Summer theater

One of the highlights of our summer is going to see some amazingly good theater productions. The little state of Utah has some stellar stage productions and we absolutely love to be patrons each year. This year I got to see the Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theater production of Oliver with my sister Lee. The little guy that played Oliver had a great voice and was perfectly cast. Michael B. also did a stellar job as Fagan. The music in the play was wonderful, the sets were well done and the costumes and casting were great. It was a fun evening.
Rick and I always love to go to Cedar City to attend the annual Shakespeare Festival. We met his sister Robyn and her husband Bob again this year and we had a great time. This year the Festival is celebrating their 50th year. That is quite an accomplishment for world class theater in the little city of Cedar City. Fred Adams the founder should feel very proud of what he has accomplished. They have branched out from doing just Shakespeare to also include some Broadway plays and some other theater productions that are generally well known. This year we saw Shakespeare's Richard III. It is a dark historical tragedy. During the three hours of the play good ole Richard knocked off 11 people as he murdered his way to the crown. I MARVEL at the ability of the actors to remember their lines (in Shakespeare no less) over the course of almost three hours of the play. The actors are so good at performing, it seems like we in the audience are just sitting there watching the live action take place before our eyes. It's an interesting story and another way to learn just a little more of English history (although I'm sure Shakespeare took a lot of liberties with the material.)
We also saw a top drawer production of the Music Man. It was delightful in every way! Amazing acting, great costumer and sets and just a fun afternoon watching amazing live theater.
The final play we got to see was the Glass Menagerie. The cast consisted of four people. A mother, a son, a daughter and a possible suitor for the daughter. The story was set in the 1930s and it was memorizing to watch the actors perform. It's a story with a sad ending, but the themes contained in the play really cause a person to think and contemplate relationships, especially family relationships. It was time very well spent.
It was great to spend some one-on-one time with Rick and to enjoy one of our joint passions. I highly recommend both theater companies.

Happy third birthday "Keep up the good work"

Well, I've been at it for three years now. I started this blog on July 27 of 2008 and I'm still going. To you good readers who have stuck with me, THANK YOU!
Google analytics and the "stats" tab on my blog have provided me with some good information about who has been reading my blog and where they are from.
Here is a little info:

• There have been readers from 23 countries and all but four of the United States over the last three years. I need a reader in North and South Dakota, Maine and Rhode Island. Anyone, anyone?? There have been a lot of readers from South Korea, Canada and Russia.
• the most hits the blog had in one day was 8,822 but it usually averages about 20 readers a day
• when I post more often, I have more consistent readers
• 68% of the people who read by blog come back again
  
• readers average 2 minutes and 23 seconds on site when they read an average of two posts
• 32% of my readers are new visits
• the blog averages 700 hits per month
• the posts that have had the most visitors are the posts "Called to Serve" about the Provo MTC, the inside model of the Salt Lake City LDS temple, the Carl Bloch exhibit announcement and the new eating symbol of the plate replacing the food pyramid. This tells me that people are interested in various topics and ideas that I am interested in.
  
• some of the best traffic sources are other blogs of my family and friends! Many thanks to Brooke N., Eileen, Team Z, Jamie, Kylee, Lee, Jessica, Mormon blogs and Google for providing a link from your blog to mine!

I'm celebrating my third birthday by using a new blog background and by going to lunch with some friends to eat Thai food! My niece Kylee is coming to visit today and I think we'll have some of these to celebrate her birthday and mine!



If you want to wish my blog a happy birthday, please say hello and tell me who you are! I'm very interested to know who is reading.

Thank you blessed pioneers!

Faith in Every Footstep

1. A marvelous work has begun to come forth among all the children of men.
O ye that embark in the service of God, give heart, mind, and strength unto him;
For prophets have spoken and angels have come to lift the world from sin,
That Christ may reign over all the earth and bless his gathered kin.

Chorus

With faith in ev’ry footstep, we follow Christ, the Lord;
And filled with hope through his pure love, we sing with one accord.

2. Those marvelous Saints who embraced this great work and shared it in lands far and near;
Who gave all their heart, mind, and strength to the Lord with wisdom and vision so clear;
Now stand as examples of virtue and faith, of souls prepared to hear,
Of knowledge sure, born of humble heart, and love that banished fear.

