August 2017 Visiting Teaching Handout - Living a Consecrated Life

What does it mean, to live a consecrated life?  If you go to the August 2017 visiting teaching message, Found Here, it defines it with very few words.....very powerful words....words that leave you with no doubt what living a consecrated life means.

I truly believe that if we will prayerfully read these inspired messages presented to us each month, they will guide and direct us in living better lives.

July 26, 2017 - Beautiful Evening

My husband was sitting at the kitchen table working on his computer when he told me about an unusual time for a rainbow to be out.  It was around 9pm so I went outside to get a picture of the rainbow.

After taking a few pictures of the rainbow, I turned to the left to go in the house.  Wow....even more beautiful than the rainbow.  Beautiful evening, but short lived.  It's too bad these moments don't last long!  The colors change just about as fast as you push the take button on your camera.



June/July Entrance Chest & Horseshoe Tree Decorations

Ok, so I guess I was being lazy and kept the same decorations in the entryway of our home for the month of June and July.  I never really know what to call the dresser/chest/desk/table, etc., that sits in the entryway and gets decorated each month.  All I know is that I got a steal of a deal on it, purchasing it from a Craigslist, sale.  The minute I saw it, I knew it had to be mine and the exact place it was going to be in our home.

I've called it many different things so today I searched it out and most sites actually call it a Bombay Chest.....so, I will now officially call it a chest, even though it doesn't remotely resemble a chest....hmmm.  Maybe it's a shortened word for "chest of drawers"???.....maybe.  Whatever it's technical name is, IT'S MINE, and I LOVE IT!
Since June has Flag Day...and July has the Fourth of July ( Independence Day), I thought it would work out to just keep the same decorations for both months.  I think for next year, I will try to find a miniature covered wagon to add to it for Pioneer Day.
Where have June and July disappeared to?  Months are literally flying by, and since there is only one week left in July, I thought I'd better post my months decoration blog before Christmas gets here - ha. Can you believe it............Christmas is only "5" months away!
So, here ya have it.................June & July's entryway decorations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the above photos are my chest/horseshoe decorations but off in the corner, on the opposite side, I have a fern, sitting on the top of a scrolled, wooden post.

My husband graduated from Utah Technology College (now known as Utah Valley University) in cabinetry and mill work.  For a time, my husband helped make stairway rails, posts, etc., for his brother, who lives in Utah, and is the owner of Salaki Inc.  Below is a picture of one of the posts my husbands brother hired to have made, and below that is a picture with a little different style, but it shows you how some of these posts were used.

 

The post we have is rough cut, never been sanded or had any stain put on it, but for me, it works perfect for a plant stand.

Below are a few examples of the type of posts that my husband made.  When he retires from his regular job, maybe he will have time to do more woodworking.  It has been quite some time since he has actually made anything but who knows what retirement will bring.

Weeding Tool - Best $1 Garage Sale Find

When I got up this morning, I was looking through the local newspaper and noticed a garage sale approximately 3 miles from my home.  I called a friend, who also likes to go to garage sales, and off we went. 
I spotted a tool and asked the lady who was having the garage sale if it was a weed puller.  She stated that it was, but she also stated that it was a piece of JUNK (replacement word), and said I could have it for $1.  Well, her piece of junk was certainly a treasure for me. 
When I got home, I immediately went to work getting thistle out of our lawn.  Our lawn is totally covered with thistle......I kid you not!  I worked for 1.5 hours getting out thistle before the heat drove me to the house, but in that time, I got a good start on the thistle and will get out early in the morning to finish up the job. 
For the past two years I have had someone come and spray our lawn, only to have the thistle return within a few weeks.  I'm sure the thistle will keep coming back but maybe if I keep on top of it, I can at least keep the top portion our lawn thistle free.
Below are photos that I took of the accomplishment this tool did.  See, I told you, I wasn't kidding when I said we had lots of thistle in our lawn, plus there's still a lot more.

 

This tool is the best dollar I have ever spent at a garage sale.  I like this tool so much that even if it broke, I think I would spend the money to purchase a new one.......costing around $39 (although, you can find a cheaper brand for $17.99....but I don't know how it would hold up). 
The one I purchased (older model) has the word 'Bond' taped on to the post and the top of the handle (the part you push to eject the weed) has...Weed Out - PAT U.S. - Bond - Made in China.

 

Upon further searches on the internet, I found that the BOND company is the one that makes the 'Scott's Weed Out' as found on Amazon, highlighted above for around $39.00. 
Click HERE to see a YouTube video, showing how one similar to the one I bought, works. 

Mosquito Killing Spray

Here is a photo of our front door (taken on October 8, 2015).

For some reason, the two large windows on the right and left-hand side of the door seem to attract a variety of pests.  Last year, it was a cat-face spider that hung out for a few weeks.  Even though they are an ugly spider, and according to the net, they are considered harmless to humans but are a good bug control so I just let him hang out there as long as he wanted.  Of course, the bugs, spiders, etc. are on the outside and I take my pictures from inside the house. 

Last week I noticed mosquitoes hanging out in the windows.  Each day there were at least 50+ mosquitoes just sitting on the windows and in the corners of my porch.

Now, here's where the story gets good.  A few months ago, my cousin told me where he had read on the net that you could kill ants with Dawn dish soap mixed with water.  He didn't give me how much Dawn per water was used but I tried this on two large ant beds that were on the edge of our lawn.  I just mixed some water and soap together and sprayed both ant hills, liberally.  It killed the ants almost instantly.

I was trying to think of a way to get rid of the mosquitoes from hanging around our door when it dawned (pun) on me...........hey, if Dawn kills ants, I wonder if it would work on mosquitoes.  Sure enough, I mixed up a spray bottle of the Dawn and water mixture and went to work spraying mosquitoes.  IT WORKED.......like a charm it worked.  Drop, drop, drop.................mosquitoes were falling to the ground as soon as the spray hit them.  I kept looking out to see if they were really dead or just stunned and a few hours later, all the mosquitoes were still laying on the porch, dead.....and other mosquitoes did not come to take their place.

Each day, I get a few mosquitoes that come to the windows but nothing like previously.  And, when they do come, I just get out the spray and ZAP!

Lost River Museum - Mackay, Idaho - 6/26/2017

For our yearly "GIRLS" get-together, with my high school friends, one of the places we chose to visit was the Lost River Museum in Mackay, Idaho.  This museum is seriously one of the best of the best!  There is so much history, on every level, in this little hometown museum.  It's grand opening was on May 27, 2017.  The visit to this museum is free but they gladly accept donations so please, donate generously!
There is so much to see that when I went back a week or so later with my daughter and husband, I couldn't believe all I saw that trip as opposed to the first trip. 
I couldn't even begin to explain about everything that is in this museum so as some might say..................."A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words!"  So with that being said, enjoy your photo tour through the museum but if you ever get the opportunity to visit this little museum (open on weekends and holidays) personally, you will not be disappointed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a photo of the previous museum.  What a blessing it was for the newer building!