The Little Locksmith

This book was amazing. It's a memoir written by Katharine Butler Hathaway who was born in 1890 and lived in Salem, Massachusetts. She contracted spinal tuberculosis when she was 5 years old and had to be strapped to a board 24 hours a day until she was 15 to keep her spine straight so she wouldn't become what we would know as a hunchback, which is a word that is actually never used in the book, but referred to. The treatment worked and she could walk around normally, but she was still "deformed."

It's about her coming of age and her amazing acceptance of her situation and joy in life. It's very interesting because you can see her forming and changing her own opinions as she writes, and even including the thoughts and opinions that she recognizes later as being naive.

The setting for a lot of the book is Castine, Maine, where she buys a big house that no one would expect her to buy and fixes it up. But it's not much about home improvement. It's mostly about the people in her life during that time and a whole lot about the beauty she finds all around her in the world. It also has to do with her belief that because she didn't have a normal body she would never get to experience romantic love, and giving herself to her writing as a kind of substitute.

What I loved most about it was her uncrushable joy and love for life, though her circumstances were not ideal. She was intent on making her life a good one, even though her path wasn't ordinary.

I seriously could not recommend this book enough. And I found the epilogue especially amazing, so read all the way to the end if you get this one!

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

When I was a kid, there was a neighborhood near my house where everyone would decorate their houses to the nines for Christmas. I remember driving through there oohing and ahhing every year.

This year we visited my hometown for New Year's, and on our way back home I thought it would be fun to drive through that neighborhood to see if we could catch any Christmas lights still hanging.

We turned the corner at the home of my old ballroom dance partner. He also played the violin, so occasionally I joined him on the cello for a local performance. We also enjoyed singing together, so I had happy memories in that home.

A few houses down was the house with 12 kids, 4 who were close enough to my age that I was friends with them. I didn't spend a whole lot of time at that house, but the few memories I have were good ones. I remember gathering with a big group of friends, mostly from our Madrigals group, to play night games in the big backyard.

Back to 2010, while my husband and son were scoping out the remaining Christmas decor, I was reliving little pieces of my adolescence.

A few more houses down was Dorothy's house. Dorothy was one of my favorite, formative friends. Sadly for me, I seem to have lost touch with her. I still have such happy, warm feelings for her and when I was telling Dave all about her I felt like I still saw her all the time. But somehow we haven't connected in the last few years.

So I wasn't expecting what I saw as we got closer. Where I expected to see familiar cars and glowing windows, I saw emptiness and darkness. There was a for sale sign in the yard and it looked like no one was living there.

I don't know the story. I think her dad is still working in my hometown, so they must have moved somewhere close by. They probably built their dream house in the country or something.

It's not that I would have knocked on the door if they would have been there. I just wanted to know that they were still there.

I remember sitting around the kitchen drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows. I remember laying out late at night on the trampoline. I remember teasing her little brother. I remember her giant walk-in closet filled with a wardrobe fit for an outdoorsy princess. I remember Marge (Dorothy's Mom), who was goofy and so inviting, ratting our hair and then sculpting it into beehives for a church dance. I remember talking about boys and whatever else high school girls like to talk about while her dad sat in his chair in the family room, acting as though he wasn't listening. Maybe he wasn't. I remember sitting around the piano with her family as one of them played.

In my family, no one moves. If you raise a family in a house, you stay there. My grandparents are still living in the house that my dad grew up in from the time he was born. And all of my dad's living siblings still live close by, some right in the same neighborhood, in the homes where they raised their families.

So even though I know it has no real effect on the rest of my life, I hate learning that my good friends' families have moved from the homes where my happy memories were formed. Did they even think about preserving my happy childhood?!

This goes for you too, Missy. (I think Missy reads this.) I'll forever remember "Make-out parties" where no one actually made out. And sharing one bed with Missy and Danielle during a sleepover, and waking up to a surprise that I'm not sure I can share here. We were all sworn to secrecy, but it's been at least 12 years, so maybe the embargo has been lifted. I can't contain my bursts of laughter right now as I remember that morning.

