, but this is my favorite time of year in the garden, once it gets over 80 degrees. I'm out only early in the morning putting the Preen down and then going back in. But, I loved being out in the rain today. It smells like heaven and everything is clean and beautiful.

Jacquelyn M. Voice Studio..

My beautiful sister Jackie is in the middle of a Master's Degree at the Cleveland Institute. But, she is home for the summer and teaching voice lessons for a very reasonable price. If you are local and interested.. let me know.

This is her Facebook Page... which has prices and other info.

Pass it on...

A Tale of Two Cities... by Charles Dickens

Yes. I'm still obsessed.

see the treasury HERE...

purchase music cd HERE...

and now available on Amazon HERE..

sheet music or sing it to yourself.. HERE..

Red River...

The hero can not be a murderer. That doesn't work. The only reason to watch this film is because Montgomery Clift is so handsome. That's not really enough. This is why I have a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with John Wayne films. The good guy can be flawed. He doesn't have to be perfect, but he can't be a spouse abuser or a murderer or we'd just as soon have him hanged in the end.

Who writes these scripts??? SHeesh!

Don't waste 2 hours on this one... unless you are a fan of Montgomery Clift.

Infant & Baby... Peg Dolls

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Something so pretty...

all the gold I care about is right here...

Serene Senorita Collage...

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Little Senorita Birthday Cake Topper...

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Thomas Jefferson: A Film by Ken Burns...

Ken Burns is a brilliant film maker, but his collection of historical "scholars" was worse than pathetic. They want to shoot beyond the mark. They want to make their own careers with their slighting and cryptic comments, their little digs at a man whose boots they aren't worthy to polish.

I've read enough of Jefferson myself to know that while he was a brilliant writer, one whose prose was lofty and grand, his writing was also plain language, more beautiful because it can be understood by all.

Mr. Burns soared when he let Jefferson speak for himself. Thankfully, there is enough of that to make this documentary well worth watching.

I'm always rankled by those who will criticize the founders because they didn't give us back The Garden of Eden, for this is what these "scholars" criticize them for. What generation has solved all of the problems encountered? There has never been a generation of people who have solved so many, freed so many.

When Jefferson wrote these sacred words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..." and then signed his name to that document. He risked his life. Had he been captured, his death would have been torture most painful and gruesome.

Certainly those words did not make men equal, they didn't make all men free at the time. But, they made freedom possible where it had never existed before. When that liberty took hold, it spread around the world. And, to the extent that the rest of the world has imitated the understanding of liberty and government these men created, is the extent to which they are free. To the extent that their ideas are rejected, even in the country they created, is the extent to which men are enslaved.

And even should the cloud of barbarism and despotism again obscure the science and libraries of Europe, this country remains to preserve and restore light and liberty to them. In short, the flames kindled on the fourth of July, 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them. Thomas Jefferson - Letter to John Adams (12 September 1821)

Spring Recital Collage...

HERE...

Behind every good man...

You know that saying right? Well, it works both ways. Behind every good woman is an amazing man. Today my husband worked in the yard, put in the garden, took down the Christmas lights, conditioned the cooler, shopped for a Mother's day dinner he's grilling and played with a demanding toddler who wanted to dance, be held on the banister so she could play horse, and generally show dad around the house naming stuff and pronouncing it "pretty" or "smell good" or "ick" (ick would be dinner). He answered 1,000 questions from the teenager w/out once becoming impatient. That's why my daughter is so smart right there.
When I grow up, I want to be just like him. He wonders what I want for Mother's Day. Not a thing.
Love you C.

Bear Lake Bear...

I love these colors. My grandmother decorates her whole house in them. She loves Bear Lake and so do I.

There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart... ~Jane Austen

ThE LoVE BoXEs SHoP...

Waiting for Superman...

I was lucky. I went to a great school. However, I still had teachers who didn't teach. I had one teacher who would put on a movie and leave the classroom. But, she was one teacher out of eight. I got A's in German, but I didn't learn any. What if you had 6 out of 8 teachers who refused to teach, who were paid the same whether or not they worked.
I admired the NYC approach because they try to put the kids first, but it's awfully costly to the tax payers to side line people and still pay them, not as costly as having classrooms full of children with no real teacher in them.
I kept thinking of the cost to the teachers who come to work, but don't work. Soul killing. In the end, when the unions protect them from being fired, they aren't doing those teachers any favor.
What will it take for us to side line the teachers unions? They are holding the future hostage.
In the proper environment, any kid can learn. I loved Geoffrey Canada's enthusiasm and I'm going to take the time to read some more about him and his ideas. But, God bless him for putting those children from broken cities and broken homes in shirts and ties and teaching them that they CAN do and they CAN learn!
Anyway, I'm rambling, but if you haven't seen this film. It's certainly worth your time.

Fantastic Mr. Fox...

Very clever and lots of fun.

Pink Hydrangea Postcards...

Where there is great love, there are always miracles...

~Willa Cather

130 LB cover stock paper with satin finish

$5 for a pack of 10 cards wrapped as shown .. international shipping available

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Anchors Aweigh!!!

Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty... 2 Corinthians 3:17

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Yellow Bears...

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Christmas Bears...

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Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

I forget sometimes that much of the world is emotionally constipated. A person may care, but they don't know what to say or do. Mr. McCourt has many troubles. Mr. McCourt has lost his family, had a miserable childhood, and little or no faith. He repeats so many instances where he wants to tell someone that he cares or that he'd like to help. He doesn't know how.. until one day he does. That made the book worth reading for me. I really enjoyed it.

There's more too.. I love an Irish Brogue, who doesn't? I listened to Mr. McCourt read this on tape. Fun. There are lots of light parts and lots of sad parts. There's regret.

In his autobiography Mark Twain complains that no one can really write one b/c they simply can't admit what a monster they've been. He's normally right about that. I edit my own journal thinking.. when I'm dead someone will read this, and by then I won't be so stupid, or petty or whatever. But subsequently, only the best of me is on paper. It's not a realistic picture. Mr. McCourt is brave and tells things you won't admire. And, I kept thinking, I would have loved to take his class, but would I want my daughter in it... hmmm? I always want her to be surrounded by people who are strong and sure in their faith, but that isn't realistic. Her faith will have to be strong enough to be around people and care about people who've lost theirs or maybe never had it.

In the end though.. my favorite moral of this tale is... It's a little embarrassing sometimes, but so freeing to tell people you love, that you care, that you're sorry, they are in your prayers, that you are thrilled for their success, that they are wonderful, that you love them.