From Shenpa Warrior

My little brother has really grown up to be someone I admire, I'm reminded of how wise he is by a recent post on his blog.

Shenpa Warrior

He quotes Spencer W. Kimball:
Jesus saw sin as wrong but also was able to see sin as springing from deep and unmet needs on the part of the sinner. This permitted him to condemn the sin without condemning the individual. We can show forth our love for others even when we are called upon to correct them. We need to be able to look deeply enough into the lives of others to see the basic causes for their failures and shortcomings.

I had an experience a few years ago that forever changed my views on repentance, which goes along nicely with what Adam said- repentance isn't about being punished for our sins. It's about being able to move past the things we do that halt our personal growth.

It's not a crime and punishment sort of thing. I don't think God's laws work that way. It's about healing and growth so that we can become happy, fulfilled people.

I really like the Kimball quote because THAT is exactly why we don't judge other people. If someone is struggling in some way, instead of looking at them and saying, "well, I need to stay away from them, they're doing bad things", we say, "how can I help this person get through this challenge".

Jesus taught us to love, not judge.

Pizza Crust Update

Tiffany posted a link to this pizza crust recipe awhile back, and I finally got around to trying it. I highly recommend it. My Mister thought the dough smelled way to garlic-y but we both thought it was really good crust. If you're making dessert pizza leave out the garlic and herbs. We topped our pizza with sauce, cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms and fresh spinach (we usually use tomatoes and olives also but we're out of those). I almost missed taking a picture because the kids were eating it up so fast. I might have to buy another pizza stone one of these days.

Cooks.com

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup warm water (110
degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour I used whole wheat, but you could also do 1/2 of each
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine water, olive oil, sugar, salt in pan of bread machine Add flour, then sprinkle garlic on flour. Lastly add yeast.
2. Turn machine on dough cycle. As the dough mixes, sprinkle on oregano and basil until it suits you for color and taste. Let mix for about 15 to 30 minutes. Let the dough rest from 5 to 30 minutes. The longer it rests, the thicker and more tasty the crust. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Spray a large pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place dough on pan and add your choice of pizza toppings. I toss the dough to mostly get it shaped, put it on my hot pizza stone and hurry and mush the rest of the edges the fill the stone- hot pizza stones make a big difference in the crispy-ness of the crust- then add my toppings.
4. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Last night for dinner I made chicken noodle soup. From leftover chicken from a dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ, but you could also make it with any other chicken you have (it works really well to use the leftovers from those roasted chickens you can buy at the grocery store- two meals for the price of one). I put the whole pieces of cooked chicken in a pot with water, added two stalks of celery and two carrots, chopped, and 1/2 an onion also chopped. I simmered it until dinner time, then removed the chicken, picked the remaining meat off the bones, put the meat back in and discarded the bones, added a little more water, some salt and pepper, and 2 bouillon cubes, and homemade egg noodles.

It was really good, and I thought I'd share the noodle recipe, it was really easier, and much better than adding store bought noodles to a soup.

This recipe is from Cooks.com, I cut the recipe in half and it was still plenty of noodles for the soup. They fatten up quite a bit, so roll them as thin as you can.

2 c. flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
Make hollow in 2 cups flour. Put eggs in. Add salt. Stir until well mixed. If not rollable add flour until it rolls easy. If too dry add a little oil or water. Let dry and cut.

I cut them and immediately put them in the soup.

10%

Buy Local Week starts next saturday, November 29th and runs through December 6th. Local First, a non profit organization supporting local businesses suggests shifting just 10% of your purchases to locally owned stores. That 10% can make a huge difference in our local economies.

Why is shopping local so important?

From the Local First website:
Locally owned, independent businesses reflect the character of our communities. Owners of local businesses live here. They are our neighbors. Their products and services support and sustain the needs of our residents, and they play a vital role in our social networks. In fact, local businesses mirror who we are and what we value as a community. They help to create a sense of place. Emerging research demonstrates that local and independent businesses generate more than three times the return to our local economies than do national chain stores. This is because business owners typically purchase support services (marketing, accounting, legal, design) from local firms and are often better employers, who pay living wages and offer benefits. Additionally, profits from local businesses tend to stay in our communities. Local businesses offer the greatest opportunities for jobs, innovation, and other community contributions, which improve the quality of life for local residents. Over the last several years, global trends and market forces have resulted in consolidation, mergers, and acquisitions in many business sectors. Growth among mass merchandisers, internet retailers, and big-box stores, ultimately reduces the selection and diversity of products and services available in our communities. With such intense competition, the market share of goods and services sold by local and independent businesses has eroded, in some cases, dramatically. Many communities and countless urban and rural main streets that only a few short years ago featured thriving local- business districts are now in decline. The result is less choice for consumers, a growing sameness of design, of products, and of services, less opportunity for innovation, fewer living-wage scale jobs and reduced reinvestment back into our community. Decaying main streets and homogenized neighborhood commercial zones are blighting many communities and taxpayers struggle to reclaim the vitality and the culture that these businesses helped to support.

