Every year the Mormon Tabernacle Choir puts on a wonderful (and free) Christmas concert. Each year they invite a different well-known singer/soloist and a narrator, and it promises to be the best Christmas Concert in the country. (I’m not afraid to use hyperbole–oh, no!)

Last year a friend invited me to go with her. It was a couple months after I’d returned from a very stressful MA year and thesis writing, and all the emotionally charged prop 8 political discussions going on among my friends not to mention the rest of the angry or hateful banter during election time… my mom’s broken shoulder… had really gotten me down. It was so gradual, though, that I hadn’t realized how down I had gotten (not to mention I’m affected by SADS in the winter)…

…until I saw this performance by Edward Herman and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:

I think this performance (even in its reduced youtube version–if only you could have been there) is truly wonderful, and it made my Christmas. It reminded that there is–and will always be–plenty to be joyful and hopeful about. It brought me back–renewed me. “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!”

Here is the original poem:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep.
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!
The wrong shall fail,
The right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men!”

I’ll miss this year’s annual family carving because I’ll be in San Francisco for the Guild of Bookworkers convention. I was a little bitter that they picked Halloween weekend, but on the other hand, San Francisco at Halloween could be interesting.

Anyway, I was happy that I got to carve a pumpkin tonight at a church activity. Last year’s pumpkin took me a couple hours to design and a few more to carve, so I’m proud of myself that I whipped this year’s puppy (or owl) up in about half an hour! (But only because Stephanie was ridiculously kind in that she scooped it out and then let me design and carve it–now that I’ve got pictures, I think I’ll deliver it to her so that she can enjoy it).

(Yep, I just so happen to have a box full of carving tools, which I brought for the cause). I shared–but I only let people use my tools if they would leave me with a shoe as collateral. Ha.) Oh–and you can see that I used the new craft punch that my mom gave me for my birthday as inspiration for the design.

If it occurs to you that you haven’t seen a favorite pair of shoes in a couple months, and as time goes by they still don’t show up,

You might try cleaning your room. One of them just might show up under your bed, and the other one might be under the swivel chair.

(To my credit, I had checked those places…but the other junk must’ve obscured my view)

(I also feel a need to let you all know that the rest of my apartment is typically clean. It’s just this room… too small + too much stuff + high hopes of using it as an art studio = bad idea)

You learn something new every day, such as:

Yesterday but moreso today, whenever I would eat something, there’s been a weird bitter aftertaste in the back of my throat. No matter what I eat. Gum, chips, candy, or my leftover pesto. So tonight I finally googled it “chemical aftertaste in the back of my throat.” And I had found my answer within seconds:
Pine nuts! Purchased in bulk from Smiths. And they’re not cheap, I might add. I made pesto a couple days ago–it was delicious, and I was so proud of myself (I grew the basil myself). I’ve been eating it 3 days in a row. But! Come to find out, rancid pine nuts cause an ongoing bitter aftertaste in the mouth. I also fed it to a couple friends yesterday. Hopefully it hasn’t affected them!

Nice to know I don’t have a brain tumor. I think I’m going to throw out the little bit of pesto that I have left. (Pine nuts aren’t cheap, either!)

—

And now, in honor of the waning International Speak like a pirate day, I will translate the above into Pirate. This online Pirate translator has totally made my day. Arrgh!

You learn somethin’ new ever’ tide, such as:

Last high tide’ but moreso today, whenere I would eat somethin’, thar`s been a weird bitter aftertaste in th’ aft o’ me throat. Nay matter what I eat. Gum, chips, candy, or me porto’er pesto. So tonight I finally googled ‘t “chemical aftertaste in th’ aft o’ me throat.” An’ I be findin’ me answer within seconds:
Pine nuts! Purchased in bulk from Smiths. An’ they’s nay cheap, I might add. I made pesto a couple days ago–’t be delicious, an’ I be so proud o’ myself (I grew th’ basil myself). I`ve been eatin’ ‘t 3 days in a row. But! Come t’ find ou’, rancid pine nuts cause an ongoin’ bitter aftertaste in th’ bung hole. I also fed ‘t t’ a couple shipmates last high tide’. Hopefully ‘t hasn`t affected them!

