Happy 2012



AP Photo/NASA


Hey, is this shot cool or what?  This image provided April 21, 2010 shows an eruptive prominence blasting away from the sun in March.  A new satellite, the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite, took the image along with many others.

Just yesterday NASA unveiled the first images from the new satellite designed to predict disruptive solar storms, and scientists say they're already learning new things.

When I see impressive extraterrestrial pics, I sometimes wonder what the Gods are up to.  For certain, they are very creative.

In 2012, may you be creative and find joy in all your endeavors, not mater what your interest.  

She was quite pleased!

Bev's piano recital last Saturday went quite well.  She was quite pleased at the progress each of her students had made over the last few months.  At the end of the recital the kids posed for a photo with their teacher.

All of you probably know of at least two elephant jokes, three moron jokes, and some blond jokes to boot.  I'll bet you don't know any piano jokes; so I checked the net and pulled a few to share with you:

1. What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft? A flat minor.
2. What do you get when you drop a piano on an army base?A flat major.
3. What did a piano player say to a tightrope walker?
   You better C sharp or you'll B flat!
4. Why was the piano player arrested? Because he got into treble.
5. Why are pianists fingers like lightning?
   They rarely strike the same place twice.

Attending the recital was Jim, Mr. T, and Matty.  I couldn't resist taking this photo.

I want to thank Dan & Annie for letting me take this picture.  Titan didn't really steal the show, as this shot was taken after the recital, but he could have.  He is not only long and tall, but he is getting a good early exposure to great piano music. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I'm a believer!

About a month ago, Andy told me that she was impressed with Tebow.  A couple days ago Karla declared she was a Bronco fan, and that she loved Tim Tebow.  Today I watched the Bronco's play the Bears, and now I am a believer, also. 

I watched a 4th quarter comeback that was incredible.  The Bears were ahead 10-0, and they had let down a little bit late in the game.  The emotion of the game changed, and Tebow came alive, leading the Broncos on two scoring drives, and into overtime with a 10-10 tie.  Then they scored a field goal, winning 13-10.

In my opinion, Tebow is a diamond in the rough, but has a great future.  This guy is a winner!  You have got to see how happy the team is after the game.  Click on the following link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6Q71yg7fyI

Little Elves!

Black Friday was, at our house, really a very joyful event.  Mike and Katie dropped their kids off late Thursday night for an overnighter.  Grandma supervised the bed time events, like brushing teeth, getting jammies on etc, and I had the fun of telling bedtime stories.  The kids were bone tired, having spent all day eating two turkey dinners. 

I had the fun of telling stories to sleepy eyed kids.  To Matt, I told my version of "Goldie Locks and the Three Bears," and to Jenna and Erin, I gave a stellar account of "Cindergorilla."  This story usually usually gets at least one laugh, but not this night.  By the time I finished they were asleep.  I then made my way to Rachel on the couch, but she was in a total coma.

Not a peep was heard during the night, and in the morning the kids got up and found grandma fixing pancakes, eggs etc.  They were delighted, and then we brought in the Christmas tree and decorations from the garage.

Needless to say, we had 4 delighted, little elves hanging ornaments. 

Afterwards grandma had the kids sit at the kitchen table, for organized Christmas activities.

To top things off, three of grandma's piano students came over and entertained us with piano Christmas music. Then the fateful moment came at 12:00, when they were picked up by parents and carted off to finish the day with other activities.

What a great family I have!

Thanksgiving Day

                 Thanksgiving Day Images.  Enjoy.



"This is going to be good"



Cooking is always fun at Sherry's home.



Even the men help.



Grandma is not really watching the game.



"Wake up, wake up.  It's time to eat."



"Wow, this is fun."



Nothing like watching the game.



"Mashed potatoes.  I can hardly wait!"



"You better watch out, Uncle Jeff."



"I wish they would hurry up with the food."



"I love playing this song."



The family is gathered.



"Matty?  This song is for you."





"I'll show you how to play it right."



Nick has the best seat in the house.



Go Cougars!

"It's another Sonic Drive-In third down," the announcer boastfully declares over the P.A. system.  The crowd wildly cheers for the home team to stop the opposing players dead in their tracks.

I remember the "good old days," before Edwards, when the Cougars rarely won a football game.  The Richards building now sits on the old field, which was easily visible on the right, as one passed by the old "Y" bell, descending down the steep concrete steps leading to the Smith Fieldhouse. 

