The Artists I Know

Happy Day of Birth to Katy, whose birthday was yesterday. I have to say, I think that Katy is a lot of fun. Michelle and I got to spend some nice time with Aaron and Katy on the day of their move, and I relished in listening to Katy talk about some of the neat documentaries she's seen, including some about school and education. She's one of those widely-read, wide-knowledge-of the world kind of people who can carry on a great conversation with anyone I've met. I love having her in the family. Katy also brings a visual culture into our family; she studied illustration and graduated with her BFA from BYU, and she's done some great things with her work and in her spare time. Check out Katy's blog of some of her art here. One of my favorite posts she's done can be found here.

Delicious Mongolian Food!

Another artist in my family that I have been thinking about recently is my Uncle Geary. Michelle and I went to visit Carol and Geary last night and had a fantastic dinner of homemade Mongolian Barbeque. We got to pick our concoctions of ingredients and then mix our own sauce. It was so delicious. They were generous with their invitation, and we had a lot of fun with them. We made and ate food, composed the notes needed so that the Younce's could sing "Tacobel Canon"...and I can't believe it--I just found that link to it, when all night we sat at their computer plucking out the parts and putting them on a score. Well, that's irony for you. Anyways, at the Younces, Geary also showed me some of the drawings he's done. They are quite impressive, and surprisingly enough, he had done one of me based on a photo taken at their cabin in West Virginia. I wasn't expecting that one! Here's a link to some others of Geary's art on his blog. Much thanks to Carol for the maps and booklists, too--the classroom is coming up in just a few more weeks!

Old Loudoun

Yesterday Mom, Jenny, Isaac, Trina, Sarah and I went on a historic scavenger hunt of Loudoun County. We saw some wonderfully preserved historic homes, some of which date back to circa 1805 or earlier, and got to notice some really interesting details about just how involved Loudoun was in the Civil War. Apparently at the completion of the tour (we still have stops to make in Leesburg, Purcellville, and Bluemont) we will get free T-shirts proving our history-buffness. Jenny mentioned yesterday that the T-shirts probably pay for themselves in gas money, but we are sure having fun. It has reaffirmed to me how wonderful Virginia and its history really is. Anyone who comes to visit--beware. I might just take you out and have you experience some history.

The scavenging was really fun. We got to learn details of the name of a slave on one of the oldest gravestones in a cemetery (her name was Gemima) and we had fun finding clues on some other headstones. Here's a photo of Sarah reading our clue off a headstone in a primarily German cemetery. Can you read the words? Well, neither could we, hardly. Upon close perusal, we found that this person was born in 1750 and died in 1795. "In Memory Of" runs across the top--that was the clue we needed to derive from the stone for our sleuthing.
Here's Isaac thinking something historically profound. He's one smart baby:

It was neat to go around good old LC again. We have some beautiful vantage points of the foothills to the Blue Ridge Mountains. And going through the old towns, particularly Waterford, made me think of when we used to go around to historical sights as home school kids. I still remember when our assignment was to make up a song about going to the Waterford fair. As a seven-year-old, my verse was quite profound:

I went to the Waterford Fair
And guess what I saw there?
An old man that sneezed
And fell on his knees
I went to the Waterford Fair.

As I recall, my verse wasn't too far from Mom's sample verse. I hope that my creativity has gotten a little further now that I am through 16 years of education.

17, if you count Joy School.

Bright- eyed...

and only somewhat bleary-eyed. I think I am finally beginning to catch up on sleep!

Michelle and I took this right before going to the Northern Virginia YSA Regional Luau on Saturday night. Considering that this picture was taken right after helping move Aaron and Katy, I think we look pretty good. Thanks to the A. Cummings family for the use of the shower after moving--I forget how "moist" you can get in Virginia. I think the only shower I have enjoyed more was the one I took right after the 45-mile hike at Girls' Camp. It sure felt good to be clean.

Moving Aaron and Katy was actually quite fun; they have a nice apartment, and after the move they gave us a tour of downtown Alexandria. It reaffirmed to me how much I would like to return to the East to teach school. I do not believe that anything competes with the shores of the Potomac. The town was really nice as well; there were several beautiful and historic buildings on the main streets.

Sunday was beautiful here; Heather gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting about her experience going to Northern NY for Youth Conference. She bore a very firm testimony about answers to prayers; I am really proud of her and the woman she is becoming. You know you are in a good family when your younger siblings teach you by example. Melinda played a beautiful musical number for the meeting as well; I will try and get a video or audio clip of her playing "The Lord Is My Shepard." She is incredibly accomplished, but more than that--her playing invited the spirit into the meeting.

