Il Coro

In the late seventies I served as a missionary in Italy for the Mormon Church. I, along with many other members who have a strong connection to the land of Italy rejoiced when the announcement finally came in 2008 that a Temple would be built in Rome. When I thought about the eventual completion, celebration, and dedication of this Temple, it seemed to me a momentous enough occasion that I felt it likely the Mormon Tabernacle Choir might perform at the time in Italy as part of a world tour. (This is just an assumption; no official announcement has been made as far as I know.)

I checked the construction timelines of a couple of Temples recently completed in Western Europe. It appeared we should expect at least eight years to pass before the Temple in Rome would be built and dedicated. I also knew from personal experience that the likelihood of “red tape” and snafus might stretch that timeline even further. Well, it ended up to be a wait of 11 years from announcement to dedication for the Rome Temple.

Seven years ago, shortly after I was released as Bishop in my LDS ward, I seriously considered auditioning for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir partly because I wanted to be part of that Rome dedication if the Choir were to perform there.

After long, serious deliberation, I decided not to pursue membership in the Choir.

The age policy of the Tab Choir means that I would have had to join by age 55, and I would have “aged out” by now, a year short of the Rome Temple Dedication. So, that wouldn’t have happened for me anyway.

Backstory finished, here is my point: I had served as a temple worker at the Jordan River Temple until it closed for renovation two years ago. As part of its reopening it will be re-dedicated. There will be three different dedication sessions and a unique, small, twenty voice choir for each session. I have been asked to sing with one of the choirs for this reopening and re-dedication.

Partial life goal accomplishment (98% out of 100%) granted for this great event. I wouldn’t have ended up in the Tab Choir for Rome anyway even if they are involved, and I get to sing for “my” Temple, which is pretty much more appropriate. I feel strongly that the Lord has guided me and allowed this great blessing in His own way.

As a side note, when watching the Choir sing this weekend, I can pick out at least a handful of men who appear to be older than sixty years old.

Christmas 2017

Christmas 2017

Ailsa here, commissioned to bring Christmas tidings to loved ones of the Lillywhite family! If I were dad, I’d probably start off by reflecting on the 30 plus years that we’ve been a family and answer a few questions: Is this where I thought we’d be in thirty years? Have the last thirty Christmases met or broken my expectations? Sort of like a performance review which we all agree are horrible.

But, I’m not dad, and I was only sentient for a portion of those 30 plus Christmases, so I’m going to have to guess that the decided lack of grandchildren and, the concomitant sons in law, is a bit of a surprise. We’re a family that’s still in its young stages, in that sense: Two parents, three daughters, some animals (including two platonic life-mate fish.) It might seem like the fact that our family make-up has essentially remained unaltered since the great Lanifer was born would make each Christmas letter pretty similar, and yes, we have fallen into some recognizable routines.

I’m a writer, so I think a lot about patterns and tropes, especially in our pop culture. One of the most common tropes is the Five Man Band. Because of troublesome and typical conventions, one of these five men is typically “The Chick” meaning a one female to four male ratio is what audiences are comfortable seeing in an action film. Our family is the reverse of this convention. We don’t have “The Chick” but instead have “The Dude” as the one male among four females. With this inversion taken into account, we still fit the profile of the Five Man Band to a somewhat eyebrow raising degree.

Mom, Lenore (The Leader): This character is usually the identifiable protagonist, even in an ensemble cast. Mom has the herculean task of making sure we all cohesively work together and accomplish things, rather than just messing around on our devices. It’s not easy being the leader. Mom is tired, but cheerful. And this year, she discovered chalk painting, to great and beautiful success, and turned her kitchen into an apothecary, which looks pretty dope. If you see mom sometime soon, give her a high five.

Jensen (The Big Guy): sometimes “the muscle,” although size and physical strength aren’t actually as important for this character as their role of being the person who actually "gets stuff done.” Usually, there’s not a lot of ego here, maybe a little fleeting pride. But, then it’s quickly time to move on and do something else--probably something the leader or the lancer can’t accomplish alone. Jensen is currently enjoying her work as a video-game genius, and has overcome early bouts of VR sickness in order to live in Skyrim world part-time, which is a thing you can do now. What a time to be alive. If you see her, ask her about the Netflix series Stranger Things and she will never stop talking.

