I got inspiration in how to decorate my new bathrooms!
For our downstairs bath I want to do a "Garden at Fablehaven" Theme. We will have fairies, flowers and hummingbirds. This is the piece that inspired me. Fairy Toilet paper holder.
For the masterbath upstairs- I want to do a country cottage theme- using easily found items and ribbons. The colors are peach, burgundy and cream. (first stop here is to find the right ribbon and get some hot melt glue)
For the boy's bath- I want to play it straight. There will be a dark wood shelf against the empty wall at 6 feet height? with hooks underneath it and baskets for each of the boys on top. I will hang a long mirror, and then some framed picture over the toilet.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Saturday, March 06, 2010
when you are still enough to he
M E R I D I A N M A G A Z I N E
In Chile: The Lord’s Earthquake Warning
By Sister Lisa Laycock
Editor’s Note: President Larry Laycock and his wife, Sister Lisa Laycock head the Santiago Chile East Mission and had spent the two weeks prior to the 8.8 earthquake visiting each missionary apartment and preparing them for an earthquake. They brought specific instructions on what to do, supplied water purification bottles for the missionaries, told them how to create a 36-hour kit for emergencies and how to stay in communication should an earthquake strike. They prayed with each missionary and dedicated their apartments. Why? Because of a special experience that alerted them to what was coming. They told their missionaries, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.”
They have 171 full-time proselyting missionaries in this mission.
Special thanks to the Laycocks for allowing Meridian to publish this letter that Sister Laycock sent to her family shortly after the earthquake sharing their remarkable experience of kindness from the Lord. They are in Chile with their son, Landon.
The picture of the missionaries on the cover and in this article were taken at a March 1st gathering. These are post-earthquake smiling faces.
Dear Everyone,
I am writing to let you all know how very grateful we are for your prayers, concern, and love. Please keep praying! We need the Lord's help and guidance in order to do all He would have us do to learn what He would have us learn from this earth quake tragedy, and to minister in the way He would have us minister.
During the past few days, we have witnessed many events which serve to remind us that the Lord is in charge and that as missionaries and members of His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are performing His work, and as President Monson teaches, "When we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to His help." I want to share with you a few miracles that will help you to understand our profound feelings of gratitude.
When we were set apart for this calling, Elder Scott of the Council of the Twelve Apostles taught us many important lessons. He spoke from personal experience when he was a mission president in Argentina. One message that he shared with us is this: "At times, during your mission, you will be awakened in the middle of the night or the early morning hours with thoughts of specific things you should do for certain missionaries. Do not ignore these thoughts. They are promptings from the Holy Ghost who will communicate with you in the stillness of the night or the peace of the early morning hours. He will speak to you then because that is when you are still enough to hear."
Elder Scott further instructed us to keep a notebook beside our bed so that we could record these precious promptings. He said that by the next morning, we would be likely to forget the promptings if we didn't write them down.
We have been astonished at the fulfillment of Elder Scott's prophetic words. We have received many promptings in the exact manner that Elder Scott described. We are so thankful that Elder Scott taught us how to recognize and act upon these precious promptings. Had he not taught us, we may not have given these promptings the attention they require.
Nearly two-and-one-half weeks ago, I was awakened at around 4:00 AM by just such a prompting. I did not hear a voice, but the thought was as clear as if it had been in the form of spoken words: "There is going to be an earthquake. Prepare your missionaries." I sat up in bed and immediately remembered Elder Scott's counsel. That morning I told Larry what had happened. He immediately set to work organizing our missionaries to prepare for an earthquake.
In talking with our office missionaries to arrange for them to put together a list of everything we would need to prepare...in both Spanish and English...we discovered that the Lord had also let two of our office missionaries know of the possibility of an earthquake (in the form of dreams) and the need to prepare our mission.
![]()
We set a goal and arranged our schedule so that we could visit every apartment in the mission to check for safety and to review with our missionaries what to do in case of an earth quake. What a wonderful experience we have had as we have met with them and shared scriptures with them about being spiritually and physically prepared. "...if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30).
We instructed every missionary to have a "go-bag" (36 hour kit). We reviewed our emergency action plan with them of where to go and what to do if they had phone service and in case they did not. We gave everyone a paper with all instructions in English and Spanish, and we reminded them that "this life is the time to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32-34). We shared with them our thoughts and feelings about the need for spiritual and physical safety.