Shop Local

This past Saturday my Mister and I did a little shopping. We needed some tools, so we went to Ace Hardware in North Salt Lake. They had just about everything we needed, and what they didn't have, they ordered for us, no extra charge. Plus, they gave us the online price on one tool, which saved us nearly $10 on it.

In talking to one of the owners, we learned that sales are down $50,000 this month compared to the same time last year. Partly the economy, people just aren't spending as much (which is a good thing, IMO) but largly because of Lowes. I've been to lowes, but when I think about what kind of community I want to live in, I picture small, locally owned stores where people know what they're selling.

Next time you need something for a home improvement project, or a kitchen item (they have an impressive selection of kitchen tools), or if you want to take a class on decorating or cooking, check out Ace before you try a big box store. Support our community.

(I also have to add, that I saw a special brownie pan that makes every piece an edge- I've said for years that there ought to be one, and now there is. I almost bought it (two actually), maybe next time.)

Edible (Delicious) Asparagus

I've never been a huge fan of asparagus, I thought it was okay, but never sought it out to cook it myself. Recently, I've been buying one "unusual" fruit or vegetable each week or so to help my kids appreciate a wider range of foods. I don't want them growing up thinking that peas, corn, and broccoli are the main sources of vegetables, or that the only way to eat them is out of a can or a freezer bag.

We've tried pomegranates (big hit), artichokes (bigger hit, which makes me happy because I love them but my Mister is lukewarm about them, now I have two more fans), kiwi, and last week, asparagus.

My mother loves asparagus, and would feed it to us at least a couple of times a year. The best I ever ate as a child was fresh picked and uncooked from my great-grandparents' ranch.

This asparagus was nice and slender (the best way to get it).

Here's the recipe (as much as you can call this a recipe):

Melt a chunk of butter in a sautee pan. Add sliced mushrooms and onions (this is essential, I tried again without the shrooms or onions and it was not the same) and garlic. Saute until mushrooms shrink a bit and onions have turned translucent. Remove from pan (keep the butter). Add more butter if necessary, add asparagus (with the bendy parts snapped off the bottom) and saute lightly, add a little water, cover and steam for a few minutes until the asparagus starts to darken a bit. Salt to taste.

Enjoy.

You can either put the mushrooms and onions back on top of the asparagus, or you can use them in something else. I was making stroganoff that evening which was why I just happened to have a pan of buttery mushroom and onion juice that I thought, hey, I could cook the asparagus in that.

Happy accident.

We'll be planting asparagus in our garden next spring.

(photo credit),

Change comes slowly, but it does come

Elder Wickman: If you have some legally sanctioned relationship with the bundle of legal rights traditionally belonging to marriage and governing authority has slapped a label on it, whether it is civil union or domestic partnership or whatever label it’s given, it is nonetheless tantamount to marriage. That is something to which our doctrine simply requires us to speak out and say, “That is not right. That’s not appropriate.”

I can't find a date on that interview, but I know it has been around for at least a year, probably more than that.

On November 5th:Even more, the Church does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.

From the November 11th Tribune: Just last week, Elder L. Whitney Clayton stated the LDS Church does not oppose 'civil union or domestic partnerships

I haven't been able to find a transcript where Elder Clayton stated that, so I wonder if that is an exact quote, or if it is an interpretation of the previous paragraph I quoted which talks about rights for same sex couples that the church doesn't oppose. Either way, the church seems to be softening it's stance.

Edit: Here's a link to the Des. News article: He said in general, the church "does not oppose civil unions or domestic partnerships," that involve benefits like health insurance and property rights. That stand was outlined in a statement the church posted on its Web site earlier in the campaign.

I'm glad to see that Equality Utah wants to find common ground rather than point fingers. Even though they as a group have to be feeling discriminated against, they are taking the high road, which I appreciate. Stephanie Pappas stated: While we disagree with the LDS Church's position on Proposition 8, we respect that their position is based on the guiding principles of their faith.

