Feast for St. Patrick's

(Kay corrected me and gave me a more complete description of our holiday tradition:)
When our children were young, we feasted on baked potatoes, green Jell-O, peas, and sugar cookies with green frosting.  For table decorations, raw potatoes held tall green candles, and a small pot held brass "gold coins".  I imagine for the kids, lighting the candles and watching them burn was the best part of the dinner celebration. And of course we loved to wear green; (our "baby" daughter reminded her mom yesterday).

What is your family tradition on Saint Patrick’s Day?
Corned beef and cabbage ... or Irish stew?

"St. Patrick of Ireland ... was born in Roman Britain, and when he was fourteen or so, he was captured by Irish pirates during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. At the time, Ireland was a land of Druids and pagans, but Patrick turned to God and wrote his memoir, The Confession.  ..."  – catholic.org/saints

"St. Patrick’s Day occurs annually on March 17 in observance of the death of St. Patrick [March 17, 461], the patron saint of Ireland. What began as a religious feast day in the 17th century has evolved into a variety of festivals across the globe celebrating Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, and a whole lot of green."  – history.com

P.S.: Searching our old PC & Notepad for Patrick, I found a trivial note I wrote to myself one year ago (as if I needed a reminder to eat 
a treat): "7:33 AM 3/17/2016 Thurs.  St. Patrick's Day; eat leftover green cookies in fridge."

His choice to have fun wearing green on St. Patrick's Day

and playing the old Cannon piano with young Grandma

Gratitude Noted

Some of my favorite Notepad (txt) files are of gratitude – helpful reminders of how my life has been blessed.  For example (simply dated by the F5 key):

3:45 PM 1/1/2009 Thurs. cc252; Happy New Year!

I expressed gratitude for Kay's handling all the details of two beautiful weddings in 2008. 

And said I was also thankful for good music which uplifts, teaches, and inspires me. 

My daily gratitude is to my Father in Heaven.

4:53 PM 1/6/2013 Sunday  …  Thankful always for family, and hope they've been touched by the Spirit this Christmas, with love.

  

11:15 AM 9/13/2016  I finished reading the Book of Mormon on Kindle again.  I'm grateful for that true work of scripture.  [I have been blessed since my youth to know that it is the word of God and another witness of Jesus Christ.]

Tonight as I write this “fast” post, I am especially thankful for my Darling Kay, an amazing daughter of God.

Our young Cannon Family on Antelope Island, 

"largest of 10 islands located within the Great Salt Lake, Utah"

"Sign off on" – I Get It!

Is anyone else annoyed?  “The board would have to sign off on any deal.”  – Wall Street Journal

Yes, "off on" has bugged me, off and on for years, as it did a Grammarphobia reader who asked for explanation.  But it's OK.  Now I get it, thanks to a writer smarter than I (am).

"... there is no contradiction.  ...  [adverb "off" like "pay off", preposition "on" meaning "concerning"]

There are many examples [just what I needed] ...  A speaker may go 'off on' a tangent, a ballplayer go 'out in' a blaze of glory, and a soggy person come 'in out' of the rain.  ...  The phrase 'sign off on' originated in the US in the first half of the 20th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary."  – grammarphobia.com/blog/2012/09

No more irritation – that’s imperative (commanding myself).  That settled, I will relax soon by walking out in the sun.

Cousins connected in SLC sun at Ensign Peak, 14 September 2013 

Stops Me Warm

My favorite radio station, Classical 89, has a weekly "Friday Favorites" program so listeners can choose their favorite music for everyone to hear.  One man recently described an experience hearing his choice: Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor.  "I have experienced a few times when a piece of music 'stops me cold', and this is one of those."

I can relate; except with me, those times literally "stop me warm".  Take Grieg's Piano Concerto (1868), for example, aired 6:23 AM yesterday.  I knew it shouldn't stop me from working, but like other times, I was overcome by that feeling … like warm sunshine streaming through the window on a cold winter's day.

Without fail, when Symphony No. 3 in C minor ("the Organ Symphony", 1886) nears the end, I am compelled to stop and feel the full impact of "... arguably Saint-Saëns's greatest single composition."  – theguardian.com/music

A piano piece by Chopin that my young daughter played is gone, but the memory is still warm in a melancholy way.  And how can I forget piano concertos by Sergei Rachmaninoff?  Why does such moving music stop me!  Words in this fast-language format cannot do them justice, but the Spirit can whisper volumes.

Too often the warmth is gone, but for me it's never lost.  I beg every day, “Bring back that lovin' feelin’ …”  (song first recorded by the Righteous Brothers in 1964)

Cannon Family piano dated 1873, warmed by winter sun in 2017

Kay & younger daughter with piano played by both in East Mill Creek antique room

Rich Diary 1894

It remains to be seen, but I suspect 1894 was an eventful year for my ancestor, Edward Israel Rich.  My great-grandfather was born 9 April 1868, in Paris, Bear Lake area, Idaho.  My memories of him are associated with family visits to the retired medical doctor, over 90 years old, enjoying life in Ogden, Utah.

I credit “the generous support of the descendants of the Rich family” and the careful curation of “the Special Collections Department, Stewart Library, Weber State University” for making the diaries of Edward & Almira Rich available for generations.

– dc.weber.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/RICH/id/242/rec/13

This 1894 deluxe diary speaks for itself.

Partial image of 1894 Rich diary cover, courtesy of WSU, Stewart Library, Special Collections Dept.

Partial image of 1894 diary front leaf, courtesy of Weber State University, ibid.

Partial image of 1894 diary expo page, courtesy of Weber State University, ibid.

Partial image of 1894 diary page, end of "States and Territories", courtesy of WSU, ibid.

Edward I. Rich diary, Monday January 1, 1894 – image courtesy of WSU, ibid.

Language of Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Wikipedia:) "Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine,  is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14."

(To my family, especially my eternal companion, Kay:)  I love you!

More to come – every year!  (Loving language, that is.)

Unraveling Minutiae

Just a quick note for this shared journal: I am finally getting to the bottom of “small, precise, or trivial details … the minutiae of everyday life" (Oxford Dictionaries) … and unscrambling every bit of it.

We’ll see how that goes.  It helps to let stuff go by recycling, sending to the landfill, and donating to thrift stores & friends who appreciate “treasures”.  Anything I am tempted to keep … gets scanned by my iPhone or little “spy” Nikon, and stored on a tiny external drive before letting go.
So I avoid being “Frozen” by fear that I will need it someday and unravel ("fall apart emotionally").
(“Top Definition” at urbandictionary.com, a site I normally try to avoid.)

"Simplify, simplify" ... while focusing on more important things!
(Reminds me of a ragged paperback I found this week: my treasured copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau.  And advice I saw: "Good books are to be shared.")

Sorting out valuable personal and family history is an interesting, albeit challenging, process.  So much to do, so little time to spend, I yearn to stop the clock.

“Seek after those things that are monumentally important and equally available to everyone.  ... things of eternal value ...”

– Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the Seventy, speaking at BYU-Idaho

– lds.org/ensign/2015/02…