Almost There

“We live in a day when the adversary stresses on every hand the philosophy of instant gratification. We seem to demand instant everything, including instant solutions to our problems. We are indoctrinated that somehow we should always by instantly emotionally comfortable. When that is not so, some become anxious—and all too frequently seek relief from counseling, from analysis, and even from medication. It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal. Teach our members that if they have a good, miserable day once in a while, or several in a row, to stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out. There is great purpose in our struggle in life.” – President Boyd K. Packer

Appleton

I hope you have a lovely holiday weekend. I plan to be a nervous wreck. I live next to a wetlands park that at the moment is anything but wet. The water level in our nearest pond is three feet lower than a month ago. Another foot and the fish will be high and dry. The grass in the park looks and feels like Shredded Wheat. Fireworks aren’t permitted anywhere near my neighborhood, but some of my neighbors clearly believe those rules are for other people. A few have obviously skipped the “tame” fireworks available nearby and brought some more aggressive specimens from out of the state. If we survive the next few days unsinged, we get to do this again on Pioneer Day. It’s enough to make me wish the signing of the Declaration of Independence and Brigham Young’s arrival here had happened in January instead of July.

Another Row

Cucumber, Avocado and Tomato Salad

1 pound tomatoes – (I like Roma or heirloom) coarsely chopped

1 English cucumber – coarsely chopped

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 ripe avocados, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, basil OR baby dill, chopped

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Place tomato, cucumber, onion and avocado pieces in a large bowl. In a small bowl, blend together remaining ingredients to make a dressing. Toss dressing with vegetables and serve immediately. Makes 4-5 servings as a side salad, or 2-3 servings as a main course.

Blue Catch As You Can

If you’re not from around here, a lot of things Utahans do might seem puzzling to you. Take our food, for instance. We don’t drink much beer or wine, but we more than make up for it with our love of dessert. We enjoy pie, cobbler, cake, brownies and cookies; especially topped with ice cream. We drink more than our share of root beer, which we also top with ice cream. Shakes here are so thick they’re often taller than the cup they’re served in. We have an unhealthy relationship with green Jell-O. We like our fries with fry sauce, which is something like Thousand Island dressing (with or without pickle relish). We’re fond of tater tots, of bacon, and of tater tots wrapped in bacon. Then there are funeral potatoes, which should probably have their own food group. I had a point here, but I lost it. Excuse me while I grab something to eat.

Indian Puzzle

Buzz Feed readers were recently asked to share the titles of books they couldn’t put down. The results were predictably eclectic. There were several that I’ve read, like Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. There were some titles on the list that I’ve considered bringing home from the bookstore or the library: Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson. I hesitate, though, because I’m not sure about the content. Just as you can’t unhear a song or unsee a movie, you can’t unread a book. Movies, music and video games have rating systems to help with this sort of thing. Why don’t books?