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Amelia has been working on something exciting this summer. She has always loved acting and storytelling, but hadn’t had much formal experience before. That is all about to change: Next Wednesday (June 30 at 6 p.m.) and Friday (July 2 at 5 p.m.) she will be performing in Super Student and the Case of the Water Pistol at the Noorda Theatre at Utah Valley University. While the play is hardly Shakespeare, children should find it highly amusing. It will be a great production: they’ re going the whole nine yards with makeup and costumes, and even a professional set designer. If you would like tickets, they are available at https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?e=2ab6aa0863dc43e5753e654fb2f6e392&t=tix . Be sure to come on Wednesday or Friday, because that’s when Amelia will perform.
Our Star, Amelia
I am thrilled for Amelia, because this is an opportunity to do something she has always wanted to do. I am impressed with how much time the whole cast has put into the production. They have been rehearsing every afternoon for at least three hours and taking acting classes many mornings besides. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out!
To Saturday’s self-appointed flag conduct enforcers: I love my flag. I hope that others will love it too. I hope they choose to honor it. An excellent way to honor the flag is to “stand at attention” with the right hand over the heart “at the moment the flag passes” in a parade (United States Flag Code). Unfortunately, not everyone is aware of expected conduct towards their flag. Others don’t even care. This raises the question: What should our conduct be to those whose conduct towards the flag is less than ideal?
Last night I saw you yelling at the people who didn’t immediately stand. You hollered in their faces without hesitation. Your tone wasn’t remonstrative, it was hateful. Your shrieking distracted my attention from the flag to your own distorted visage. Even my wheelchair bound neighbor was harangued. (I assume in your haste you didn’t notice the chair?). I ask: will your behavior likely increase the respect and honor these spectators feel for and show to the flag? Unlikely.
If you are a parent, teach your children how you feel about the flag by word and deed. If you have the opportunity to teach other people’s children, tell them about the flag code and why it is important to you. If your group would like to issue a gentle general reminder that the flag is coming and then review expected conduct, that could be helpful. Your example and a whispered reminder to your neighbor might also be helpful. I know one thing: hatred and coercion won’t be. Honor isn’t birthed from that cradle.
These pictures would have been more interesting if I’d posted them right after it happened, but better late than never, right?
May 24, 10:51 a.m.  |
May 25, 11:00 a.m.  |
Kate is three. I realized this week that I don’t remember finding out that she would be a girl. I know that we did–I found an old post discussing possible names* and they were all female–but I can’t remember finding out. This sudden realization that I can’t remember what seems like a fairly significant event disturbs me. I only have three children after all! How can I not remember? Where were my other children? Who was watching them? How did I tell them the news? How did I feel about it? How did Pdad feel about it? I don’t know. I don’t remember.
Kate at Three-I don't want to forget
I wonder what else I don’t remember. It is like when someone defriends you on Facebook and you suddenly notice that his or her status updates are not showing up on your homepage any more. You check, and yep, you’ve been defriended. The defriending itself is not even as disturbing as the uneasiness–who else might have defriended you that you don’t even know about? And so I find myself wondering: what am I forgetting that I’ve forgotten?
I need to blog more. I think I need to worry less about saying something interesting or important, and just at least say something–because I don’t want to forget.
*The runners-up were Amelia, Beata, Bethany, Catherine (Kate), Carrie, Christa, Eden, Eliza, Nora and Sariah
The color of our dinner last night
1. Eating by color–check out this helpful grocery list
The list is a lot more action-oriented than the tired advice to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.
2. Librarians who recommend books
I had a great experience at the Orem Library the other day, but this Provo Library service takes the idea to a whole new level! What a great service! I think responding to these forms would be a fun job.
2. Facebook, blogs & social media
On both my blog and facebook, I have received so many great furniture and furniture store recommendations. It is so helpful! Thanks, everybody! So far, I have checked out Four Chairs, Bassett, DandBwoods and Cherrico furniture thanks to people’s recommendations. I even got to see the chairs I was interested in in the wood I was interested in–invaluable. (Thanks Brad!)
The oak table I hope to replace
Oak is the most durable choice, and undoubtedly what you should choose if you like the way it looks. Oak is also cheaper than many of the other choices. I saw a nice solid oak table that you could get with 10 chairs for $2000 at IM home. This weekend I visited my parents and admired their 25 year old oak table. They’ve refinished it a few times and now it looks almost as good as new. That table lasted through their children’s growing up years and now looks to be headed far beyond. It is proof that a good table could be a lifetime investment.
Maple is also very hard and is a great choice if you are going to have the furniture painted. It is not known for its beautiful grain and doesn’t take stain very well though. If you are looking for something to stain dark, you need to keep looking.