Nice t’ know I dasn’t be havin’ a brain tumor. I think I be goin’ t’ throw ou’ th’ wee bit o’ pesto that I be havin’ port. (Pine nuts aren`t cheap, either!)

Last night I made it to the SLC gallery stroll with a couple friends (It’s been a few months since I’d been). We didn’t set out until close to 8 pm and it ends at 9, so we didn’t have long, but we picked some good ones to go to, and it was a fun evening.

First we went to the 35 Utah artists under the age of 35 exhibit at Finch lane Gallery. It was fun to run into fellow artists, and I knew or was familiar with a few of the featured artists, which is fun. I do love looking at art. When I see great art, I want to make it. I haven’t been so good on the making end lately. Sigh.

Next we ran over to Art Access, where James Christensen and two of his daughters Cassandra Barney and Emily McPhie had an exhibiton (“Hortus Conclusus or The Enclosed Garden.”) I was quite familiar with James and Cassandra, but somehow Emily had escaped me (even though once I googled her, I had actually seen several of her paintings). I really liked her pieces in the show. Especially her marionette series. I couldn’t find a picture of my favorite one online, but I did find an unfinished version on Emily’s blog. (the finished version has a great crackle finish and a glaze that got darker at the edges of the piece).

We chatted briefly with Emily about the series (who was wearing a fantastic handmade dress made from fabrics by Amy Butler–or maybe Heather Bailey?). She said it has to do with her musings on motherhood and wondering if/when it is appropriate to metaphorically cut her daughters’ strings.

In the next room over, there were some lovely monotone watercolors by Scott Forster.

By the time we left, it was nearly half past 9, but we still thought we’d head over to the David Ericson Gallery to see if we could still see the Brian Kershisnik show. Turned out be be a good time to go, because it was still open but most people were gone, so we got to talk to Brian for a while. He had some really lovely paintings and drawings, too. I want one. Sigh. Here are some of my favorite paintings from last night (I couldn’t find images of any of the drawings, tough I really liked a couple of them).

Artist Devoured By A Beast 30 x 24

Young Astronomer 66 x 84

Choosing Everything  32 x 42

Shannon and I had classes from Kershisnik 3 years ago when he taught for a semester at BYU. He recognized us, and is still as nice as ever. I got to ask him a question I’d been wondering for a long time. See, Kershisnik painted “Nativity” while he was teaching at BYU, and it went up in the BYU Museum of Art right after that.

I adore this painting. I remember when I was quite young, my parents telling me the story of Christ’s birth, and how true it felt when they speculated whether we were among the angels of the heavenly choir. I’ve always believed that I was there. To see a painting depicting this idea was stunning. Anyway, as I was admiring the painting for the first time, a funny elderly museum usher kept coming up to me and divulging as many fun facts as he could come up with about the artist and the painting. He pointed to one angel and said, ‘what do you think? is it a self-portrait of Kershisnik?” Hmm. Maybe. Tthanks a lot, buddy. Now I’ve been wondering ever since. So last night I asked Brian. He said no–and yes. “They’re all me. And they’re all you.” He said that many of his figures are subconsciously himself. And his wife. And his family and friends. But he didn’t deliberately paint himself into a cameo appearance. Whew. Glad to have that question answered.

One more thing about Kershisnik’s paintings. And paintings period. They are SO MUCH BETTER (yes, I’m yelling) in person! The way the light illuminates Kershisnik’s paintings is just so pretty. And his patterns and textures. Not to mention the scale.  The show is up until October 23rd. I highly recommend going to see it!

A few months ago at work I was given a project of reattaching several boards to some 19th century leather books. As I opened up one book, I discovered the following in the gutter of the book (stuck down in the spine at the hinge where the board was detaching from the book):

The original sewing needle! My guess is that the person who sewed the book up was on such a roll / working so fast, that she (I’m assuming it was a she–women were usually the ones to sew the text blocks) tied her knot and moved on to the next book, forgetting to remove the needle–then whoever glued up the spine and forwarded the book missed the needle, too… and it’s been there all these years.

Anyway, I thought it was fun/cool, so I’m sharing it.