Last night, for Family Home Evening, Michelle gave the lesson and encouraged us all to follow the counsel of M. Russell Ballard. Accordingly, I will be adding some more links to my blog to tell a little more about myself and the foundations of my faith.

Dan Came Home!

Just FYI---now I'll get to see everyone in the fam... Dan had to come back to Northern VA for EMT training. He heads back down in a few hours, but it's fun to have him here!

Oh...and addendum to last blog: It's Alexandria, not Arlington. Sorry, Aaron and Katy. I get my A's mixed up, apparently.

"Never Were There Such Devoted

Sisters!"
(Trina, Me, and Sarah)

Today was a fun family day. Joel had a concert with his orchestra camp, and so Jenny, Isaac, Trina, Sarah, and I joined Mom, Dad, Michelle, and Mrs. Kellogg (cello teacher for Joel and I) at Franklin Intermediate School. They played four pieces, and I am really proud; it was a great performance. Joel is making leaps and bounds with his music--as are many of my younger siblings. Sarah seems to be walking right in Melinda's footsteps on piano...even playing Fur Elise every five minutes or so like Goose used to. We have such a great family!

(The cellists)

Trina has been a great helper today. I think part of that might have to do with the fact that she's dying to play WR1. If you want, you can get the free download here. Just don't tell Trina. Right now she thinks that my laptop is the only computer that has the famed game, and she pretty much bought the deal that I made with her; if she were a good helper and worked on cleaning up her toys and clothes, then I would let her play if Dad said it was okay. She has been the paragon of a sun-shiny helper. This comment shows a little bit of just how cheerful she was today: we were making Chocolate Elvises for dessert (thank you, Carrie!) and Trina offered to help. She said, "I want to help, because I am in a really pretty dress. I mean, because I want to be helpful."
Take a look at her pretty dress below:
These girls are so fun. Sarah is great at helping out with Isaac and asking me when we are going to do fun activities. She also showed me a bunch of her sketches today; I think she's following after our artist sister-in-law, Katy. Promising future there. Michelle is a hard worker, and it is fun to be around her again. She has a great attitude and is a great part of our family, really contributing to fun and helping out. Michelle and Dad saved up to three lives each today by giving blood. Way to go, Cummings!

Melinda and Heather are in Palmyra this week with Youth Conference, so I am excited for their return. That was a great year that I remember in the youth program. Dan is down at Buena Vista (SVU) being a counselor at EFY , but I don't know if I will be able to catch up with him. Tomorrow we'll join Aaron and Katy as we help them move to their new home in Arlington, Va. Marie and Adam (plus kids) come back from Rochester, NY on the 20th. I'm excited to see them.

Trina said two very amazing things today.
Thing 1:
When we came out of Joel's concert, Trina squinted in the sun and said, "Man. This sun sure makes my eyebrows hurt. Does that ever happen to you, Celeste?" I looked at her. "Eyebrows?" Trina paused. "Well, I guess I mean the skin right below my eyebrows. It hurts all the time."

Thing 2:
Trina was singing a made-up song in the car to baby Isaac, and here were some of her words: "...And then you won't cry again, because I am singing this song; and it makes you feel good inside...and when you don't cry, you aren't self-defeating anymore...." Jenny and I paused our conversation up front at this part of the song. Jenny asked, "Trina, do you really know what self-defeating means?" Trina replied, "Of course. It is when you do something that defeats yourself." We were amazed.

Favorite moment of the day for me? Baby Isaac fell asleep in my arms on our porch swing. I am trying to think of something that tops that.

I'm not gonna lie; It's nice to be home.

Home Sweet Home

I am Home! With a capital H! I woke up early on Wednesday morning (we left for the airport at 4am from Provo) and got a ride from my home teacher to SLC. At 2:15pm, I arrived in Virginia, the first colony and best state in America. Jenny, Isaac, and Trina picked me up, and it was so nice to see the old trees, familiar landmarks---and surprising new numbers of buildings--around Leesburg, my hometown. Things are growing rather quickly back home.

Houses are not the only things shooting up; everyone in my family seems taller. Baby Isaac, Joel, and Trina, especially seem to have grown overnight. When did I get so old that my siblings are becoming big kids now? Crazy.

I am loving talking, organizing things, and chilling with my family. It's been a busy two days, so I have on no account caught up on sleep, but I am excited.

Okay: two vignettes from today that I just can't help but relate.

I had a dentist appointment this morning. I got to drive the Prius today, as the other cars were already in use. At the light outside of my neighborhood, I stopped and smiled to myself as I thought of how gas-economical my vehicle was. I was thinking how nice it was that we had a hybrid when gas is so expensive, and then a car pulled up right behind me. It was--you guessed it. And H3. Hybrid and Hummer--now that's character foil. I laughed a long time about the odds of that one.

