Just saying …

Part of my personal history must be what I say and think of saying.  Just a few examples:

(To family:) “You can wake up now.”

(Waiting behind cars at a stop light, to prompt drivers:) “You can go now!”

(Explanation:) “I always sit in the back row, so I can see all the people … especially the latecomers.”

(Wishful thinking:) “I want to attend Relief Society, but I really wouldn’t fit in.”

(Personal planning:) “Monday is my day of rest.”

(To clarify — avoid ambiguity, especially on Sunday:) “It's next week, not this week.”

(Admiring new cars in a showroom, am I interested?) “Yes!”  (Am I looking to buy?)

“I prefer not to.”  (Why?) “I prefer not to say.”

(Not in sales training manuals.  Always works.)

(Aging thing:) “I forgot, so I Google-searched.”

(Good news after 25 moves, smiling:) “My peaceful, top-floor apartment is facing west … for the sunset of my life. I will never move again.”

(Getting more personal, revealing:) “My TV is still in the box. I prefer to read.”

(Introduction in ARP group I support:) “I’m Ned, a recovering collector.”

(Keeping life simple:) “I’m a wannabe minimalist.”

(From my experience:) “Healthy, favorite snacks: oatmeal raisin cookies and dark chocolate.”

Speaking for many Utahns, “My all-time favorite main course is funeral potatoes.”

(At church and concerts:) “I like an empty seat next to me, in case my wife Kay takes a break to sit and visit. It’s about love.”

Just saying.

Gift hunting vs. collecting

Confession: I am a recovering collector.  Every day in my spare time, I am gifting, donating, recycling, or discarding.  The path to become a minimalist is not easy for a collector by nature.  In the beginning was my copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau with “simplify, simplify” underlined.  Years later, I’m still working on it, hoping to leave little to burden our children when I pass.  I can’t take it with me.   

Recently a Treasure Trove store opened nearby to test my resolve, especially on one-dollar Wednesdays, for hunting valuable gifts.  My limit of $4 is easily reached in two minutes of scanning piles of cool merchandise … with restraint.  

Gift hunting (shopping) shows my weakness or strength.  For example, I learned years ago to not wait until Christmas Eve, and to buy additional gifts during clearance sales afterwards … to save for Three Kings Day (Epiphany) on January 6th.  (Party on!)  So, gift hunting all year gets me in the holiday mood early.  On the other hand, finding gifts in my home is a challenge … and a nice surprise a year later.  Nevertheless, KIS is my goal: keep it simple.

Back in the day …

Remember when children spent summers outdoors, riding a big wheel, playing catch and “no bears are out tonight” …?  Back in the day, summer time for me was freedom from curriculum cares and scheduled activities.  It was hours of solo fun building a three-story hut, rafting on ranch canals, riding ponies, railroading with American Flyer, and reading books. 

Back in the day, we had no AI Overview to explain this “colloquial idiom referring to a time in the past, often with a sense of nostalgia or fondness for that period … [without specifying] a particular time frame.”  And no Internet.  Was I deprived ("suffering a severe lack of cultural benefits")… or what?

Pioneer Yesterdays

Ogden Pioneer Days celebration never ceases to amaze me.  Gets better every year — well worth a journal entry.  Yesterday 9am I walked a half block from my apartment and watched the big parade, which included a float for myHometown Ogden.  I walked around the corner and cooled down with my daily few minutes of exercise at the new Marshall N. White Community Center track above the sports courts.  An afternoon visit to best friends at the Community Resource Center on 24th Street was relaxing.  At 6:30pm a dear friend from Belize (British) accompanied me to the annual band concert at Barker Park in North Ogden — pretty cool near the canyon road over the mountain to Liberty and Eden.

Monday 7/22/2024, a sweet cousin invited me to the world-famous rodeo in the new Pioneer Stadium by Ogden River Parkway Trail.  Elizabeth & husband had free tickets as volunteers managing concessions.  Amazing drone light show at the end.  Altogether an awesome event!

Kay & I are forever grateful for our pioneer heritage which blesses our posterity and us.  May we all exercise “faith in every footstep” … with love. 

Trivia Journaling

(A random addition to personal history, copied from iPhone Notes.)

7/11/8pm  I awoke from a dream about glazed donuts ... before I could eat them.  Darnet!

6/2/25 Found my 1970 Argentine poncho in [storage].

3/21/7:31am Awoke from a dream about $1 profit I made on a small put-option trade.  Exciting!  [Needless to say, I didn’t always beat the market makers in my trading days.  AI Overview: “While market making is a legitimate activity, concerns arise when market makers are perceived to be exploiting retail traders.”]

5/24 Every Saturday night in ARP group 

I support, my serious intro is,  “I’m Ned, a recovering collector.”

(Exceptional — not trivial:)

I had been in myHometown Spanish class:

1/13/25 9pm “Mi esposa se llama Kay.”

My wife is Kay Hinckley Cannon.

About Time and Eternity

Sweet memories today, honoring our 54th wedding anniversary.  Surprise celebration: our third great-grandchild was born this evening — she’s a girl!  A most beautiful baby joining a loving family.

My young bride Kay & I share our love for so many friends and family … with gratitude.  It’s about time … and eternity!

Snack Journaling

Several different journals serve me well.  Here’s a new one, a rare exception to, “This blog is not about food.”

Sugar Snap Peas, a no-spill snack for computer work to publish my book.

Cheerios — a handful like my wife Kay often had for school lunch while working in her classroom.

Fun animal crackers and healthy Veggie Straws.

Dove dark chocolates with a message.  Sweet!

A spoonful of peanut butter, plus yogurt with sliced banana after 6/25/25 tooth extraction.

Farr’s ice cream in this hot Utah summer

and cream soda float, discovered this week.

Pure cherry juice like Sister Cannon chose at Trader Joe’s in Michigan 2018.

What do you write in your journals?