Book of Mormon Art

Moroni mourns the death of his father, Mormon
by Walter Rane

This school year the Mesa East Stake Adult Religion Class has been studying the Book of Mormon. Today we studied about Mormon and his son Moroni. It is a sad, sad story of two great righteous men who watch their people become annihilated. Mormon dies and Moroni is left alone and lives on as a hunted man for 36 more years. It was a very emotional class today and one of the class members let us know that the above image can currently be viewed in Mesa. To read more about Mormon and Moroni please visit teacher Jenny Denton's class blog here.

This man, Walter Rane, painted the above image along with many other images from the Book of Mormon. Those images are currently on display in the Visitor Center of the Mesa Arizona Temple. I stopped in today and they are beautiful and masterful. Take time to go see them sometime during April.

My grand daughters would like to know that Walter Rane has also worked for Pleasant Company and did the artwork for the Kit doll books.

March in southern Arizona is perfect

I can hardly stand how wonderful it is to be outside this time of year in Arizona. We hosted two dinners al fresco with Glen at the grill this weekend. Don't you think that food eaten outside tastes better! It made grandma's heart happy to see grandson, ten month old Oscar, devour fresh tomatoes from the garden. Ruby is my other big tomato eater. They must be cousins!

I am so happy to have an outdoor dining space.

Early morning today was truly glorious and so my camera and I shot a view.

The newly planted green beans are up.

The citrus is in bloom. There is nothing more divine than citrus scent in the air.

Geberas are the daisy that just keeps on giving.

It's a miracle every year when the sun gets high enough in the sky to hit the winter shaded part of the garden. The potted plants seem to double overnight.

One of Glen's newest, a camellia bush.

The bougainvillea may be dried leaves and sticks from our freezes, but the trumpet vine has ignored boundaries and climbed the neighbor's palm tree.

And now some of this morning's blooms for your enjoyment.








If your Spring has yet to come, don't worry it will "bee" there soon!

The best of my Utah week

Glen and I had the great opportunity to attend "Harmony, the Music of Life" presented by the BYU Young Ambassadors while in Utah. We watched them in the de Jong Concert Hall on campus and it was a pure delight.

So much energy and great talent was on display! Our Mesa neighbor, Max Eddington, plays keyboards in the band which was in the background on stage so we could watch his flying fingers as well. Go here for their tour dates this year. If they are coming to your town, don't miss it!

LAST CROSSING OF THE NORTH PLATTE, FORT CASPER
by Frank Magleby

At church on Sunday, they announced that the artist, Frank Magleby, would be making a presentation on Tuesday evening for all adults in the ward. This was an unexpected artistic treat! A video was shown of how the work progressed on the murals for the Nauvoo Temple of which Mr. Magleby was overseer. He and five other artists (all former students of his at BYU) did the majority of the painting on canvas sized to fit the walls in the temple at the BYU Motion Picture Sound Stage. The murals were then transported to Nauvoo, Illinois where they were applied to the walls and the artists came to do the final finish work. You can read more about it here.

After the video presentation, the artist held a Q & A session, which was also fascinating. Frank lives in the same Provo town home development where we have a unit and continues to paint during his retirement years. He has also served as a service missionary for the church and his paintings hang in temples across the world. Two of his paintings hang in the church building near his home which I have enjoyed over the years.

We took a little drive up Provo Canyon to Sundance and beyond to Aspen Grove.

As you can see there is been a bit of snow. Utah was still very wintery and more snow fell after we left for Arizona. So much for the first day of Spring! However, I did see a crocus or daffodil or two on the south side of homes on my morning walks so Spring will eventually come.

We met someone new for the first time. Megan is the new and first daughter of nephew Cory and Elizabeth. Cory is currently working on a master's degree at BYU. We also spent some visit time with niece Miriam and Jared who also live in Provo.

Glen worked very hard and I read books and knitted. I also cleaned a bit and cooked a bit and watched some basketball.

Look what met the eye just west of the Chevron gas station in Munds Park on the way home. Does anyone else find this hysterical? I think the owner of the station must be a bit OCD. There was also a poster in the bathroom with very specific directions. At least it was clean!

