In Honor of George H.W.

We've had a tree in our backyard since the very beginning that has gotten very large. A couple months ago the power company told us that we needed to trim it away from the power lines.
I borrowed an electric pole trimmer from Brent Gardner and did this on Saturday. I wasn't sure this tool was going to do the job. But, it worked out great. Many of the branches were too thick to have cut any other way. Jensen helped and we mostly cut just lower branches. A secondary motive for doing this was to allow a little more sunlight on the peach tree that is nearby. After we got done the tree looks like a broccoli.
Many of the branches I cut up for firewood. I was planning later on getting a big dumpster or a chipper/shredder to dispose of the smaller branches. They ended up in a pile on the back lawn and it was soon evident what was going to become of these. Jensen and Laney started working on a little hut made from these remainders. It's exactly the kind of thing I would have done when I was young. It will probably be there now through the winter. Jensen said it was a really fun day. She especially liked climbing in the tree to fasten a rope to branches so we could try to keep them falling on our side of the fence.

Journal Entry Kinda Sorta

Many of you are wondering about Ailsa's writing. Things are kinda on hold for now. She is still writing. But, school eats up a lot of time. Probably needs to focus on one story at a time. That has never been her style. Her latest "Andwyrden" that I was helping her edit, she wants to majorly rework. This after the first three books were in finished form and the fourth was nearly there. I think she feels a little bummed that Stephanie Meyer has stepped into the vampire romance arena before she could have a crack at it.
Jensen is trying to do everything and mostly succeeding. She is the one who brings the most sunshine and the least amount of strife into the household. She and Ailsa get along swimmingly, which we love. But, often Laney feels left out.
I haven't been cycling nearly as much the last couple of weeks. The weather is much colder and it is too dark in the morning to drag myself out of bed. I will occasionally get a ride in during the evening of a weekday and sometimes on Saturdays. But, the last 4 or 5 weekends have been gloomy while the weeks have generally been great. Figures.
I recently changed the first counselor in my Bishopric and the new guy is helping to inject a little but of new vigor into our efforts. I didn't initiate the change. But, now it seems like it was probably a good thing.
Laney is following in her sister's footsteps and is very conscientious about completing all of her school work and not getting into trouble at school. She is growing her hair out so she can donate it to locks of love. It is almost long enough without having to give her a crew cut when she is shorn. I think I'll do the same thing. Do you think the Stake President will mind?
We had the Bishopric over for dinner a couple of weeks ago and Lenore fixed a very yummy meal. Roasted pork and creamed corn and roasted potatoes. She has been reading a lot lately about the Mountain Meadows massacre and the Polygamists. If there is ever any controversy she wants to read about it.
We went as a family to see Transformers last Saturday and enjoyed it a lot. We are all pretty big Shia LeBeouf fans. Did anyone else notice the fairly marked Religious/Conservative memes in this film?
We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving together and enjoying The Hoke's river house. Thanks Kim and Ed!

Naughtius Maximus Numero Trois

Almost every time I come into the house from the garage, Tommy is waiting there trying to get out. He often succeeds. He probably spends a lot of time outdoors every day. We try to limit his outside play, though, mostly because of the unfortunate episode from his past when he stayed out for about 36 hours and scared everyone.
He's pretty good about coming back though. We often leave the garage door slightly up for him and often find him waiting on top of one of the cars for us to let him in the house.
Nearly once a week he will return from his romp in the neighborhood without his collar. We know he gets into scraps with other cats. I imagine some neighborhood bully cat with a series of cat collars painted on the side of his litter box.
When he was young he would climb the canopy of our bed a lot. At a certain age, or perhaps a certain body size, he stopped doing it. However, now that young Digory is around and climbing the canopy, Tommy has taken to it again. It is funny to see them tightrope walk the rails with their tails whipping around like a propeller.
They will often just perch near a cross member where they can balance more easily with three paws on one axis and a fourth on another. I have fun teasing them when they are in that position. I touch tap them on the fourth, outboard paw. They can't just pick it up because they would lose their balance. They try to swipe at my hand. But, they aren't very well poised to do that either.
A couple of times Digory has jumped from the canopy to the top of the bookcase. The other night he spent most of the night sleeping in a basket on top of the bookcase.

Italian FHE at Young's

Saturday after I had been out and came back home, Lenore told me that Michelle Young had called and said and Italian Saint was here visiting in town and would we like to come over for a Family Home Evening Monday night. Lenore couldn't remember who it was. So, I was a little surprised to arrive monday night and find Giuseppe Pasta. You would think that Lenore could remember the name "Pasta."
We had an enjoyable evening with Brother and Sister Pasta and the Burrups, Ashbys, Bensons and Youngs.
I most likely met Brother Pasta on mymission when I was in Torino, before he moved to near Bergamo.
Brother Pasta told us how things were going in Italy. He has served as the Church Public Relations head for some time. He has previously served as Stake and mission President. Last June he was at Palazzo Chigi for the signing of an agreement that further formalizes the Church's standing in Italy. This is one of the hurdles that needs to be cleared before a Temple can be built there. It still needs to be retified by Parliament. He said that there really aren't enough members attending the Madrid and Swiss temples right now to warrant a temple in Italy. Most of the people who attend the Swiss temple are Italians.

Jensen's Senior Picture