It took a lot of nerve for your parents to go and sell the place.

I'm the kind of person who doesn't let go of friendships. Once someone has meant something to me, I want to be friends forever and ever and ever and ever. And maybe I feel the same way, to a degree, about important places. Sometimes it's hard for me to accept that not everyone feels that way, especially when it means that they don't need my friendship the same way I still want theirs.

But you know what they say. Life goes on. Even mine. I still think of old friends and old places with fondness, but right now is what really matters. My old friends might not think of me every day, but I have new friends who become dearer to me every day, who enrich my life and make me feel happy. I have a wonderful, kind husband who I grow more in love with every day and who amazes me with his desire to do good in this world and be a good person. I have a miracle little boy who I thank God for every day, who makes me smile every single day and wants me to snuggle him to sleep every single night. And I have parents who I have always been close with, who still let me know every day that they love me.

So go on. Sell your houses if you must. I've got a good thing going right here, right now.

My turn-of-the-century education

Do you notice how fast the world is changing?

I was thinking about my college education. I went to Ricks College from 1999-2001, so I haven't even been out of college for a full decade. But even so, I know that kids in college right now are having a much different experience than I had only a few years ago.

When I was in school, hardly anyone had a cell phone. There was no texting. If I wanted to leave a message for a cute boy, I would go to his apartment and write a note on his whiteboard. Almost every apartment had a whiteboard for this purpose. Do you think college kids have phased that practice out? It would kind of be a shame.

My classmates and I carried floppy discs with us everywhere we went. I never did my homework on the same computer twice, so I had to save everything to that precious little disc. If I would have tried to e-mail all those documents to myself, it would have shut down my Hotmail account. Anything over about 10k was a pretty massive file... back in the day.

And speaking of computers, I remember going to the library and finding that every computer in the lab was in use. I would pull up a chair and wait. At my apartment, I had an unreliable dial-up internet connection with a giant, boxy desktop computer, but if I needed to get something done between classes I was at the mercy of the computer lab and its occupants.

When it was time for the computer lab to close, the library would start playing really loud, obnoxious music to get everyone to leave.

Today my alma mater has a "laptop initiative" so that every student will have their own laptop. I'm sure it's much more convenient and I can definitely see the benefit, but does it take some of the charm out of being part of a college community? Maybe it doesn't. It's just so different than what I knew.

One thing that I hopefully helped phase out was the giant video cameras that the broadcasting students used for our school projects. I think news agencies still use large video cameras, but these things were GINORMOUS! And probably about 30 pounds, resting on your shoulder. They used VHS tapes, so I'm assuming they are mostly gone by now, but I could be way off. I did my part to help phase those out, tripping going up the stairs between the library and the MC while I was carrying one. My bad.

And you should have seen the archaic equipment we used to edit videos. It was housed in the Kirkham Building, which is long gone now (sniff, sniff), so I imagine they have upgraded to more current technology. In fact, I keep trying to find Google images of some of this stuff, but it seems to be ancient history.

When I was in school, there was no Facebook. GASP! In fact, if I wanted to flirt with someone, I had to do it in person. There was no tagging pictures. We had to actually look through each other's real-life, printed photo albums.

And I almost forgot about the excitement of taking my rolls of film to Walmart! Double prints please! Going to pick them up was such a thrill, because I didn't always know what the pictures would be (especially if I accidentally left my camera with sneaky people). No one had a digital camera yet, so we had to be careful not to waste film. And sometimes that meant one roll would have pictures from two or three months. By the time they were developed, I had mostly forgotten what they were going to be.

The thing is, we felt like we were living and learning in a technologically advanced time. And we were. But things just keep changing and it seems like time is on turbo. What will the world be like when my kids are in college?

The winner is...

Thanks to everyone who participated and voted in the contest.

The votes have been tallied, and first place goes too:

MADDIE!

Congratulations, Maddie!

Here is what Maddie's Mommy said this morning in an e-mail:

Wow! What generous voters you have! Maddie is so excited and wants to put some of the money in her piggie bank. That was unprompted, she must be her father's child! I offer up toys and she asks about a savings plan!