Alder is known for its beautiful grain. Unfortunately, Alder is the softest of the hardwoods and will mar comparatively easily. If you like the distressed look that is popular now, Alder works well for that. Alder also stains very nicely.
Cherry is my favorite. Cherry is softer than oak and maple but considerably harder than Alder. All woods darken with age–have you ever seen a light colored antique? But cherry is particularly known for this. It can darken dramatically with age, so beware if you are trying to match other pieces of furniture! A dark stain slows the color change, but UV rays will still penetrate. If you like dark wood, cherry takes a dark stain beautifully. To me, cherry says elegance.
There are other beautiful hard woods–walnut and mahogany for example–but I haven’t found a good place yet to buy a solid wood table made out of these.
One of the most important things I discovered is that it is possible to get a nice-looking solid wood dining table without veneers. However, as Robin said in response to my earlier post about dining room tables, they can do things with veneers that they can’t (or usually don’t) do with solid wood, so the veneered tables usually look fancier/more elegant/prettier.
What is your personal experience with these woods? Would you choose the wood your furniture is made out of again? Why or why not?
Where do you buy your furniture? How do you make a decision? What is your experience with dining room tables and chairs? We ordered this lovely table a couple weeks ago. It was delivered just before Mother’s Day. But it looks like we will return it.
I like the dark wood and it is just the right size: 74″ not extended, 108″ fully extended–which is just what we were looking for. I didn’t seek out something quite so ornate, but if I were going to get something like that, this is the design I would pick.
The chairs that match the table are HUGE. They are really big, really wide, and really heavy. They are also noticeably uncomfortable to sit in. They wouldn’t offer any support while you were eating–they angle backwards. And if you did lean back against the back of the chair, the pretty pattern turns out to be a pretty pain.
I’m curious: Do you have dining chairs that look nice and are comfortable? Or am I in search of a unicorn?
Also, we have three youngish children. 1) Not only do the chairs not fit them (since none of us are tall they actually don’t fit any of us) but they would not even be able to scoot themselves in for the foreseeable future. 2) This table is mostly solid wood, but the top is a veneer. Veneer = child does something awful, table is ruined. We would prefer to get a table that was all solid wood (no veneer), but several salespeople have claimed that formal tables don’t come that way. (You can get oak, but we don’t want oak). My mother in law has a beautiful formal solid wood table, but it was made about 100 years ago. Do they really not make them that way any more?
In your opinion, how long is it worth it to look for or wait for the perfect table? I am frightened to have them come pick this back up because I am afraid that I will never see a table I like so much again. On the other hand, I am terrified not have them picking it up, because I know these chairs are a mistake!
Regular subscribers: My apologies for what is doubtless a boring topic for you. I wrote this up mostly for myself and also for any possible hapless internet searchers. Just skip to the next post in your reader. Thanks!
Diane’s Wig Shop–Orem. Small shop, but they’ve fit a lot of wigs in there! They carry mostly Jon Renau, Raquel Welch and Revlon. There is never more than one person working there at a time. If you buy a wig somewhere else (the internet, for example), they are willing to thin and style it and help you with it for $35. This service is free if you buy the wig from them. It is best to call ahead for an appointment, but it is possible to get help if you walk in and they aren’t busy with another customer. Diane is knowledgeable and ready to offer advice on choosing a color. Prices appear to be 10-20% higher than at the other shops. 347 E. University Parkway, Orem, UT 84058 (801) 224-5070
Creative Wigs & Toupees– 2 locations–one in Sandy and one in Salt Lake. Visit both locations while you are in the area (as well as Headcovers by Joni) because they are less than 20 minutes apart. The Sandy shop is smaller and has a more limited selection than the Salt Lake shop. The person who helped me at the Sandy shop, Linda, was willing to steer me away from wigs she thought didn’t work. The Salt Lake location of Creative Wig was the largest shop I visited. It was impressive because they had several styling chairs and many, many wigs on display as well as more stock tucked away in the back. There were at least 3 employees there at the same time when I was there and they stayed busy! I didn’t get the name of the woman who helped me there. She seemed nice initially, but started helping someone else, and then never came back to see how I was doing. I think she had perhaps (correctly) identified me as a difficult customer: I’m interested in finding something as close as possible to my own hair color rather than going blond or redheaded just because that’s what they happen to have in stock. Go figure. But I was still surprised to be abandoned without any notice. 814E. 9400S. Sandy, UT 84094 (801) 553-0669 and 1124 E. 3300 S. Salt Lake City, UT 84106 (801) 486-4604