Some of them became frightened and asked us if we knew something they didn't know. We smiled and repeated "...if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." We didn't want to unduly alarm them, but we did want to impress upon them the need to be prepared. We tearfully reminded them of our recent transfer conference where we had shared our feelings about our dear Elder McKay Burrows who was unexpectedly called home in January while serving his mission in Romania...how he was prepared in every way to meet God. We reissued our challenge to "be prepared" in every way. Then we knelt with them in their apartment and dedicated each apartment, asking for a blessing of safety and security to be upon every apartment.
When the earthquake came, we were prepared. We did not experience the panic that many felt. We knew we were prepared. Because of the words of the Lord's chosen Apostle, Elder Scott, we had listened and heeded the quiet, but clear promptings of the Holy Ghost. We were blessed with peace in the midst of chaos. We learned an important lesson: our preparation helped us to avoid panic and fear, but the Lord, in His wisdom, allowed us to experience enough discomfort to know that He has all power. He is in charge. We are nothing without Him. We are dependent upon Him for every breath we take. Only He can save us from death and destruction. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is our perfect example. If we follow Him, we will be saved through obedience to the laws and ordinances of His Gospel.
As the earthquake became more violent, the mission home groaned and wailed. The power died, so the whole city was black. The windows made a hideous screeching sound, and flying objects banged against swaying walls. The printer/fax machine, books, book ends, and fifty-pound television burst from the entertainment center and crashed to the floor, cabinets emptied, drawers flew open, the refrigerator moved, water sloshed out of the toilets, the floor jolted up and down as we ran across it trying to hold onto the walls to keep from falling down, and the piano toppled over like a small toy. As we made our way to the back yard, I remember thinking, "God is all-powerful. He is our only refuge from this horrible mess." I prayed and prayed for Him to still the earth.
When we reached the back yard, we watched in terror. By the light of the moon we could see the swimming pool water form giant waves and crash out onto the rocks. House and car alarms screamed into the night...some from being crushed by falling debris and others, I guess, from the bizarre movement of the earth. I am not sure if the intense rumbling sounds came from the earth itself or from everything else that was shaking so violently. Finally, it stopped.
When the calm came, we had to sit down because our legs were weak and unstable. My legs stayed wobbly all day and night yesterday. Today the muscles in my legs hurt like I ran a marathon. The aftershocks have been extremely unsettling. Each one begins like the one last night started. We just close our eyes and wait to see if it escalates or dies down. .I have never experienced anything like this!
We were awakened this morning by a very strong after shock. Larry jumped out of bed and yelled, "Welcome to another glorious day in Chile!" We just had to laugh. We moved a mattress into the floor in our bedroom and made Landon sleep in our room. He was in his room with the door locked the night before and we couldn't wake him up. He never locks his door, but he was playing a joke on Larry because every morning Larry wakes him at 5:30 AM for seminary by tickling him unmercifully. So Landon had decided to stop him.
When we couldn't open his door, in the middle of the quake, we thought he was trapped, so we screamed and banged. Landon thought that everything was falling off the walls because we were banging so hard on the door. I think we scared him more than the earthquake did!
Today, we attended a strong ward where Larry was invited to speak. The entire chapel and beyond was filled. People were so humble and so teachable. Larry taught the importance of doing the small things. He taught about Jesus Christ and the opportunity we have to love one another and to share what we have with others.
It was a great blessing for us to be with these beautiful Chilean people. Some have lost their homes...or at least parts of their homes. But they are strong and they want to serve the Lord. He taught of the scripture in Luke 21:11,13 which says, "and great earthquakes shall be in divers places...and it shall turn to you for a testimony." He also welcomed the sweet young woman who was in the congregation with the missionaries...her first time attending church...and then he invited her to be baptized from the pulpit. He asked her to please invite us to her baptism, and she said, "I will." The Lord always knows what His people need.
Landon was reading in Alma 15:17 today. He said, Mom listen to this. This is what is happening here in Chile just like in happened in Ammonihah. The people were humbled and "checked as to the pride of their hearts and began to humble themselves before God, watching and praying continually that they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction."