Be Prepared

My Mister built some great shelves under the stairs to store some of our food storage- previously it was sitting in boxes in the garage. Who knew we had so much?

I took a bunch of pictures as the project progressed last saturday, but the pictures have all somehow disappeared, so this is what you get.


He also wired a phone from the "all things wirey" box (he calls it his "SMC" or Structured Media Center) so that if the power goes out we still have a working phone.

My Mom is Awesome

Who knew she had a bit of snarky-ness in 'er.

(well, I knew, I just don't see it often)

Letter to the Davis County Clipper

Emotions from the SL Tribune

Amusement (with a pardon to my Mister)

From the comments on this editorial:
Utah is no longer the reddest state in the Union; that honor now goes to, I believe, Idaho (whose new state slogan is "Utah's Slow Cousin To The North").

Disgust

Letter to the Editor

Overheard on the FrontRunner commuter train the day before Halloween: "There are so many non-LDS in our neighborhood - in fact, we're the minority - that our ward decided to sponsor a trunk-or-treat."
Would someone please give me the scripture reference where Jesus teaches fear and intolerance?

and finally....

HA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA

link

"As he tries to bring us closer to socialism," Chaffetz warned, "I will be a strong voice in opposition."

Congratulations to My Mister

Congratulations on running a clean campaign, and working so hard. Congratulations on the 3742 people who believed in your honesty, dedication, and desire to make a difference.

I am so proud that you were willing to step up, and get involved.

I love you Mister.

(I'll also add a congratulations and thank you to Becky Edwards. It has been a pleasure, where so many campaigns get nasty, you were above that, which I think says good things about you.)

Impressionable Minds

I'm about 1/3 of the way through the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. My impressionable mind has now decided that I want to grow asparagus, even though I don't particularly love it (it's okay). I ought to learn to love it, because I love the idea of asparagus ferns poking their way up through the soil heralding the first edible of spring.

I also want to experiment with cheese making.

(And I'd like to have more chickens and turkeys, and maybe milk goats (drat my milk issues))

My dream home is turning more and more into a farm. My Mister says we were born in the wrong century. Unfortunately, had I been born in an earlier century, I'd have been condemned to an insane asylum or at least a life confined to my home because of the big strawberry hemangioma that I was born with on my forehead. I'll take this century (and plastic surgery and indoor plumbing). I'd still like the farm.

God needs more democrats

Thanks to Bob for this article. (I've shortened it quite a bit, for the full article see bob's blog.)

If this was applicable in 1998, it's even more applicable today.

Here's also a link to an article from the UofU's Daily Chronicle, originally published in 2004. I've linked to it before, it's a good one.

Dan Harrie, Salt Lake Tribune, May 3, 1998
10/27/2008 05:51 PM MDT

On May 3, 1998, the Salt Lake Tribune reported the following interview with Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Jensen, at the time a member of the Church's Public Affairs Committee, was "designated by church officials to respond to The Salt Lake Tribune's request for an interview on the topic of partisan imbalance in Utah and among LDS members."

The LDS Church, through a high-ranking leader, is making its strongest public statement to date about the need for political diversity among members, while expressing concerns the Republican Party is becoming the "church party."

"There is sort of a division along Mormon/non-Mormon, Republican/Democratic lines," says Elder Marlin Jensen, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. "We regret that more than anything -- that there would become a church party and a non-church party. That would be the last thing that we would want to have happen."

Jensen said major national political parties may take stands that do not coincide with teachings of the 10 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but that should not put them out of bounds for members....

-- The LDS Church's reputation as a one-party monolith is damaging in the long run because of the seesaw fortunes of the national political parties.

-- The overwhelming Republican bent of LDS members in Utah and the Intermountain West undermines the checks-and-balances principle of democratic government.

-- Any notion that it is impossible to be a Democrat and a good Mormon is wrongheaded and should be "obliterated."

-- Faithful LDS members have a moral obligation to actively participate in politics and civic affairs, a duty many have neglected.

...Jensen, who was called as a general authority in 1989, said high church officials lament the near-extinction of the Democratic Party in Utah and the perception -- incorrect though it is -- that the GOP enjoys official sanction of the church....

"One of the things that prompted this discussion in the first place was the regret that's felt about the decline of the Democratic Party [in Utah] and the notion that may prevail in some areas that you can't be a good Mormon and a good Democrat at the same time," Jensen said.