Laney-uccio (The Smart Guy): solves all the really intellectually challenging problems, makes the rest of the team look pretty dumb in comparison. Maybe they’re all really pretty smart, but compared to the actual “smart” member of the team, not so much. This year Lanicus Rex has adopted all of the family hobbies and is slowly getting better at them than everyone else also, just in case it wasn’t enough to just make us feel intellectually inadequate. If you see her, DON’T bring up Stranger Things, she’s tired of hearing about it from Jensen.

Me, Ailsa (The Lancer): This character is defined as being “not the leader” in a lot of ways. They typically act as a kind of foil to the leader, offering an alternative viewpoint, even to the point of antagonism. Think Han Solo to Luke Skywalker. Unfortunately, the Lancer is usually pretty crucial to the success of the mission, so she can’t just take a nap all weekend, no matter how much she wants to. I moved to Las Vegas for a Judicial Clerkship, and love my job. We do a split civil and criminal court, so if you see me… I hope it’s civil.

Dad, Todd (The Dude): mainly because of poor writing, this character usually doesn’t have too many other discernible traits beyond simply being defined as a different gender from the others. Luckily, there are also some examples of writers turning this player into an actual character, and in our case “The Dude” occupies the role of the peacemaker. In a sense the same task that the leader has, to somehow make the group act cohesively, also falls upon dad’s shoulders. He makes sure we can work together without conflict, and quickly resolves said conflict so that we can accomplish our individual and collective missions. If you see him, slip him some chocolate. In secret though. If any one of us sees it, we’ll try to take it.

To echo a Facebook post from dad, this last election year was a great demonstration of how much our family is evolving in that out of the five of us--four were of the legal age to vote-- and all voted for a different presidential candidate. The final, underage member of the family (Lane-faced-killah, as she’s known on the mean streets of the Independent Republic of Murray) far from being a tie-breaker on this issue, admitted that she actually preferred a fifth candidate. This is a YUGE contrast to the previous election, in which all five of us liked the same doomed man for the job:(

What I’m saying is that we are definitely five different people. In spite of how exceedingly different we’ve all turned out to be, and how our lives are taking us in different directions, rapidly. We enjoy nothing more than spending time together, treading over the common ground that we do have. To illustrate, a list: Heaven is a beach, probably in the Caribbean. But, maybe also in Sicily or Croatia; Cats are the greatest ever. Dogs are alright. Cats are also wicked; Until Dawn isn’t just a survival horror video game, it’s also a wholesome activity that the whole family can enjoy, together!; Carbonara doesn’t need peas. Why would you ruin good Carbonara with peas? And despite what the purists say, you CAN add cream; We all picked the same “song of the summer” which is the groovy “Waves That Pull You Under” by Young Summer; and We all agree on the following television: Call the Midwife; Anne with an E; Broadchurch: The Walking Dumb Bunnies—I mean Dead. It’s called The Walking Dead.

Most importantly, there is one thing that I’m glad we all agree on, because it makes the future clear, and gives a reason for the hope that is in us: The Gospel/Church of Jesus Christ is true. Or, more importantly, our Heavenly Father has a plan for us, as a family, and also, as five different individuals and their respective loved ones. We can be together forever, and that makes being apart (whether physically or philosophically) now, a lot more bearable.

But don’t misunderstand, we’re totally getting together for Christmas! Christmas time is a great time for getting together, and reflecting on the years and the Christmases past, and we hope that each of you are doing the same, and that you are smiling. We’ve had a wonderful 30 plus years as a family, and we’re so blessed to have all of you in our lives. May your Christmas be merry and bright, and your new year something to write about.

The Lillywhites

“Soft and easy is thy cradle, Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay, When His birthplace was a stable, And His softest bed was hay – Isaac Watts

Ensenada Cruise

I've always told people that I have never been to Catalina. Our senior "ditch" day in High School was an outing to Catalina. We ditched the ditch day and went surfing instead. A decision I have NEVER regretted because it was one of the best days ever. I can write about that some other time.