There were no booming advertisements to annoy pure fans, but then, all we had was the 8-track system, remember?

Rarely did the Cougars win a game in those days, (1963-1965) but I attended games anyway, just because I enjoyed watching football.  When the new stadium was built, I was employed by the University to help move sod to the new field.  It was a great summer job, and in the fall I enjoyed watching games on grass that I helped plant.  

Advertising still had not made inroads to the P.A. system. 

Then magic began to happen.  In the mid-60's Tom Hudspeth was head coach and LaVell Edwards was a defensive line coach.  Virgil Carter was the first great BYU quarterback, then Gary Sheide and Gifford Nielsen came along in the mid 70's.  Edwards, having been made head coach, had things rolling. 

If you follow BYU football you know the rest of the story, and advertising is now a big, big, big, part of the game, for sure.

Last Saturday, I went for a half-time walk around the inside of the stadium, and to my surprise, Sonic Drive-in has no stands set up to sell their goodies.  They are missing a golden opportunity to make some big profits, for sure. 

After being indoctrinated so vigorously, fans would eagerly pay super inflated prices for a Sonic burger. 

Anyway, regardless of one feels about Sonic Drive-in third downs, it was our team's first year of independence, and it was fun to watch them on the home field with some of my wonderful family.  "Go Cougars."

Sugarplum fairies and fiery serpents!

Well, the Fashion Place mall has really opened a new and fresh section on the west end.  As Black Friday draws near, I can just imagine retailers dreaming of sugarplum fairies, in the form of sales persons, dancing through huge piles of dollars.

Last Saturday, we met Joe, Andy and Michelle by the Sears store, took pictures, and then moved on to Bath and Body Works, where we all sniffed, and sniffed, and sniffed - you know what I mean.  Andy finally bought some bottles of hand soap.  Both the friendly employees and also the Christmas atmosphere of the store really made me feel happy to shop there, even though I didn't buy anything.  Ha ha.

Sunday, we attended Sherry's church in Springville.  Sammy gave a great talk during Sacrament meeting.  He represented his class in the Primary program.  His talk was on how God speaks to us through his prophets.  I can't remember everything he said, but I do remember his referring to fiery serpents, as mentioned in the scriptures by prophets. 

I wonder what they were like!  Did they actually breath fire and smoke?  Or maybe their bites hurt a lot!  Or maybe their skins were fiery colors?  Isaiah says they could fly!  Anyway, I'm glad these creatures are now extinct!

Sherry was released as the Ward Young Women's President.  I'm sure she will be enjoying a new church calling soon.  I don't know if you can see it, but there seems to be a "glow" emanating from her head.  She really is a wonderful woman, and a righteous credit to her family.  We are so proud!

More mall adventures!

The biggest news item for us this year has got to be the crowning of Julie as 2011"homecoming queen" of Timberline High in Olympia, WA.  Grandpa & Zucc couldn't be prouder!


Now, for more mall adventures!  I have decided to not include either pics or comments about this year's Christmas displays, as mall displays have remained the same as last year, at least in  South Town.  

As a follow-up to my last post, I did notice the following mannequins, proudly displaying their heads.  They are in the doorway of Forever 21. 

Facial expressions are not a forte of mannequins, so maybe it is a blessing for us that 95% of mall mannequins are headless.  I bet my granddaughters would have a blast applying makeup to the above faces.  Wouldn't it be funny if some night ........?

At the other end of the mall is an oriental shop.  On display, behind the glass, is this beautiful Buddha.  I think it would look good in the sitting room of Sherry's home, maybe next to the piano.  In his spare time Jeff, could figure out an audio system that would trip on in a big laugh, as you rubbed its belly.

In South Town, Santa is making his appearance on Nov. 13th. This is 11 days before Thanksgiving!  "Oh no!" you say.  Well, here is the proof.  You cannot deny a picture!  What is the world coming to!

A roller coster called the mall!

The other day I was walking the mall with exigency (not a person), and happened to see some interesting displays.

Mannequins have always been a fascination with both writers and movie makers.  In some movies they have even come to life during store closing hours, making music, dancing and singing, only to revert back to their original forms just before store opening. 

These thoughts persisted as I roller- costered my way past the fashion shops on both mall levels.  I was fascinated that most of the mannequins were either faceless or headless. 