Headcovers by Joni–If you visit the Salt Lake location of Creative Wig you should also stop by Headcovers by Joni as they are both on 3300 South in Salt Lake. It is a fairly small shop, but they have a surprising amount of inventory for their size. I met three of the people who work there (but not all on the same day–on any given visit there will be only one or two people working). Joni is the owner. She is also the most experienced and has a lot of experience styling and thinning wigs. She does get cranky with people who stay and stay and stay and can’t make up their minds (it wasn’t me!) Camille, another employee, also styles and thins the wigs if you purchase one, but she has less experience with wigs (as opposed to regular hair) than Joni. She is extremely patient. If you really don’t know what you want and just want to try a whole lot of different pieces, she is a good person to work with. Unfortunately, her opinions lack credibility because she will tell you that you look great in everything you try on. Janet is the person to see if you need an opinion. She doesn’t mind telling you which wig she thinks suits you and which doesn’t work. However, if you are hoping to find the wig you are looking for and to have it styled and wear it home that very day, Janet doesn’t style wigs, so you need to go on a day when either Camille or Joni will be there. 2286 E. 3300 S. Salt Lake city, UT 84109 (801)467-5665 or 1-866-700-5664
My favorite so far: Brooke by Jon Renau
The local shops are all willing to order in a different color (although they like the idea of you buying out of their inventory on hand even better!) or possibly even a different style. However, if you order something in, many of the advantages of buying at a local shop v. the internet (seeing how the wig looks before you buy it, for example) vanish. It is cheaper to buy from the internet, but then of course you have to add back in the cost of having your wig styled.
My favorite internet wig sites are Wigs.com, e-wigs.com , and theheadshoponline.com. Wigs.com is great because they have made videos displaying many of their wigs and this gives you a much better idea of the wig than just a picture. E-wigs has fabulous personal service. If you call their 1-800 number, Marty will answer the phone and take time to answer endless questions and give you his e-mail address in case you have more questions later. Unfortunately, if you are a Utah resident, e-wigs costs more because of sales tax. Theheadshoponline.com (be careful typing that or or you will end up at a very different website!) has the best search filters.
Earlier post on similar topic: Wigging Out
Do you subscribe to your local newspaper? I have not in many years, but I think it may be time to start. Recently, we went to pick up a babysitter, and her father asked whether we were going to see the big game. We asked, “What game?” Pdad and I understood his reply to mean that the game was BYU v. Utah (a very big game–but we learned the next day that it was actually BYU v. USU–not nearly as big). We marveled that it could be the day of the big game without any sliver of awareness from either of us. It was disturbing. Not because we are missing out on community sports–we are accustomed to this and are comfortable with it. However, being unaware of when the big game was to be played seemed to be the classic canary in a coal mine warning experience. Can someone who is unaware of when the big game is to be played be well prepared to vote in local elections? Is someone unaware of tomorrow’s likely weather getting the information useful to her life?
Benefits of Subscribing to the Newspaper: Voting is so important (excuse the earnestness, but I wrote my dissertation on what it means to be an excellent citizen, and I can’t help it!). However, only informed voting is worth the effort. In the weeks preceding the election I can cram, trying to get as much information as possible from campaign blogs and websites, but undoubtedly the clearest and best answer to whether the incumbents need to be thrown out or thanked and returned arises from following local events more frequently than once every year or two.
And that is where I have fallen down. I can talk about Afghanistan, health care, the public option and the deficit. I know the situations of Somalia, Iran, and Pakistan, but I am much fuzzier as to the fiscal health of the city or the intentions of my city council members.
And it isn’t just that. It is a personal, daily life benefit as well. It isn’t just my citizen quotient that the newspaper would help. Newspapers are useful, aren’t they? When a friend became a fan of the local health department on Facebook, I discovered that the H1N1 vaccine was already available in my area. Would I have known that had I read the paper? And when I saw a block-long line for the vaccine, I eagerly turned to the lcoal newspaper’s website that evening, hoping that they had snapped that surprising picture. They had. The New York Times helps me understand why it is important for me to get the vaccine. The local paper lets me know when it will be possible.
Problems with receiving the newspaper:
1) Mess and disorganization. My children will unfold it. They will scatter it. I won’t stay on top of recycling. Old newspaper will build up and clutter the house.
2) I already spend too much internet time reading news. Whatever time I can carve out for newspaper reading is time I do not yet see I have. Newspaper reading time could squeeze out more important priorities.
Your thoughts? Do you get the newspaper: Yes/No? Why? What do you do about the mess and lack of time issues? Do you see other advantages and disadvantages to newspaper subscription than the ones I mentioned?