"There have been some awfully good men and women who have been both and are both today. So I think it would be a very healthy thing for the church -- particularly the Utah church -- if that notion could be obliterated."

The idea that Mormonism and Democratic Party affiliation are incompatible traces back to the early 1970s, when LDS general authority Ezra Taft Benson, who later became church president, was quoted in an Associated Press interview as saying it would be difficult for a faithful member to be a liberal Democrat.

Church officials later claimed the comment was taken out of context, although the AP stood by its account.

Jensen said concerns exist on two levels about the unofficial linkage of the Republican Party and Mormon Church.

One is the fear that by being closely identified with one political party, the church's national reputation and influence is subject to the roller-coaster turns and dips of that partisan organization. Also bothersome is that the uncontested dominance of the Republican Party in Utah deprives residents of the debate and competition of ideas that underlie good government.

"There is a feeling that even nationally as a church, it's not in our best interest to be known as a one-party church," Jensen said. "The national fortunes of the parties ebb and flow. Whereas the Republicans may clearly have the upper hand today, in another 10 years they may not."

..."The Democratic Party has in the last 20 years waned to the point where it really is almost not a factor in our political life," Jensen said. "There is a feeling that that is not healthy at all -- that as a state we suffer in different ways. But certainly any time you don't have the dialogue and the give-and-take that the democratic process provides, you're going to be poorer for it in the long run."

There also are more immediate, tangible costs, he said.

Jensen blamed the Republican monopoly for contributing to Utah political leaders' inability or unwillingness to grapple with long-range planning issues. He pointed to the lack of state leadership on issues of open-space preservation and land-use planning.... "There are probably issues like that environmentally, educationally that we'd really benefit from if there were a more robust dialogue going on. But we've lacked that and I think we've suffered somewhat because of it."

..."This is the second dramatic time in the history of the state when forceful signals have been flashed from church headquarters calling on Mormons to choose up political sides more evenly," said J.D. Williams, retired University of Utah political scientist.

Williams compared Jensen's public pronouncements to the church's attempts in the 1890s to divide congregations up evenly among the two major political parties....

Jensen also referred to the 19th-century splitting of congregations along partisan lines, when the territorial People's and Liberal parties were abandoned in favor of national party affiliations.

He repeated an anecdote told by prominent LDS Democrat Oscar McConkie about his father's recollections of a church leader telling a congregation during a Sunday morning meeting to "sign up to be Republicans."

At that time, Mormons favored the Democratic Party because it was less stridently anti-polygamy than were Republicans.

When members of the flock returned for an afternoon session, the Republican sign-up sheet remained blank, Jensen said. "Brothers and sisters, you have misunderstood," said the church leader. "God needs Republicans."

"And Oscar said his father would wink and say, `And you know, Oscar, those damned Republicans think they've had God on their side ever since,' " Jensen said....

"We need to develop a tolerance -- so we don't demonize people that we have a disagreement with," Peck said. "It really was the church leaders' position on abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment [in the 1970s] that was the death of the Utah Democratic Party, because it became a litmus test," he said.

Pro-choice and, more recently, gay-rights stands of the national Democratic Party have helped Republicans paint the donkey-symbol party as taboo.

Jensen said it is time for LDS members to take a broader view of political affiliation.

"We would probably hope that they wouldn't abandon a party necessarily because it has a philosophy or two that may not square with Mormonism. Because, as I say, [parties] in their philosophies ebb and flow," Jensen said.

"You know, the Republicans came very close last time to bringing a pro-abortion plank into their platform. That was maybe the biggest battle of their [1996 national] convention," he said. "Which shows that if you're a pure ideologue, eventually you're going to have trouble in either party."

"Everyone who is a good Latter-day Saint is going to have to pick and choose a little bit regardless of the party that they're in and that may be required a lot more in the future than it has been in the past. But I think there's room for that and the gospel leaves us lots of latitude."

All of these things are just like the other, all of these things are just the same

Salt Blog has provided a nice kick-in-the-pants to remind us of the senate and house members who voted for vouchers. The list is not comprehensive, the Salt Blog says their list is of the voucher ring leaders. You can also look at the Utah Leg. sites for Senate and House votes on the voucher bill.