Bridge with a view

On our journey to Utah in March, we stopped and took the walk across the new arch bridge which spans the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona just south of Hoover Dam.

We parked on the Nevada side and then walked the 1900 feet or so back to Arizona.

It was interesting to see the dam from this angle and to remember all the times we have driven across it in the past. The bridge definitely makes for a faster trip north.

The only time I had seen the Hoover Dam from this angle was in a Superman movie or picture.

The Bridge has quite a name. Each state chose someone to honor.

Looking west at the parking garage. Notice the tunnel entrance at the bottom. We speculated on how long the drive in the dark was from top to bottom.

There is not a place to park on the Arizona side. I am standing at the dead end in Arizona looking back. It made for a great rest stop with incredible views.

Here is a picture of the completed bridge taken from the dam that I found on Google. We did not drive down to the dam this trip. I marvel at the engineering skills that enable the building of a dam or a bridge.

Sitting on a fault line

I've been sitting on a fault line while watching the news from Japan this week. It didn't make me feel so secure. I found a brochure online which explains about the Wasatch faults. It included a picture of the Seven Peaks Water Park in Provo and what used to be the golf course to show the location of a fault line. Our town home sits on part of that golf course which has been developed into homes. Local news reporters stressed over and over the importance of being prepared for the "Utah" big one. I'll admit that I have never pondered until this week this little quirk about our "home away from home."

Looking northeast from the water park

Looking southeast from fault line

As I watched "60 Minutes" tonight, my heart broke as I viewed the damage and heard the story of the school teacher struggling to pull students from the sea water in the school gymnasium onto a balcony. He had finally found his footing on the basketball standard. How powerless we truly are in the face of a natural disaster let alone the disaster waiting to happen as man-made nuclear reactors also lose power.

To the Birthday Girl

Today's your birthday, SHOUT hurray! This is how you looked before marriage, graduating from college, two little boys, being homeless, and living on an island in the West Indies. See how much you had to look forward to as you gazed into the camera?

Remember this March when we visited the ranunculus flower fields in Carlsbad?


Guess what? This year I managed to grow some ranunculus on my own. Here is your virtual birthday bouquet.

Happy Birthday!

Your dad was so pleased that I actually propagated more ranunculus from old ranunculus that he went to the garden center and bought some more! One of each color!

Tiger blood

Yeah, I know it is just the power of suggestion what with "you know who" being all over the airways and all, but I really did do a double take.

I've been mixing up some tiger "blood" or is that "bloom." It's powerful, 2-3 teaspoons per gallon and rather expensive, but if those flowering plants need some potassium it's time to bring it on.

If you don't know about Fox Farm products yet, I'm telling you now that you need to become acquainted. I love their potting soil and organic fertilizers. There is a difference and here in Mesa you can find Fox Farm products at A & P Garden Centers.

Baby weekend

The mommies went to Vegas for a weekend with Grandma Christy so I watched babies when daddies had to work. I never had them at the same time. I think that my sons felt that I would be overwhelmed with two babies.

While the pretty mommas (and best friends since high school) drove northwest to Las Vegas Oscar and I drove up and down his street. He is a very good driver and occasionally toots his own horn. He loves being eye level with the plants in his low rider.

While he napped I just had to get a shot of what is happening in his own backyard.

The peach tree is in bloom. Sooo pink!

The next day Mabel came to stay at grandma's house for awhile. She is such a sweet girl with her magical voice and ready smile.

See how she smiles even though Grandma Laurel is putting her down for a nap.

And here is the treasure in my own backyard. When I picked up the Saturday mail during Mae's nap, there was a new Napa Style catalog in my mailbox.

This is what graced the cover. An Eastern European tub with stand which can be yours for only $299 plus a $30 surcharge for shipping.


Thanks to Boyd Brady for bringing back containers from Eastern Europe full of goodies for his antique sales. I can't remember how much I paid but perhaps a 20th of the one from Napa Style.

I've found mine to be a great place to grow onions, shallots, and chives. That spout on the side provides great drainage.

When Mabel woke up, she helped me plant my basil. I'm a blessed grandma!