Fresh peaches straight from the orchard

Sweet corn on the cob straight from the farm

Fresh berries

Fresh tomatoes straight from the vine… (okay okay, fresh anything that comes straight from the garden–Oh how I love summer foods–especially in the summer)

Bruschetta

Tomato soup with grilled cheese

Cafe Rio

I must be hungry to be posting this. I think I could eat these foods at least once a week and never tire of them.

What about you?

I’ve been growing basil on my windowsill and have consequently been eating bruschetta a heckuva lot. Here’s my favorite/easy way of preparing it:

Ingredients:

Nice crusty Italian bread, thinly sliced (I usually pick up something nice from the Smiths Bakery)

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Vine-ripened tomatoes, diced

a clove of garlic

fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper

optional: fresh mozzarella

Preparation:

Combine the tomatoes and basil (proportions are up to you–I like lots of basil) in a bowl and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Toast the bread until it’s nice and crunchy (if you’re making lots, you can do it all at once in the oven, but for one or two people, a toaster is fast).

Rub the toast with a clove of raw garlic.

Drizzle the toast with olive oil

If you use mozzarella, put a slice onto the toast.

Pile the tomato/basil mix on top

Drizzle the whole thing with balsamic vinegar to taste.

Eat.

I love this meal oh so much, and it’s so easy.

This is traditionally served in small portions as an appetizer, but I’ve taken to making myself 3 or 4 slices of toast (depending on the size of the slices) and just eating it as a main course. :)

I looked for a good pic online but haven’t found one yet. Maybe I’ll just have to photograph my own next time I make it. But the one I’ve got here will do for now.

(I already boasted about this on Facebook, too–fb seems to be my new blog…)

Often when people learn that I have a Mac, they begin some kind of rant for or against Macs.* I don’t really care. I got a Mac b/c I planned on using it for type/graphics, and I’d spoken to designer friends who had pursuasive reasons for why they preferred to use a Mac… I figured I’d give it a try… and I have liked my Macs, but I don’t play the “my-computer-is-better-than-your-computer” game.

However, Mac recently took such good care of me that I can’t help but at least love Apple Care.

Remember this tragedy?

Well, come to find out, the sad story of my computer has a happy ending. Well, first it gets sadder. But then it gets happy. Hang on, you’ll see.

About a month ago my computer’s screen went completely black. Truth be told, I’d known for months that my computer had a faulty graphics card because sometimes the screen would glitch to a funky pixelated screen… I researched the issue, and found that some of my make of MacBook had bad graphics cards, but that Apple would replace them for free. I just never got around to getting it fixed–until the screen completely died, that is.

So it probably helps to have a cousin who is a Mac Genius… He told me to bring it in. It tested positive for the particular graphics issue… I asked if they had to send it in, if it might be possible to do something about the dented corner (the metal was pulled away around the cd slot). I more or less told them that I’d dropped it–and I knew this meant that it could possibly void any future issues it might have. They worried that it might be considered a caused-by-the-consumer condition, and that it might not be worth it to me if I had to pay to have it fixed (but they would take care of the display issue), but they called ahead to give the fixer-people the heads up that the problems weren’t related. The fixer-people (I’m sure there’s a better word for fixer-people) said no worries, they’d take care of it…

A week and a half later when my computer came back to me, I didn’t even recognize it. They had replaced

the optical super drive,

the keyboard,

the top case,

the battery,

the logic board,

the display housing,

and the bottom case.

Apparently the replaced everything and anything that had even minor issues, including the cosmetic blemishes that _I_ caused. And it cost me nothing, since I still have a year remaining on my Apple Care.

My cousin assures me that I got lucky. He says that since the computer did have the particular manufacture issue, they had typed in some code instructing the fixer-people (nope, still haven’t found the word I’m looking for) to replace the logic board, which apparently gave them clearance to just do a complete overhaul.

So… I don’t know how this compares to other people’s experiences with Mac customer service, but I am a happy camper.

—

*My brother’s co-worker recently shared the following hilarious story that relates to Mac/PC users. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing it:

On election day last year…  I sat in my uber-liberal audio class, and had just pulled up my laptop and turned it on.  A classmate walked up to me and said “I see you voted for Obama.”  I had not yet voted, nor would I be voting for Obama, and I had no propaganda on my person that would lead him to this conclusion.  I asked him “where did that come from?”  He simply pointed to my mac.  Words cannot describe the anger i felt at that moment.