Daylight Saving Time - How is this Still a Thing?

I had to share this.  It says so brilliantly, and humorously, what I feel!

Hope you're managing to make it through this week with your time clock still screwed up!

A Magical Evening

Nils, Justin and Austin

I received an unexpected invitation to the world-famous Magic Castle recently!  It was a terrific opportunity for me to share this fun place with my nephew Nils.

Nils, by the way, is a magician himself.  He had never seen magicians perform up close and personal, so he was thrilled to join me.

Nils and Yours Truly

He brought a couple of his Provo, Utah-based friends along for the road trip.  

The Magic Castle sits above the Hollywood and HIghland complex where the Oscars are held

The Magic Castle is a private club, so I'm very happy to have been their twice.  The first time was for my birthday, three years ago.  I had some very attractive gentlemen with me!

My birthday three years ago
Bernard, Mark, Peggy, Me, David, Rique

This time I had some very attractive, but much younger men with me!

I always think having twice as many good looking men as women is the recipe for success!

We had such a good time.

I can't believe these nice fellows drove all the way back to Provo afterwards!  They are crazy.

If you are interested, here are links to a couple of YouTube videos showing one of the performers, Jeff McBride, who we got to see in person:

His performance with the brass water bowls blew me away!  Watch it here:

Jeff McBride, Water Bowls

The man also did a trick with cards that just kept appearing and appearing in his hands.  That was also incredible.  Watch it here:

Jeff McBride, King of Cards

I'm a lucky kid!

The BIG Hug

Jack at the foot of my chair

So, I came home from the dentist the other day needing a hug.  I mean, don't we all need a hug when we get home from the dentist? So, I asked Jack, since he was the only other living soul around, if he would give me one.

I expected him to jump into my lap.

Jack thinking

Instead, he immediately gave me a small head butt on my leg.

I wondered about that for a second!  I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Jack," I said gently.  "That wasn't a very big hug.  I need a really big hug, please."

With that, he gave me a really BIG head-butt with all his little might, then finished if off with a somersault twist, ending upside down at my feet.

That somersault ending puts all other hugs to shame!

Now, I call that a BIG HUG.

It really brightened my day.

Thanks, Jack.  You give terrific hugs.  Keep up the good work.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

May you get your quota of hugs in unexpected ways, too!

The Gangsta

WANTED:
FOR TELLING BAD JOKES

My brother loves collecting hats.  He has quite a few fedoras.  He also collects old cameras.

Sometimes these passions collide.

Recently, Jay decided to take some photos with an old camera just to see how close he could come to looking like a 1940s film noir gangster.

I'd say he came pretty close!

WANTED:
FOR OWNING TOO MANY SWEDISH CARS

If you knew how goofy he can be, these photos would be even funnier to you.

Okay.  Maybe it's just me.  I think he's hilarious.

Doctor Who?

So, one morning not too long ago, Jay is sitting on his commuter train with his fedora and his bow-tie.  He keeps getting smiles and nods from fellow passengers.  A lady comes up to him and tells him he looks nice.  He is puzzled.  While all this attention is great, it doesn't normally happen.

Then he notices there are people in costume on the train that morning.  Oh, yes!  ComicCon is in town.

It finally dawns on him that people on the train think he's dressed as Dr. Who.

(At this point let me interject I'm surprised my quite muggle, mundane brother even knew who Who was!)  But he got a good laugh out of it.

And so did I.

I love my brother.

Hmmmm....Maybe he IS The Doctor?

At least I know he's not a gangster!

Celebrating Birthdays

Blowing out the candles

On the last Friday of the month, we celebrated February birthdays.  It was also wear your favorite band tee-shirt day.

It was fun to see the various bands that were represented.  Some of them were obscure, then there were names like Oingo Boingo and the Killers.

Stephen, Giuseppe and Frank

Our February birthday people were Giuseppe, Sabrina, Shirley and Gerry.

It was fun!

Barbara (left) sporting The Killers tee

Sharing a big ice-cream cake in the early afternoon is really nice, too.  Sometimes you can just use a nice slice of cake in the afternoon.

I recommend it.

It was Rock Tee day.  Brian was sporting an AC/DC shirt while Laura wore a Christian Rock Roadshow tee

We have a fun bunch in our office.

We enjoy goofing around.  Like Edward and Veronica did:

Yes.  Edward and Veronica were on hand, being silly.  They've been coworkers and friends for many years.

I like it when people clown for the camera.

Hope you have a nice treat this afternoon yourself.

Meanwhile... Deep in the Heart of Texas

From the Dallas-Fort Worth area

It's been a while since I've gotten some photos from my nephew, Elder Anders, who is currently serving in the Dallas-Ft Worth area of Texas.  He says the snow has been so bad they weren't allowed to drive their truck for over a week.

He writes:

There are no snow plows here whatsoever. We weren't allowed to drive our car for more than half of the week. We weren't able to drive to our baptism, so our Elder's Quorum President picked us up, and the ward mission leader gave us a ride home. On the way there we passed many cars that had ended up in ditches because they slid on the snow. Also, we've seen many fences and signs that have been knocked down due to folks hitting them. Who knew 6 inches of snow could be so devastating?

Yes!  You read that right:  six inches of snow - and a baptism!

It must be a wonderful experience to help teach someone the truths of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and see them embrace it and want to be baptized. Our Heavenly Father's plan is a plan of happiness for all His children all over the globe.  Baptism, performed by one having Priesthood authority from God, is a first step along the path back to our Father in Heaven.

Elder Anders' companion (in white), the young man being baptized, and Elder Anders (right) 

In case you haven't guessed, Elder Anders isn't much of a communicator.  I still don't know the name of his companion, and I have no idea the name of the nice young man who is in the photo getting ready to be baptized.  But, hey, Elder Anders sent a photo!  I'm not complaining!

He further writes:

We did have a cool experience this last week. I was on an exchange with a missionary in our zone who is still pretty new. All of our appointments for that day canceled, and we didn't have anything to do. But I told the new missionary, don't worry, we'll find someone to teach! So we went and drove around a little bit until we felt like we should stop, and then we got out of the car and started knocking on doors (even though it was freezing cold!). Sure enough, the first one to open the door to us was a guy who was willing to be taught! We taught him a great lesson, set up a return appointment, and everything! When we left, the missionary I was with was really excited! He kept saying, "Wow, that was awesome! 

Awesome experiences do happen when we follow the promptings of the Spirit.  That's perhaps one of the hardest lessons we learn here in this life.  I'm glad Elder Anders has figured that out.

I love our Elder Anders.  He's had some tremendous challenges during his missionary service, but has kept his positive outlook throughout.  He's a truly good guy.

Texas is an interesting place.  This is the view from the Elders' balcony in a nice, upscale apartment complex:

Longhorn cattle foraging in the winter landscape

Yes, Ma'am, that's Texas!  Those cows are Longhorns!

Elder Anders ends his message this week by saying, "I love Texas!"  I'm sure there are many of you out there that would agree.

Time Out for Pie

Peggy and her Dad

Taking time out for friends is a thing that Peggy is really good at.  I admire her tremendously for her kindness and for her ability to be up for anything fun.  She has a crazy social schedule, so I'm thrilled when she takes some time out for me.

Double Cream Blueberry pie from Marie Callender's

I've found, as I grow older, that the best gift I get is when someone spends time with me.  I love being with my friends and family, and I don't see any of them enough.

Cutting pie is tricky

So, when you get a chance to take some time out of a busy schedule, share a piece of pie and some conversation, those are moments to treasure.

Ta-Da!

Hope your week is off to a good start!