![]()
Our hearts are filled to the brim with gratitude for all of the blessings we have received in the Chile Santiago East Mission. We see miracles every day. In the midst of great pain and suffering, we can always find our Savior. He stands with His arms open, pleading for all of us to humble ourselves and come unto Him. He loves us. He invites us to accept His gift...the atonement. He invites us to repent. He wants us to love one another and to serve one another. He wants us to bring our families and those we love to Him. We can do it. We can do all that He asks, no matter how difficult it may seem. "With God all things are possible"
We are having a devotional tomorrow for all of our missionaries to talk about the last week of Christ's life in preparation for Easter. We want to remind our missionaries to teach and preach with increased vigor of Christ. Last Monday in our office meeting, Larry suddenly stopped in the middle, and said, "During the prayer, I had a very strong impression that March 2010 is going to be our best baptizing month we have ever had in this mission."
Now we know why he received that feeling. We are going to prepare to bring many souls to the waters of baptism in March. Please continue to pray for us and for the people of Chile. Please pray for the missionaries to have strength and courage to do all that is being required of them, even in difficult times.
We are so thankful that the tsunami did not turn out badly in Hawaii. Who would ever think that an earthquake in Chile could threaten the shores of Hawaii? Thankfully, the Lord is in charge. He is the one to whom we must turn for refuge from every storm. He has the power to save us.
Editor’s Note:
The letter ends here, but President and Sister Laycock told us:
“We’ve never experienced anything like the earthquake. We have had 90 aftershocks, some stronger than others. Our legs are wobbly. It is a scary feeling to experience an aftershock because it brings back all the feelings we had during the earthquake.
“We love being with our missionaries. Because they were prepared, they were immediately able to turn their attention to helping others. They were never concerned about themselves. They were concerned with those who need help and by mid-morning the day of the earthquake, we were able to dispatch them to help others. We told them to investigate the needs of their neighbors and help in any way they could.
President Laycock noted, “The Spanish translation of Luke 21:13 says that there will be earthquakes in many places, and it will give you the occasion to bear testimony. We met with 10 sisters this morning, and one of them mentioned a neighbor next door whom they always asked if she would have time to speak with them, and she always said no. Yet in the crescendo of the toll of the earthquake, she was speechless with fear and not prepared. When the sisters said, ‘Could we pray with you?’, she answered, ‘I have time to pray with you.’ It opened the door to a teaching opportunity to share the gospel.
President and Sister Laycock said, “Everyone we talk to has been so willing to talk about Christ and God’s power. We’ve been sharing God’s love with them. We are seeing God’s love everywhere. People are reaching out to one another. They are serving one another. The news reports looting. We are seeing a different side. We are seeing people who want to communicate with God, who are sincerely looking for the truth.”
In Chile: The Lord’s Earthquake Warning
By Sister Lisa Laycock
Editor’s Note: President Larry Laycock and his wife, Sister Lisa Laycock head the Santiago Chile East Mission and had spent the two weeks prior to the 8.8 earthquake visiting each missionary apartment and preparing them for an earthquake. They brought specific instructions on what to do, supplied water purification bottles for the missionaries, told them how to create a 36-hour kit for emergencies and how to stay in communication should an earthquake strike. They prayed with each missionary and dedicated their apartments. Why? Because of a special experience that alerted them to what was coming. They told their missionaries, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.”
They have 171 full-time proselyting missionaries in this mission.
Special thanks to the Laycocks for allowing Meridian to publish this letter that Sister Laycock sent to her family shortly after the earthquake sharing their remarkable experience of kindness from the Lord. They are in Chile with their son, Landon.
The picture of the missionaries on the cover and in this article were taken at a March 1st gathering. These are post-earthquake smiling faces.
Dear Everyone,
I am writing to let you all know how very grateful we are for your prayers, concern, and love. Please keep praying! We need the Lord's help and guidance in order to do all He would have us do to learn what He would have us learn from this earth quake tragedy, and to minister in the way He would have us minister.
During the past few days, we have witnessed many events which serve to remind us that the Lord is in charge and that as missionaries and members of His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are performing His work, and as President Monson teaches, "When we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to His help." I want to share with you a few miracles that will help you to understand our profound feelings of gratitude.