A new store in our mall, has on display a wonderful array of mannequin heads.  In the display window are three of them that particularly caught my attention.  Luckily, the hair colors they adorn have not caught on with the general public, as of yet!  But, who really knows what the future will bring?

Okay, a change of topic!  This marquis pic of the new twilight movie caught my eye.  Thoughts of how ridiculously popular, this particular series has been, raced through my mind.  I guess fascination with the ideas of love, immortality and mysterious power make good story lines, even if they are associated with vampire folklore.

A couple years ago, Bev and I went to the first twilight movie, with Michelle, Joe, and Andy.  About 10 minutes into the show, I was rolling my eyes, thinking about how "reaching" the show was.  I whispered into by wife's ear, "How did we get succored into this?"  All she could do look at me and laugh out loud. 

I'd like to welcome MW as a follower of this blog.  Comments are welcome from all people, as well as my four devoted followers, and "Oh yes," try to be creatively constructive in sharing your thoughts, if you can.  Ha ha. 

I was so embarrassed!

As the sun began to sink into the western sky, we began a little trip in the car.  We ventured past a couple of preteen trick-or-treaters, and ended up at my son's house across the gully.  Grandma had a big pumpkin
pie to share with Mike's family.  At the door, we said those famous words, "trick or treat." 

One of the kids gave me a chocolate bar, for which I had been begging the last couple of days, and soon I was taking the pics that I had really came for.  Believe me, with the prospects of gathering a years worth of candy being eminent, it was not hard to get the kids to pose for me.  Excitement was running high.


Erin



Jenna



Titan



Matthew



Soon we were out the door, but not with the grand kids; for we were excited about getting to Provo.  You see, we had been dreaming all day about eating "old folks food," at Brick Oven.

After dinner, we made our way to Sherry's house, only to find Jeff all by himself passing out candy to little neighborhood monsters, but Sherry, having been out with Sam, soon arrived.  I was kind of glad she wasn't home upon our arrival, as this gave me the opportunity to sample (snitch) both the homemade bread and also the chocolate cake she had made earlier.  Ha ha.

Sam then departed again with a friend while Sherry entertained us, and upon Sam's return, he, being a very happy G.I., displayed his cache.



Sammy



All in all, it was a great night, and lots of fun for all.  You may be wondering where the teen boys were.  Here is the scoop!  Greg had been at his young men adviser's home.  He had been enlisted to answer the door and pass out candy.  Jason and Nick had been to a friends home watching a movie.  They came home a little later and they had that "I miss collecting candy," look. 

Hey, poor Grandpa Zucc is now in his 70's, and he still has that look, I think.  At the age of 12, I remember clearly, being sort of dressed up, knocking at a door, and a little old lady answered.  My voice was changing, and I said "trick-or-treat."  She looked me up and down, from head to toe, and said, in a little old squeaky, sarcastic voice, "Aren't you a little old to be trick-or-treating?"


I was so embarrassed, and now, except for an occasional grandpa thing, that was my last time hitting the streets!  Ha ha.

Halloween imagination!

Happy Halloween!  What an activity to get all excited about!  This posting is all about decorations.  It seems that some little monsters stole my homemade pumpkins, thereby denying my little, spooky grandchildren the opportunity of enjoying them.  So I found a place setting at Big Lots, glued on a cardboard backing and attached it to a stake, hoping this would somehow make everything all-right with the grand-kids.

 A couple days ago, while driving through the cemetery in which Mom is located, I noticed how imaginative some people had been in decorating the graves of loved ones; so I took some photos to share with my devoted readers, all three of you.  Ha Ha.

The following three pics are of the decorations on a house in our neighborhood.  At night, the demon's eyes light up and he sways back and forth from side to side.  He is really spooky!

If you haven't been in our neighborhood, you really need to come by. 

1)  On Wyandotte is a wonderful display, of almost every type of debauchery imaginable.  2)  The above pics are on 525 E.  3)  The display on Annalynn is choreographed with music. 

All you have to do is tune your FM radio to 99.9, and yes, the creator of this great display has created an electronic masterpiece, I believe; but the broadcast only reaches one block from the house, in any direction.

To get the full effect of these three displays, you need to come by at night.  You and your kids will be entertained, for sure.

Next up is Thanksgiving then Christmas.  I love this time of year with all it's celebrations.  Throw in the harvest, with homemade chili, hot chocolate, and lots of family and good friends, plus a little football action, and what do you have?  Life is great, isn't it?