3. If we now desire to assist in this work and thrust in our sickles with might,
If we will embark in the service of God to harvest in fields that are white;
Our souls may receive the salvation of God—the fulness of his light,
That we may stand, free of sin and blame, God’s glory in our sight.

Text and music: K. Newell Dayley, b. 1939

© 1996 LDS. All rights reserved. This hymn may be coped for incidental, noncommercial use. This notice must appear on each copy made.

Jordan's salad

Jordan served this great summer salad when she was visiting earlier this month. She made it twice on a very large platter and just layered all the ingredients to feed about 12 people. I've made it in individual servings for just the three of us. It's very easy and really good!

Southwestern grilled chicken salad:
grill the chicken, cut in strips and cool (we've grilled the chicken on the Weber grill or on the George Foreman and it works great either way)
wash and cut up Romaine lettuce
sprinkle with cut up tomatoes and shredded cheese
add either black beans or kidney beans
add a can of corn that has been drained
AND THEN...
mix ranch dressing with BBQ sauce for a tangy dressing
It's a taste sensation...so easy...so quick and so good!

Did I leave anything out JP?

Camp Shalom

I made my favorite dutch oven recipe of Peaches and Cream Cheese Cobbler at girls camp this year. It was a hit. The top got a little well done, but it tasted great.


Since there is no hot water at Camp Shalom, I brought my solar powered shower and added some heated hot water to it for a lovely morning shower in the bath house, not under this tree.
We always eat very well at Camp Shalom. Here is our menu for the week.

We went on a great hike and enjoyed some wonderful weather. We had 20 Young Women in our group and six leaders. It was a wonderful group of girls. They got along so well with one another and they were so helpful and kind to us as leaders. It was a joy to be with them!
We made A LOT of crafts and the girls had a great time having fun.
Some even washed their hair in freezing cold water under the outdoor faucet.
Many of the girls wore rain boots and they came in very handy since there was still a lot of snow and run off. They had a great time at waterfront.

As you can see, there was still a lot of snow on the ground. The water in the lake had been frozen only a week before. We were happy that no canoes capsized.
The stake theme this year was "Treasure Seekers" and each of the girls decorated a treasure box to collect their "treasures" as the week went along.
Here is our lovely cabin. We slept in bedrolls on pads on the ground. The girls slept on the bottom floor and we three leaders slept in the upstairs.
A flag ceremony is always held in the morning and at night. The girls did a great job in presenting the solemn flag ceremony and in honoring our flag.
I've stood on this dock a time or two over the years.
The "biffy" or bathhouse with flush toilets, cold showers and no extras.

This year we tried box cooking with briquettes, a box covered in foil and some chocolate chip cookie dough. The cookies turned out amazing and we all learned a new skill. I'm ready for the rapture now that I know how to bake cookies in a box.
Here was our cap set up complete with a kitchen with almost all the amenities of home.

I went to girls camp this year with our ward young women at the end of June. I haven't been for 12 years. Not a lot has changed and it was actually fun to be back. The last time I went Claire was in her last year and I was the ward camp director. This year I went along in my official capacity as the Laurel advisor with no real leadership or other major responsibilities. It was lovely.

Here's the recipe for the Peaches and Cream Cheese Cobbler:
1. Grease and flour inside of 12" dutch oven
2. Prepare batter by combining dry ingredients packet and 2 eggs and 1 cup milk & 6 T. softened butter. Pour batter into greased and floured oven.
3. Drain canned sliced peaches and place upside down on batter, not quite to the edge
4. Pour cream cheese mixture on top leaving about a 1/2 inch of batter showing on the outside edge.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar or top with canned whipped cream!
Bake for 40 minutes with coals: Top 14-16, bottom 10-12

This recipe can be doubled. If so, add half again as many coals.

Batter:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. milk
6 T. soft butter or margarine
2 t. baking powder
1 large package vanilla pudding (instant)
2 eggs
mix together for batter

Cream cheese mixture:
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
6 T. peach juice (generous)