When we were set apart for this calling, Elder Scott of the Council of the Twelve Apostles taught us many important lessons. He spoke from personal experience when he was a mission president in Argentina. One message that he shared with us is this: "At times, during your mission, you will be awakened in the middle of the night or the early morning hours with thoughts of specific things you should do for certain missionaries. Do not ignore these thoughts. They are promptings from the Holy Ghost who will communicate with you in the stillness of the night or the peace of the early morning hours. He will speak to you then because that is when you are still enough to hear."
Elder Scott further instructed us to keep a notebook beside our bed so that we could record these precious promptings. He said that by the next morning, we would be likely to forget the promptings if we didn't write them down.
We have been astonished at the fulfillment of Elder Scott's prophetic words. We have received many promptings in the exact manner that Elder Scott described. We are so thankful that Elder Scott taught us how to recognize and act upon these precious promptings. Had he not taught us, we may not have given these promptings the attention they require.
Nearly two-and-one-half weeks ago, I was awakened at around 4:00 AM by just such a prompting. I did not hear a voice, but the thought was as clear as if it had been in the form of spoken words: "There is going to be an earthquake. Prepare your missionaries." I sat up in bed and immediately remembered Elder Scott's counsel. That morning I told Larry what had happened. He immediately set to work organizing our missionaries to prepare for an earthquake.
In talking with our office missionaries to arrange for them to put together a list of everything we would need to prepare...in both Spanish and English...we discovered that the Lord had also let two of our office missionaries know of the possibility of an earthquake (in the form of dreams) and the need to prepare our mission.
We set a goal and arranged our schedule so that we could visit every apartment in the mission to check for safety and to review with our missionaries what to do in case of an earth quake. What a wonderful experience we have had as we have met with them and shared scriptures with them about being spiritually and physically prepared. "...if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30).
We instructed every missionary to have a "go-bag" (36 hour kit). We reviewed our emergency action plan with them of where to go and what to do if they had phone service and in case they did not. We gave everyone a paper with all instructions in English and Spanish, and we reminded them that "this life is the time to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32-34). We shared with them our thoughts and feelings about the need for spiritual and physical safety.
Some of them became frightened and asked us if we knew something they didn't know. We smiled and repeated "...if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." We didn't want to unduly alarm them, but we did want to impress upon them the need to be prepared. We tearfully reminded them of our recent transfer conference where we had shared our feelings about our dear Elder McKay Burrows who was unexpectedly called home in January while serving his mission in Romania...how he was prepared in every way to meet God. We reissued our challenge to "be prepared" in every way. Then we knelt with them in their apartment and dedicated each apartment, asking for a blessing of safety and security to be upon every apartment.
When the earthquake came, we were prepared. We did not experience the panic that many felt. We knew we were prepared. Because of the words of the Lord's chosen Apostle, Elder Scott, we had listened and heeded the quiet, but clear promptings of the Holy Ghost. We were blessed with peace in the midst of chaos. We learned an important lesson: our preparation helped us to avoid panic and fear, but the Lord, in His wisdom, allowed us to experience enough discomfort to know that He has all power. He is in charge. We are nothing without Him. We are dependent upon Him for every breath we take. Only He can save us from death and destruction. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is our perfect example. If we follow Him, we will be saved through obedience to the laws and ordinances of His Gospel.
As the earthquake became more violent, the mission home groaned and wailed. The power died, so the whole city was black. The windows made a hideous screeching sound, and flying objects banged against swaying walls. The printer/fax machine, books, book ends, and fifty-pound television burst from the entertainment center and crashed to the floor, cabinets emptied, drawers flew open, the refrigerator moved, water sloshed out of the toilets, the floor jolted up and down as we ran across it trying to hold onto the walls to keep from falling down, and the piano toppled over like a small toy. As we made our way to the back yard, I remember thinking, "God is all-powerful. He is our only refuge from this horrible mess." I prayed and prayed for Him to still the earth.
When we reached the back yard, we watched in terror. By the light of the moon we could see the swimming pool water form giant waves and crash out onto the rocks. House and car alarms screamed into the night...some from being crushed by falling debris and others, I guess, from the bizarre movement of the earth. I am not sure if the intense rumbling sounds came from the earth itself or from everything else that was shaking so violently. Finally, it stopped.