Also, we went to the Library today. Our public library has been condensed while they remodel the old building, so we went to "Rust Library" in the old building for Video Den. There were not too many books, cds, or dvds, but they had a moderate selection. I was in the dvd section, trying to guess how they had arranged their categories. I caught sight of one shelf: what do you think of this? There was a stack of dvds, and one of them said, "Bigfoot." Three DVDs later, there was one labled "Jesus." Next to that? "The Miracles of Jesus."

I don't really see those two categories going together...I must be missing something? Or maybe not....

Anyways, there were some good laughs today. It's great to be home. I promise, more stories and less chatter in future posts. I'll see if I can get some sweet pictures up, too.

"My Name is Richard Henry Lee...

Virginia is my home!"
This sentiment from the musical 1776 has, appropriately, been running through my head this entire last week. In 24 hours, I will be on an Eastbound plane. In 28 hours, I will be landing in good old Dulles Airport, and will get to go home.

The countdown has begun. Lookout family: here I come.

Tres, Dos, Uno...Pupusas!

I felt a little like this woman last night: I had a "few" people from my ward over for Pupusas. I had gotten some Maseca from Macey's last week, and I wanted to try it out and see what my friends thought. The verdict? Everyone wants to be El Salvadorian...or at least cook like they were. My friend Cy told me that I had taught him how to fish by showing how to make these. Thanks to Dan for teaching me in the first place. All 11 people thought they were great. And talk about economical! My children might be raised on these, as they are pretty inexpensive to make.

On a side note, I didn't have any cabbage to make the traditional pickled cabbage topping, so I tried something with lettuce, and it turned out really well. I shredded a head of dark green lettuce (I had green leaf, but you can use romaine), added the juice and zest of one lemon, added about a half cup of really thinly sliced onion, about a clove of minced garlic, and salt and pepper. It was a hit, even with the two people who had already tried pupusas.

All right for accommodations on a college budget!

Perfect Pasta Performance

My friend Abi tipped me off to this website for 5 Steps to the Perfect Pasta Salad. It's a great way to consider how to "mix-up"your pasta creations. Go ahead: give this a try. I'd love to hear of some of your different combinations.

P.I.T.H. Day in Provo

First of all, you need to be sure to check out the new Cummings' family blog Melinda started, as this title comes from a post about my little sister Trina. You can check out the blog here.

For my PITH day, I did anything but Party In the House. This Fourth of July I spent in Provo, away from my family in VA for the first time. It felt very strange not go to a Pancake Breakfast at the Church, then do a cook-out for dinner with the family, and finish off the day at Ida Lee for the spectacular Fireworks celebration there. I missed not seeing Beetlemania or the Coasters & Platters this year. More than that, I missed my fun family.

I did try to keep myself involved, though. The night previous, I slept under the stars with one of my friends, Michelle, and we woke up and made pancakes. Then, we went to the 4th of July Parade in Provo, came back to swim and cool off (UT might not be humid, but it sure gets hot), then we went to the Freedom Festival for a few hours. After that, my friend Casey invited me to make Peach Pie with him-- and that "No Fail Pie Crust" of Heather's really worked out!-- and then a large group of us went to the MTC fields to watch the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire performance. While waiting for the firework show, we had fun throwing a Frisbee around and talking. It was a great day full of fun and fireworks.

I still love the 4th Cummings style, though. There's no place like home.

Grease-No-More

A few days ago I got a text message from my friend Casey, who is in a food prep class this semester. He said he had something to tell me that may or may not change my life.

My life is changed.

Frankly, there are few things I dislike more than cleaning out shortening from a measuring cup. In my years as a professional dish-doer, I have never quite mastered a technique that could prevent me and a scrub brush from getting grossly greased. Knowing this, Casey generously shared a most brilliant trick in the realm of shortening measurements.

Here's the idea: get a piece of plastic wrap, drape it over your measuring cup, and pack the shortening in the cup. When you have reached your desired amount, whip the shortening out of the cup, and tada! No greasy corners of shortening in your cup. Hypothetically, the only dish you have to clean is a spoon. I can't wait to try this myself!

I love those saving tricks. One time, while watching the food network, I learned how to get the onion smell off your hands. Take a stainless steel spoon and wash your hands with it under running water! Rub the steel against the effected area, and no onion or garlic residue remains. Trust me on this one--it works. And how.

Let me know if anyone hears of new cooking tricks for the trade.

You never know who's life you might change....