Lest you think I've become a one issue voter (If I had, the issue would be health care anyway), I'm not recommending voting against any of these people soley because of their vote for vouchers, but rather to use their voucher vote as an example of their arrogance as a representative. They decided that they knew better than us, that they didn't need to listen to us, and that we were so stupid that we'd continue to vote for them even after they demonstrated such a lack of regard for our will.

Here are the Davis County legislators who voted FOR vouchers and are up for reelection:

Roger Barrus (House district 18)

Kevin Garn (House district 16)

Curtis Oda (House district 14)

I'm sure that these men are all good people, I'm sure that they are doing what they believe to be their best in representing us, which is one reason why it's time for them to step aside.

Where does a liberal mormon fit in?

Nowhere.

It seems that liberals attack us for our mormon-ness, and mormon's attack us for our liberal-ness.

I'll be glad when November 4th is a distant memory.

I either need a break, or to find some different blogs.

Don't do this

I made pizza for dinner tonight, usually I form the crust by tossing the dough in the air (which is why it is usually less-than perfectly round- let's just say I'm still "perfecting" my skill). Today for some reason I decided just to use a rolling pin. I placed the dough on the pizza stone (with a little corn meal) and rolled a perfectly round base for pizza toppings.

The pizza was the nicest looking pizza I've ever made, but when it came time to slice it, I could tell there was a problem. For some reason the crust was cemented to the pizza stone and the only way to get the pizza off of the stone was to use a spatula to cut the top of the pizza off. It wasn't pretty, but it was edible.

I suppose if I want to use the rolling pin again, I could, I just need to roll it out prior to placing it on the pizza stone. I think I'll go back to the pizza toss method- it's more entertaining for the kids.

(Speaking of Pizza, does anyone have a really good crust recipe? Mine is okay, but it's not anything special.)

Arrogance

Sometimes it seems that politicians get a little full of themselves. Especially when they feel they can't be beat. I'd encourage even the most staunch republican to consider voting for Morgan Bowen this year. Rob Bishop states clearly who he represents, and it isn't you or me. I've met Morgan Bowen as well as his wife. They are good people. Morgan genuinely wants to serve Utahns and represent us in congress. Let's send Rob Bishop the message that he isn't irreplaceable, that he must be accountable for his lack of true representation (I was going to say honest, but he's been quite upfront about who he is accountable to). Lets look beyond party affiliation and vote on the issues that matter. Republicans and Democrats haven't always been enemies as we seem to have become. We were meant to compliment each other and share different sides of an issue.

Words Fail

As a child we had some special family friends. He had taught my dad in college and they had been friends-family ever since. Kelly and Martha never forgot us and were always bringing us things that we as children thought were really cool. Giant gummy spiders and rats, plastic animal noses, interesting trinkets from their travels. They were also the kind of people who had a house full of treasures from all over the world, but I was never told to "put that down" or "don't touch that" at their house. When they came to dinner, Martha brought the most amazing desserts. Then there were the slideshows. Images from their travels, and the stories that went with them.

Martha died earlier this afternoon. Sometimes growing up really stinks. (I guess people died when I was younger, but I don't remember it being so difficult- maybe it's because as a child your relationships with people aren't the same as they are when you are an adult.)

The picture is from last spring when they stopped by my parents house on their way home from a trip to southern utah.

Quote of the day...

“You don’t have to be a Democrat to understand that government works better when there are two vital and participating parties. Utah’s Republican leaders have all the power right now. They think they can do anything they want. That’s why Republicans tried to strong-arm the voters on school vouchers. It’ s why we’ve seen bribery, corruption, nepotism and ethics investigations involving so many Republican politicians this year. Our lawyers are organizing to even up the game. Competition from a stronger Democratic Party will make all politicians more accountable. “

--Jeffrey Eisenberg, Utah Democratic Lawyers Council (UDLC) President

48 Quarts Later

Growing up, homemade grape juice (mixed with a little sparkling water) was a special treat. We usually only got it when we had company over for dinner (That's when we also usually had abalone- hey mom, I need to learn how to cook abalone one of these days...).

As I got older and had my own home, and made my own juice, I tended to hoard the juice. Until one day, when I was making juice and realized I still had quite a few quarts from the previous year. That's when I decided to drink it whenever I feel like it.

We finished 48 quarts over the weekend (picture to come later). After giving some to my mom (who provided the grapes) we figure we have enough for 3 quarts per month. It's going to be tough to make them last all year... :)

We've been to DI twice this month to buy more jars, and we haven't started applesauce yet, so we'll be back (if you have quart canning jars, donate them to DI (or me directly)).