When the calm came, we had to sit down because our legs were weak and unstable. My legs stayed wobbly all day and night yesterday. Today the muscles in my legs hurt like I ran a marathon. The aftershocks have been extremely unsettling. Each one begins like the one last night started. We just close our eyes and wait to see if it escalates or dies down. .I have never experienced anything like this!
We were awakened this morning by a very strong after shock. Larry jumped out of bed and yelled, "Welcome to another glorious day in Chile!" We just had to laugh. We moved a mattress into the floor in our bedroom and made Landon sleep in our room. He was in his room with the door locked the night before and we couldn't wake him up. He never locks his door, but he was playing a joke on Larry because every morning Larry wakes him at 5:30 AM for seminary by tickling him unmercifully. So Landon had decided to stop him.
When we couldn't open his door, in the middle of the quake, we thought he was trapped, so we screamed and banged. Landon thought that everything was falling off the walls because we were banging so hard on the door. I think we scared him more than the earthquake did!
Today, we attended a strong ward where Larry was invited to speak. The entire chapel and beyond was filled. People were so humble and so teachable. Larry taught the importance of doing the small things. He taught about Jesus Christ and the opportunity we have to love one another and to share what we have with others.
It was a great blessing for us to be with these beautiful Chilean people. Some have lost their homes...or at least parts of their homes. But they are strong and they want to serve the Lord. He taught of the scripture in Luke 21:11,13 which says, "and great earthquakes shall be in divers places...and it shall turn to you for a testimony." He also welcomed the sweet young woman who was in the congregation with the missionaries...her first time attending church...and then he invited her to be baptized from the pulpit. He asked her to please invite us to her baptism, and she said, "I will." The Lord always knows what His people need.
Landon was reading in Alma 15:17 today. He said, Mom listen to this. This is what is happening here in Chile just like in happened in Ammonihah. The people were humbled and "checked as to the pride of their hearts and began to humble themselves before God, watching and praying continually that they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction."
Our hearts are filled to the brim with gratitude for all of the blessings we have received in the Chile Santiago East Mission. We see miracles every day. In the midst of great pain and suffering, we can always find our Savior. He stands with His arms open, pleading for all of us to humble ourselves and come unto Him. He loves us. He invites us to accept His gift...the atonement. He invites us to repent. He wants us to love one another and to serve one another. He wants us to bring our families and those we love to Him. We can do it. We can do all that He asks, no matter how difficult it may seem. "With God all things are possible"
We are having a devotional tomorrow for all of our missionaries to talk about the last week of Christ's life in preparation for Easter. We want to remind our missionaries to teach and preach with increased vigor of Christ. Last Monday in our office meeting, Larry suddenly stopped in the middle, and said, "During the prayer, I had a very strong impression that March 2010 is going to be our best baptizing month we have ever had in this mission."
Now we know why he received that feeling. We are going to prepare to bring many souls to the waters of baptism in March. Please continue to pray for us and for the people of Chile. Please pray for the missionaries to have strength and courage to do all that is being required of them, even in difficult times.
We are so thankful that the tsunami did not turn out badly in Hawaii. Who would ever think that an earthquake in Chile could threaten the shores of Hawaii? Thankfully, the Lord is in charge. He is the one to whom we must turn for refuge from every storm. He has the power to save us.
Editor’s Note:
The letter ends here, but President and Sister Laycock told us:
“We’ve never experienced anything like the earthquake. We have had 90 aftershocks, some stronger than others. Our legs are wobbly. It is a scary feeling to experience an aftershock because it brings back all the feelings we had during the earthquake.
“We love being with our missionaries. Because they were prepared, they were immediately able to turn their attention to helping others. They were never concerned about themselves. They were concerned with those who need help and by mid-morning the day of the earthquake, we were able to dispatch them to help others. We told them to investigate the needs of their neighbors and help in any way they could.
President Laycock noted, “The Spanish translation of Luke 21:13 says that there will be earthquakes in many places, and it will give you the occasion to bear testimony. We met with 10 sisters this morning, and one of them mentioned a neighbor next door whom they always asked if she would have time to speak with them, and she always said no. Yet in the crescendo of the toll of the earthquake, she was speechless with fear and not prepared. When the sisters said, ‘Could we pray with you?’, she answered, ‘I have time to pray with you.’ It opened the door to a teaching opportunity to share the gospel.