Well, when we were on Catalina during this cruise we took a walk north out of town toward the old theater/casino. I got the strongest feelings of deja vu to the point where I wondered if I had gone when a little kid or as a young adult and forgotten. I still think I have never been before. But, it was uncanny.

Same thing at the Buffadora in Ensenada. Very strong feelings of deja vu. Weird.

San Clemente North 2017

We had a great time this last summer in Huntington Beach. There was one episode which I feel should be documented and is not included in the photos: Jensen wasn't able to come with us due to work obligations. She did have a little spare time. So, she went to visit Ailsa in Las Vegas for a few days. While there she received a citation because her license plate had been stolen or fell off. She was very concerned about driving back to SLC without a license plate. We went around and around with her and our attorney daughter explaining that they needed to report the loss to the Las Vegas police, get a case number and then if she was pulled over, just give them that info. They were convinced that wouldn't be good enough and that Jensen would be thrown in jail. As I recall they finally had Ameer call one of his police friends who told them to do exactly that. All issues were averted.

Laney Nightmare Talk

A couple of weeks ago we arrived at Church in our usual hurried bustling manner. We sent the kids to claim our pew and Lenore and I took up posts at the doors welcoming people and scanning for those we don't know or who are newly returning to our midst (we are Ward Missionaries.)

As the meeting started and the first hymn began we settled into our places and Lenore glanced at the written program. Laney was listed as the first speaker.

Nate Cox had asked me a while back. Originally, the week they wanted was the Sunday we were on our Ensenada cruise. After a week or so and some confusion he eventually did call just a day or two before we were supposed to leave and asked Lane for the week after our vacation.

So, of course we all forgot until looking at the program that ill-fated morning. This is the stuff of nightmares. I was afraid Lane might melt down.

After a quick second or two of thought, I pulled out my electronic device (which was supposed to be powered off) and started looking. For several years now I have digitized as much as possible of talks and lessons we have all given/done. It's not 100% complete but almost.

I quickly located a talk that Laney gave about 5 years ago. It was a little simple but, we weren't about to be choosy.

As the Sacrament was ending Brother Brown and the Bishop looked our way and I gave a very slight nod that, yes, she was ready and would be presenting a talk. They had noticed that she wasn't seated on the stand.

She took my phone up to the pulpit and gave a great speech, reading some from the old talk and also ad libbing where possible and needed. I knew if she could just get the first couple of sentences out, she would be fine.

I'm sure this is not the first time this has happened. But, this may be the best outcome ever for the situation. Some people in the congregation knew of the near fiasco. But, that was because we were scrambling trying to figure out what to do.

We try to always be prepared.

Cremona, Romano Gobbi, and Fried Sage Sauce

While on my mission in the city of Cremona, one of our members (and a dear friend) Romano Gobbi (RIP) invited us over for dinner. One of the dishes he served was ravioli with a butter and sage sauce. This was the first time I had this sauce and I was very impressed. It’s especially good with Romano cheese instead of Parmesan. He basically told me how to make it. He told me to put the sage in and cook on low heat until “appena si arrossice il burro.” Until the butter barely browns. You don’t want to burn the butter.

Several times over the years I have tried to make this sauce again. It has never been as good as the time he made it for me. I put it down to inferior ingredients.

Then a couple of years back, when Curtis was retiring from ARB, we took him to dinner at Tuscany restaurant. One of the appetizers they served was butter fried sage leaves. They were surprisingly wonderful and tasted a lot like the sauce I remembered.

Fast forward to earlier this summer. I was clearing some brush and weeds on the hill and noticed our sage plant was doing well. I thought I should try to fry some of the leaves and see if they are as good as the restaurant. Well, they were wonderful and I realized that the sauce is the butter left behind after frying the leaves. I was always using ground or rubbed sage and just leaving it in the butter.

It’s amazing to me that it took this long to figure it out and also that long since having the fried sage leaves too.

Now we have another staple sauce that we have added to our repertoire.

