The birthday road

Twenty years ago we brought Rissa home from the hospital. We couldn't use the driveway because the road in front of our house was completely torn up.

That was the year the van caught on fire. And the road crew helped open the hood to disconnect the battery.

So, here we are getting a replacement. The above machine grinds off a couple of inches of the surface.

Then they do a little deep patching and roll on two new layers of asphalt.

And we do feel stimulated by Washington.

Still, we wonder why we're paying 52 cents taxes on every gallon of gas. What did they do with that money?

The good old days

This is a photo of Temple Square during General Conference in 1911. I love the warning about pickpockets!

No doubt there wasn't a problem inside the Tabernacle. After all, pine is a "soft" wood but it took real devotion to sit on those hard benches for two hours at a stretch.

There are some other vintage photos here, courtesy of Deseret News. Go to the link and click on the photo gallery on the right:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705334612/Conference-has-grown-from-humble-beginnings-in-1830.html

Just a reminder that even in 1911 life was not a bed of roses.

My busticated leg

As you know, about 10 days ago I was raking leaves and fell out of a tree. My right femur is black and blue from hip to knee and almost all the way around.

It has been aching more than usual the past couple of days and at 4 am this morning it dawned on me what was happening; I was having a chronic Charlie Horse.

So... "Toes to the Nose!" as they say. I began stretching exercises and immediately felt better.

I have been walking on my tip-toes since it happened and there comes a time when you have to begin the old PT.

I still have some aches but they are from the healing, not the muscle spasms. My range of motion still needs a little work but it feels good to put the muscles back where they belong.

The moral of the story is that at some point you have to get back on your horse.

By the way, Reid will tell you that doctors used to put joints in a cast when hemophiliacs had a joint bleed. As it turns out, that was the worst thing to do. What you want to do is clot the injury and get the joint moving again as soon as possible.

Thanks for your prayers, folks.

Happy Birthday, Jon

We love you.

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