President and Sister Laycock said, “Everyone we talk to has been so willing to talk about Christ and God’s power. We’ve been sharing God’s love with them. We are seeing God’s love everywhere. People are reaching out to one another. They are serving one another. The news reports looting. We are seeing a different side. We are seeing people who want to communicate with God, who are sincerely looking for the truth.”
Friday, March 05, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
How to be a girl
By my 20 month old....
Being a girl means:
-snuggling pink kitties
-wrapping dolls in pink blankets
-putting the wrapped doll and pink kitty in the stroller and pushing it around
-walking around in mommy's slippers
-then walking around in daddy's boots
-tromping around in my pink boots
-wearing pearls all day and all night (also during baths)
-wrapping daddy around my finger
-growling
-laughing
-using my stormy eyes
- trying on mommy's pink turtleneck
- adoring shoes, especially fancy ones
-twirling in dresses
-tolerating hair bows and extra ruffles
-talking on the phone
-hamming it up when the camera comes out
Saturday, February 13, 2010
We went to a valentine's dinner tonight- it was a fundraiser for RReal (non profit that helps install solar heating in energy poverty situations) the food as fabulous. There was also a wine tasting section. We, of course, put our glasses upside down and just enjoyed the incredible food- but as the wines were being described as to their "nose" and flavor (sweet, fruity, peppery with a hint of vanilla). I thought I ought to sniff it.
My nose is so good I can smell if some one used non-organic soap half a house away- in fact soon after we were married Mike put on some aftershave after showering and I couldn't stand being in the same room as him, which was kinda challenging because we only had a 1 room apartment- I sent him back in to shower again- this time with no smelly soaps or creams. So I sniffed my dad's.
Ekkk! My eyes crossed and I just about fell to floor. I have never smelled anything so revolting or nauseating in my life. How can anybody even imagine putting that stuff in their mouth? It was so smelly I don't know if I could even bring myself to strip furniture with it.(and I had just spent the day staining the floors on my new house- I know smelly!)
My brother said that must be a sign that it was a good wine. I have 5 kids- so I think I know a good wine- and that was not even in the same category.
My nose is so good I can smell if some one used non-organic soap half a house away- in fact soon after we were married Mike put on some aftershave after showering and I couldn't stand being in the same room as him, which was kinda challenging because we only had a 1 room apartment- I sent him back in to shower again- this time with no smelly soaps or creams. So I sniffed my dad's.
Ekkk! My eyes crossed and I just about fell to floor. I have never smelled anything so revolting or nauseating in my life. How can anybody even imagine putting that stuff in their mouth? It was so smelly I don't know if I could even bring myself to strip furniture with it.(and I had just spent the day staining the floors on my new house- I know smelly!)
My brother said that must be a sign that it was a good wine. I have 5 kids- so I think I know a good wine- and that was not even in the same category.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
heaven or hell?
True, the energy/economic/oil/climate crises are upon us.
True, no matter what we do we will see the end of fresh oranges in Northern Minnesota, and we will stop using our cars for all but life saving events. There will be riots (at least initially) and some people will go hungry (at least until they learn how to grow their own foods), and all of our computers will be worth no more then paper weights. Basically the end of all things driven by oil is heading our direction fast.
It is going to/already has caused our economy to collapse and our beautiful debt based banking systems. It is going to end industrial agriculture and security checks at airports. Buses will no longer transport kids to and from schools and computers, solar panels, plastics, and really annoying plastic kid whistles will no longer be manufactured. It is the end of our over consumption. Excesses of stuff will no longer be made or clutter our living rooms.
The questions is will we let them ruin us? or Will we let this make us stronger and better?
Most of us already know that the trappings of our oil based economy is not good for our physical or mental health and yet we can't seem to break free of the debt, the garbage, the fast foods, the many hours sitting at computers interacting with "friends" that we never really see.
We have been given this amazing golden opportunity to power down now and live a simpler life where we physically move our bodies to grow our food, where we choose to band together as neighbors and share our garden's wealth. Where we have time to have a simple chat or a roll in the hay- because there is always work to do and the only true dead line is our own hunger.