Specialized VW

I have almost completed the build of a new bicycle. It's a Specialized Venge Vias that I will be running SRAM Red Etap 11speed shifters on. It's really fancy and in some respects a whole new approach to many of the components. The shifters are electronic and work by a bluetooth signal. So, no wires. The brake cables are all routed internally so as to add to the aerodynamics of the bike.

The front brake cable comes up through the fork tube and has to pass through a hole in the expansion plug. The rear cable snakes through the frame up through the head tube outside the fork tube and through a slot in the bearing surfaces. Since there are no wires or cables being routed for the shifters, I decided to run the cable for the headlight in it's place. I was trying to make it modular so that if I need to take it apart again, I won't always be cutting and re-splicing the wires. This added a level of difficulty.

The other night I was ready to put the front end together. I found I needed at least two more hands. So, I enlisted Jensen's help. It was at least 45 minutes of trial and error and then trying to fish the cable housings out of the holes in the handlebar. Jensen was great and offered great assistance and even suggestions at times. Which was very helpful since I can't really see that well in a poorly lit garage at night.

It reminded me of a story from my past: When I was single in Maryland I bought a VW Karman Ghia convertible. Once while I was living with a bunch of single guys in Columbia, MD the convertible top got slashed.

Shortly after Lenore and I married I decided it was time to replace it. I ordered one in the mail and set out on a Saturday to replace it. How hard could it be? Well, not easy. There is a cable in the back seam that fits into a groove in the body and you tighten it by cinching the ends of the cable that run through some flanges and tightening some bolts. The hard part was keeping the cable in place while you tightened it.

Lenore was ready to call it quits after several tries. I just kept at it and finally impressed her with my tenacity and resolve. We saved ourselves a lot of money.

The other night Jensen proved that she would have been up to the task of replacing the convertible top, might have even enjoyed doing the job.

Bike 2016

Time to document some of my cycling achievements from 2016. Overall, I wanted to reach a highest avg MPH for the year and get over 20MPH. I thought getting in lots of mileage early in the year would help me with that. I think I was wrong. Maybe things change as you age. I put in lots of miles in April, May, and June (2,063.07 for the second quarter). My speed tapered off and then went down. At a certain point, It was pretty obvious that I wasn't going to set a personal best. I still came in second at 19.66 MPH for the year (.17 behind my best). I then just tried to get the most miles and the most rides. If I were to graph the rides by speed over the course of the year, it would be a fairly flat curve. Probably as flat as ever. I had my second highest total of rides over 20 MPH. But, very few over 21, non below 17.27, and very few under 19.

As I get older I notice my heart rate doesn't go up easily and it's also harder to get my breathing going. I think the thing to do if I want to go faster is do more climbing. 2017 I am going to see if I can do more climbing than before.

Arguably my best ride of the year was a 60 mile effort on the Legacy Parkway Trail in October at a speed of 20.43MPH. Similar to my 2006 ride at the Colorado River.

I set new highest mileage totals for the months of May and June

I had a fun ride with Stuart down in Utah County at the beginning of July. This is where I realized I was doing too many miles. He could have easily ridden away from me and I was dogging.

Also has several fun rides in Orange County during vacation, especially along PCH into Seal Beach.

The tandem bike was stolen out of our garage sometime between 27 Aug and 10 Sep (but, probably 8 Sep morning).

Muzzy and the Mashed Potatoes

Years ago, Lenore's grandmother Naoma (Muh) Smith came to family dinner at our house. At one point she was chilled so I retrieved one of my sweaters and let her wear it. A couple of weeks after, Lenore and I were at a Church meeting and I was leading the music and wearing the same sweater. As I recall, it may have been a Stake meeting. During one of the Hymns, Lenore caught my eye and made a face. Later, when we were able to talk, she let me know that there was a fairly large swath of dried mashed potato (boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew) on the sleeve. We still enjoy a chuckle about that one from time to time.