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Honorable mentions go to Debbie, who had the second highest number of votes with her Strawberry Shortcake...

And Laura, who appealed most to our male voters.



The votes were really close! Thanks for playing!

Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee

I have a girls night tonight. A sleepover even. I'm going to a fancy cabin somewhere out of cell phone range with a bunch of women from my ward.

When I was invited, I said to my friend, "It sounds like a lot of fun but I've never left (my son) overnight before."

"None of us have," she said.

Oh yeah... This fact does not make me special. This is a first for most of us.

Anyway, I want to look cute tonight for dinner and whatever fun ensues at the cabin. (The husband of one of my friends is certain there will be lingerie and pillow fights... He'd sure like to come. He'd sure be disappointed.)

But, I swear, on the days I care the most about looking nice I end up looking like a total goof.

Take my high school reunion for instance. I carefully chose my outfit well in advance and had a mental image of how I would look. And I was hot! In my mind.

Then the night of the reunion rolled around and I put the plan into action.

And I ended up looking a lot like Nellie Oleson.

So hot.

But my dress was still cute.

Anyway, I probably shouldn't care about tonight. I know I'll have fun no matter what and nobody but I will care if my hair looks cute.

Tell me, do you spend extra time primping for a girls night? Have you ever had a big sleepover with a bunch of Mormon mommies?

I'm excited. I've had my pajamas picked out for weeks.

P.S. The votes for the coloring contest are pouring in. You have the rest of the weekend to vote for your favorite and get your friends to vote for you!

Your best work: Unveiled

The time has arrived! Thanks to everyone who has participated. This was a lot of fun to see what everyone would choose.

They are posted in random order (in the order they ended up in after all the uploads), mostly because it would be too hard to try to rearrange them in Blogger. And that's fair anyway, right?

Here's how the voting will work: Leave a comment and tell me who you vote for. Vote for someone besides yourself. I will turn on comment moderation so only I will see the comments with votes in them. I was going to just post a poll, but then everyone can see how many votes everyone is getting, and I decided against that.

You don't have to have entered the contest to vote. Invite your friends to come and vote for you, if you want.

Voting closes one week from today, on Monday, Oct. 19 at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard time.

DRUMROLL, PLEASE!

1.

Here is a pretty little witch just like from Jen. Ha ha... that wasn't very nice. Jen is my old roommate from Ricks College. She and I went the rounds back in the day, but now we're long-distance e-BFFs. I'd like you to notice that this witch has a style all her own, with green and blue highlights and swirlies on her skirt. Jen says she did this at work, so she should probably get fired because it looks like it took a fair amount of time.
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2.

Next we have my Mom's entry. I found it amusing and appropriate that she chose this one, because she's almost as forgetful as Dori. Don't worry. She'll laugh at that now and then forget about it tomorrow. Beautiful work, Mom.
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3.

This is from my fun, pretty cousin-in-law, Melissa. Melissa is very creative and I always love her style. I love the colors she used.

Melissa's husband, Mike, is my cousin and just barely younger than me, so we were always buddies. I've only met Melissa in person before they were married (because we don't live close), but I love her and I've loved getting to know her better through our blogs. And look at that attention to detail in her page. She even colored in the white parts.

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4.

Next, we have Maddie's entry. Maddie is Melissa's little girl, and you might notice that she's getting really close to coloring inside the lines.

Melissa sent me this note along with Maddie's entry:

"Maddie wanted to join in the fun too! She also wanted to give you a sticker, but we couldn't figure out how to get it to you. She suggested that she give it to Daddy, he put it on his finger, and take it to you. So lets just pretend that is what happened! Personally, I'm amazed that she actually used different colors on her picture and attempted to color in the images, not just scribble! Its an improvement! :)"

Thanks for the sticker, Maddie! And good luck!
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5.

And here we have Laura. Laura is a friend from my formative years. We were two years apart in school, but we were friends with each other's brothers. And now, thanks to the World Wide Web, I feel like I know her better than I did back then. That's a good thing, but it makes me wish we would have known each other better then so we could have had sleepovers and stuff.