Is this heaven?
Imagine waking up when the sun beams hit your face in the morning. You stoke your wood stove/fire pit/whatever you heat or cook on and you start water boiling. You use what you prepared yesterday for a quick and hearty breakfast before going outside to feed your chickens and weed your garden. In the afternoon you take the jellies you set up yesterday (made from the raspberries that your kids picked) and put them in a basket. Now you either ride your bike or walk to town and enjoying the fresh breeze and interesting wildlife in the process. Nothing on the road is going faster then you (if you bike). You manage to avoid the known potholes and make it to town, waving to every face you see over garden fences.
You enter the market square and set the jellies on a table to be sold, but one of the first people who comes up tells you about a family that is sick with the flu this week. You ask your neighboring table to watch/sell your jellies for you while you go and visit the family, first stopping at your sister's/mother's house enlisting their help and pantry. out of her pantry you select 2 jars of chicken soup, a nice load of crusty bread and some apples, and cheese. Your mother/sister adds a ribbon and a little homemade note telling them to get well soon.
You walk this over to the sick family and not only take the opportunity to drop off the goodies and note, but spend a while pumping and heating the water to bathe a few of the children and wash some dishes. After eating the soup, you see the color and some energy return to their cheeks, so you wish them a get well and go back to the market, where your jellies have sold. You spend some of that money to purchase some homemade cheese at another vendor's in the market (because that is the one thing you haven't got the hang of making your own yet) and set off for home.
By the time you get home the sun is starting to sink from the sky. You take the opportunity to prep for dinner, and then feed the chickens again and heat some more water for evening cleanings. As the sun sets dinner is ready and your mother/sister and her family comes over and enjoys it with you. You knit/sew/mend while holding a lively conversation and then the conversation ebbs and the music being played by the menfolk wash over you. Finally you kiss them goodnight and send them off with several jars of your jelly, while you - by candle light tuck your family into bed.
Or is it hell?
Your house is cold, your food is low and there is no water and no gas in the car to go get water from the creek- which doesn't matter because it is frozen over anyways. The trees near your house are gone. They have all been turned into fuel for heating and cooking. You ate your last bag of army rations anyways and are determined that your kids won't starve. You have a gun and ammo- but the there is no wild life left to shoot. There are rumors that some people down the road have been hoarding food and you think your gun and you can make a good argument for them to "share."
The town is mostly gone. There was a big fire that burnt it down last week after a fight over supplies at the hardware store went sour. Lots of people lost what they had, but you don't have enough of anything to share with them (unless a powerless big screen TV is what they want). So you leave your family in the care of the oldest kid. You tell him "You're the big man now, while I'm gone." And you head out by foot to the road. You see a few other people packing guns walking in the same direction. "I heard there was food this way." you say. They grunt in the affirmative. But when you arrive it is too late. It is clear that somebody beat you too it. A few corpses lie around the house. A woman, children, men. The door if off it's hinges, blowing in the wind.
The choice is yours. Will you prepare? Will you build a community? Will you share openly and help those in need? or will you allow yourself or others to become desperate and resort to un-civilization?
I plan to make it heaven. I plan to plant, prepare, build
True, no matter what we do we will see the end of fresh oranges in Northern Minnesota, and we will stop using our cars for all but life saving events. There will be riots (at least initially) and some people will go hungry (at least until they learn how to grow their own foods), and all of our computers will be worth no more then paper weights. Basically the end of all things driven by oil is heading our direction fast.
It is going to/already has caused our economy to collapse and our beautiful debt based banking systems. It is going to end industrial agriculture and security checks at airports. Buses will no longer transport kids to and from schools and computers, solar panels, plastics, and really annoying plastic kid whistles will no longer be manufactured. It is the end of our over consumption. Excesses of stuff will no longer be made or clutter our living rooms.
The questions is will we let them ruin us? or Will we let this make us stronger and better?
Most of us already know that the trappings of our oil based economy is not good for our physical or mental health and yet we can't seem to break free of the debt, the garbage, the fast foods, the many hours sitting at computers interacting with "friends" that we never really see.