La Isla Bonita

Lenore and I just returned from a very fun 30th anniversary Caribbean Cruise. We sailed out of Miami and visited Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. Hurricane Matthew had just decimated Haiti on 4 October and then headed to Florida and the Southwestern US. It appeared that the storms wouldn't affect our ports. But, as the sailing date of 8 October approached, we weren't sure that our boat would sail or that our flight would be able to get us to Miami.

As it turned out, there wasn't much impact on Miami. The storm was passing North Carolina about the time we had to connect through Charlotte. But, that airport is far enough inland that it only had minor impact on the weather there. Overall, we were only rained on for about an hour's worth during our visits in ports.

This was our third Cruise in 18 months, and the second on Carnival Glory. The worst part is getting onto the ship. The best flight for us to take is the VERY early Saturday morning flight. As such, I didn't get very much sleep and then was without my meds until after dinner on Saturday. It wasn't horrible, but I need to plan better in the future.

There were two days at sea, Sunday and then Friday. The Friday was probably the least pleasant of the whole time because, even though it was sunny, the wind was pretty strong. I was tempted to ask the captain to slow down to minimize the wind:)

Grand Cayman was our first stop and also the shortest port stay. We just took a taxi to some part of Seven Mile Beach and sunned ourselves and went snorkeling. Left hand drive, English speaking, quaint. Did not see a McDonalds. But, saw KFC, Wendy's, and Burger King. The cabbie was quite proud to point out the expensive Hotels and resorts where the famous people own property and visit. It started to rain near the end of our planned stay. So, we packed up a little early and went back to the ship.

I think we had dinner to ourselves the first evening. But, for the rest of the trip we were seated with a nice, friendly couple from the Indianapolis area: Lance and Patty Allen. It was fun to have people to chat with.

The next stop was the Mahogany Bay resort on Roatan. We (Lenore) spent about an hour and a half shopping when we first arrived. I just cooled my heels and chatted with people. I was doing a pretty good job of watching the weather forecasts and such. Right before going to the beach, a lady asked me if we were going to get anymore rain. I said, "no, I think we've seen the worst of it." Then just as we got to the beach, it started to rain hard. Many of the people left for shelter. We found refuge in the outdoor locker area and were determined to wait it out. It rained steadily and hard for about 45 minutes and then cleared and was actually quite pleasant. We snorkeled a bit right off the beach. Then we noticed a pier off to the left that extended into the water about 100 yards. We found much better snorkeling there and both had a great time.

The next day found us in Belize. Our plan for the day was to go on a cave tubing excursion. We did not book this through Carnival. We found a better and less expensive tour on the internet: cavetubing.bz. There aren't many beaches in Belize. They are mostly on the islands. So, this activity seemed like the thing to do.

There was about an hour drive out of the city to a National Park. The city and environs are fairly impoverished looking. But, the park was quite presentable. The cave we floated is found on the Cave Branch river. (Belize is formerly British Honduras, so they speak English, but, they drive on the right hand side.)

After the float, we were served a very nice, simple lunch at the tour headquarters. On the drive back to port, the tour guide pointed out the local LDS Chapel.

Our last stop in Cozumel we took a taxi to Ocean Beach resort. They have a bit of a racket going on. The taxi fare is only $15 one way. But, once you get there you have to pay $17 per person to get in the resort. No big deal. They also try to sell you on all sorts of other stuff, (trying to separate you from your wallet) but, they aren't pushy.

While sitting on the beach next to a young black guy who was going to school in North Carolina (I think) and some of his friends (they all were from another boat) one of the vendors approached him and asked if he wanted his picture taken in a Mexican sombrero. He said, "that sounds racist." I couldn't contain my guffaw. I'm pretty sure he was trying to be funny. The vendor had no clue.

The water here was very warm. I would guess in some spots close to 90 degrees. We did a lot of snorkeling while still staying within the “safe” area.

While on the boat we saw frigate birds and vultures and dolphins, and very early in the morning we saw many small birds flying around the balconies, probably feeding on insects.

We had several hours available once we returned to Miami and we considered going to the beach. But, the weather wasn't great and we had our bags to worry about. So, we just went to the airport VERY early.

Cozumel

Cozumel

Saw this fish in Roatan. He was about two feet long.

Grand Cayman

Cozumel