I must say I am quite impressed with Laura's entry. Something about this one looks 3-D to me. I found it to be quite artistic. I hope it's hanging on her fridge.
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6.

I actually witnessed the creation of this stunning piece. I'd say it's a real eye-catcher. This comes from Diana, my neighbor/BFF/walking buddy/only person who texts me/music producer. She got this one in just under the wire. Here is what she had to say about that:

"I know it is Monday morning..... but I'm really banking on that you'll be asleep and haven't checked your email yet. Or at least that you'll allow me a late day pass. My scanner was having issues and my dog ate my homework."

For her to know I was still asleep at 8:30 this morning, she was either on her roof peeking through our one uncovered second-story window, or she has just really gotten to know me.
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7.

Next is an entry from Dave. My husband. He would really like to save himself the $10 I plan to award to the winner. Thanks for the entry, Loverboy. Your page is not too big and it's not too tough, but with your skill and talent it's got the right stuff. GOOOO WONDERPETS! YAY!
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8.

Hillary, my big sister who's only 8-years-older than me, got super creative. This is a photo-turned-coloring-page of her daughter, Daphne. I must say I was astounded. And I don't even know how you get the colors that saturated. I told you. I never stood a chance against her skills.
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9.

This is where I get to brag that I have the coolest Dad in the whole wide world, because he entered my coloring contest. I hope Gaston likes his new pink tights. Very nice work, Dad.

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10.

Hannah Montana Shortcake comes courtesy of Debbie over at Cranberry Fries. She is a blog friend. I've never met her in person, but I hope I get to someday! I can tell from her blog that she is a very warm, friendly, caring person and I have enjoyed getting to know her. And she has a great sense of humor.

I'd like to point out the attention to detail. Check out those strawberries. I wouldn't have had the patience. It's quite lovely, Debbie. :)
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11.

This one comes from Laura's sister, Casey. Laura explains that Casey started this one with real intent, and then gave up when Laura's son, Carter, decided to help out with the orange guy at the top. I can see that this one had huge potential.
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12.

Carter (Laura's son) decided to get in on the contest as well! I especially like the pink clouds.
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13.

This one is serious business. It comes from Britney over at Happyful. She is a new blog friend and I love her blog. She is an excellent writer and I feel happyful when I read her blog. This one looks like it should be in a frame. Check out those waves. I'd take coloring lessons if she offered.
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This one comes from my amazingly talented Mother-in-law. Sadly, she disqualified herself because she used colored pencils before realizing that they were against the rules. But I thought it was really beautiful, so I wanted to share it anyway. It won't be among the official entries, but at least it's being shown. Thanks, Mom!
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And this one is mine. It is also not up for votes, but I still wanted to participate.


That's all! Please leave a comment with your vote and I will announce the winner in one week.

You can choose between:

1. Jen's Witch
2. Jacque Sue's Finding Nemo
3. Melissa's Hello Kitty
4. Maddie's Hello Kitty
5. Laura's Alien Civilization
6. Diana's Elmo & Pig
7. Dave's Wonderpets
8. Hillary's Portrait of Daphne
9. Dad's Gaston in Pink Tights
10. Debbie's Strawberry Shortcake
11. Casey's Scared Dragons & Volcanoes
12. Carter's Space Valley
13. Britney's Lilo & Stitch

Good luck to everyone, and THANK YOU so much to everyone who has participated! This has been a lot of fun.

Don't forget to vote and to invite your friends to come vote. Here's a link:

http://www.goodfrau.com/2009/10/your-best-work-unveiled.html

Also, congratulations to Laura! She wins the first $10 gift card for recruiting the most participants.

Vote for the winner in the comments. If you want to leave another comment that will show up, leave it separate from your vote. Thanks!

I concede!

My parents haven't called.

My guess is they are trying to figure out how to let me down gently.

So I concede. I should have known I didn't stand a chance.

So Hillary wins round 1 and I'm starting a new coloring contest. This time I'm going to put my heart and soul into it. It will be a masterpiece.

But don't let that intimidate you. Several of you have expressed interest in participating. Now's your chance! It's the chance of a lifetime!