We have been given this amazing golden opportunity to power down now and live a simpler life where we physically move our bodies to grow our food, where we choose to band together as neighbors and share our garden's wealth. Where we have time to have a simple chat or a roll in the hay- because there is always work to do and the only true dead line is our own hunger.
Is this heaven?
Imagine waking up when the sun beams hit your face in the morning. You stoke your wood stove/fire pit/whatever you heat or cook on and you start water boiling. You use what you prepared yesterday for a quick and hearty breakfast before going outside to feed your chickens and weed your garden. In the afternoon you take the jellies you set up yesterday (made from the raspberries that your kids picked) and put them in a basket. Now you either ride your bike or walk to town and enjoying the fresh breeze and interesting wildlife in the process. Nothing on the road is going faster then you (if you bike). You manage to avoid the known potholes and make it to town, waving to every face you see over garden fences.
You enter the market square and set the jellies on a table to be sold, but one of the first people who comes up tells you about a family that is sick with the flu this week. You ask your neighboring table to watch/sell your jellies for you while you go and visit the family, first stopping at your sister's/mother's house enlisting their help and pantry. out of her pantry you select 2 jars of chicken soup, a nice load of crusty bread and some apples, and cheese. Your mother/sister adds a ribbon and a little homemade note telling them to get well soon.
You walk this over to the sick family and not only take the opportunity to drop off the goodies and note, but spend a while pumping and heating the water to bathe a few of the children and wash some dishes. After eating the soup, you see the color and some energy return to their cheeks, so you wish them a get well and go back to the market, where your jellies have sold. You spend some of that money to purchase some homemade cheese at another vendor's in the market (because that is the one thing you haven't got the hang of making your own yet) and set off for home.
By the time you get home the sun is starting to sink from the sky. You take the opportunity to prep for dinner, and then feed the chickens again and heat some more water for evening cleanings. As the sun sets dinner is ready and your mother/sister and her family comes over and enjoys it with you. You knit/sew/mend while holding a lively conversation and then the conversation ebbs and the music being played by the menfolk wash over you. Finally you kiss them goodnight and send them off with several jars of your jelly, while you - by candle light tuck your family into bed.
Or is it hell?
Your house is cold, your food is low and there is no water and no gas in the car to go get water from the creek- which doesn't matter because it is frozen over anyways. The trees near your house are gone. They have all been turned into fuel for heating and cooking. You ate your last bag of army rations anyways and are determined that your kids won't starve. You have a gun and ammo- but the there is no wild life left to shoot. There are rumors that some people down the road have been hoarding food and you think your gun and you can make a good argument for them to "share."
The town is mostly gone. There was a big fire that burnt it down last week after a fight over supplies at the hardware store went sour. Lots of people lost what they had, but you don't have enough of anything to share with them (unless a powerless big screen TV is what they want). So you leave your family in the care of the oldest kid. You tell him "You're the big man now, while I'm gone." And you head out by foot to the road. You see a few other people packing guns walking in the same direction. "I heard there was food this way." you say. They grunt in the affirmative. But when you arrive it is too late. It is clear that somebody beat you too it. A few corpses lie around the house. A woman, children, men. The door if off it's hinges, blowing in the wind.
The choice is yours. Will you prepare? Will you build a community? Will you share openly and help those in need? or will you allow yourself or others to become desperate and resort to un-civilization?
I plan to make it heaven. I plan to plant, prepare, build
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Why is it again?
Why is it that when you have something you'd like to say, by the time things have calmed down enough where you can sit down and type- the thoughts have completely fled your head and you are left with vague impressions of what it is you were so elegantly composing?
Why is it that when you work hard to make enough free time in your schedule (say to take a class you've been needing to finish your degree) that some kid related things comes along and fills the space? (say Galen's tummy reacting to school food so now you need to make enough foods to pack for breakfast and lunch everyday)
And that when you are finally saying a few things that make sense you're blue eyed, blond haired pill comes and sits on your lap and asks for a nursing?
Why is it that when you work hard to make enough free time in your schedule (say to take a class you've been needing to finish your degree) that some kid related things comes along and fills the space? (say Galen's tummy reacting to school food so now you need to make enough foods to pack for breakfast and lunch everyday)
And that when you are finally saying a few things that make sense you're blue eyed, blond haired pill comes and sits on your lap and asks for a nursing?
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