Round 2 of the "Little Sister Gauntlet Coloring Battle," as Hillary has named it...

Begins

NOW!

Call your friends. Anyone is invited to participate.

There are only two rules.

1 - Your coloring page has to be from a kids coloring book or a website intended for kids.

2 - You have to use crayons. Contest officials will not tolerate the use of illegal colored pencils.


E-mail your entries by Sunday, Oct. 11 to goodfrau@gmail.com .

You don't have to be a regular reader of this blog to participate, but hopefully if you are a regular reader you're already sharpening your Crayolas.

Between now and then I will figure out a voting system and the winner will be chosen by readers. Winner gets a $10 Target gift card and the person who recruits the most friends to the contest gets a $10 Target gift card, so tell me in your e-mail who recruited you. You can win both prizes, because I'm in charge and I say so. And if I win I get to go to Disneyland.

Commence coloring!

Getting catty

My subconscious is on a mission to alienate me from the rest of mankind.

Three examples:

1. Yesterday I was playing Farkle on Facebook (because everything productive I could have been doing was done!.... er something). I used to always "sit" in the lobby and let someone choose me, because then I always got to go first, which put me at an advantage. What's the use of playing if you're not going to play to win... Am I right?! But too often that meant I was playing against men who got flirty in the chat box. And I'm taken by a man with smiley eyes. So lately I have been the one to choose someone to play against and I always choose women. Yesterday I clicked on a pretty girl about my age, and the first thing I wrote in the chat box was, "Ho." I meant to say, "Hi." I think she forgave me, until I kicked her butt in Farkle.
   
2. Today a friend posted on Facebook that she had gallstones and was going to have to have surgery. I, of course, clicked the "like" button, because gallstones are fun, right?! Thank goodness there is also an "unlike" button. I hope she will also forgive my mistake.
   
3. About 20 minutes ago, my son walked over to me and handed me a Tootsie Roll, asking me to open it for him. I did, and then out of habit I popped it right in my mouth instead of giving it back to him. He looked at me, confused about why I would do that to him. Luckily for him and for my hips (they're a little smallish... compared to a hippopotamus) we have vast amounts of candy left over from last week's Primary bribe, and I was able to supply a replacement Tootsie Roll right away.
   

P.S. My husband has a mission reunion tonight. Do you think I could lose 40 pounds by 6:30? Any tips?

Hillary brings out the big guns

I knew my sister would take the bait when I challenged her to a coloring contest.

Here is her entry:

Princess Tiana, in crayon

Total coloring time 21 minutes.

I would like to remind you that she is 8 years older than me. Please consider this in your evaluation of our work.

Anyone is invited to weigh in on the contest, but I would like our parents to please decide which coloring page wins. Because I'm pretty sure they would pick me no matter what.

(JK. BFF.)

And, obviously, I really want to win this. But in the spirit of sportsmanship, I would like to point out Hillary's subtle and lovely use of shading on Princess Tiana's glove.

My Mr. Smiley Eyes

Dave got a new driver's license yesterday.

He really hates those kind of chores, so he was not looking forward to it.

When I asked him how it went, he told me that he had to have his picture taken 3 times because the woman working the camera kept thinking his eyes were closed.

"I was like, 'This is just how my eyes are, lady!'" Dave said... to me. I know he wouldn't have actually said that to her.

I like his little smiley eyes.

One of my favorite games is to ask him to open his eyes as big as he can. I can guarantee myself a laugh as he tries his hardest to open them beyond capacity.

But if you're ever lucky enough to get a close look, you will see that his eyes are the prettiest ocean-blue you've ever seen.

I think he's really cute.


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In other news...

As I was coloring a blue elephant today, I was thinking about how jealous I was of my sister Hillary's coloring skills when I was a kid. She's only 8 years older than me, but her coloring skills were always highly superior to mine.

So I'd like to challenge her (and you, if you'd like to participate) to a coloring contest.

My first entry:
I know cranes aren't yellow and elephants aren't blue, but it's abstract. And it only took me, like, 15 minutes.