My Uncle Paul
Uncle Paul died yesterday afternoon at age 90 while taking an afternoon nap.
He was a very bright, knowledgeable man. He was nicknamed "The Professor!"
When I was a child and beyond, he has been a special part of my life. I can remember him washing his car and packing when he would prepare to go to San Pedro to court my Aunt Tina.
He raced boats and won several trophies.
He was a mastermind when it came to farm equipment and everything that went with it. He'd take me all around the ranch and in town in his pickup and talk endlessly about farming, engines, and the like. Often, when I was a child, I couldn't follow what he was talking about, but just enjoyed being in his company!
He nicknamed me "Toogie" when I was young and even made up a song entitled
"Toogie" which he would sing in Italian. I can still sing it in Italian to this day.
Often, he would shorten my nickname to "Toog" He never called me Christine. It would have seemed so strange if he had.
What a unique individual. My cousins and I and all his family will miss him so much.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Any Thoughts About Spirituality?
In the past, I've had a tendency to think of spirituality as something I would ponder in my recliner or discuss with a friend or maybe read about..
It has been brought to my attention that spirituality is similar to faith in that it is a principle of action.
Spirituality does include the element of our quiet moments with the Divine, but it also consists of doing. Spirituality is doing things such as keeping our promises to God, having an increased awareness of the needs of others, having integrity, and having a "buoyancy of spirit" and optimism.
I was happy to discover that spirituality is a talent that can be developed. How exciting is that?
Bruce R. McConkie, LDS Apostle, has said, "Above all talents - greater than any other capacities, chief among all endowments - stands the talent for spirituality."
In the past, I've had a tendency to think of spirituality as something I would ponder in my recliner or discuss with a friend or maybe read about..
It has been brought to my attention that spirituality is similar to faith in that it is a principle of action.
Spirituality does include the element of our quiet moments with the Divine, but it also consists of doing. Spirituality is doing things such as keeping our promises to God, having an increased awareness of the needs of others, having integrity, and having a "buoyancy of spirit" and optimism.
I was happy to discover that spirituality is a talent that can be developed. How exciting is that?
Bruce R. McConkie, LDS Apostle, has said, "Above all talents - greater than any other capacities, chief among all endowments - stands the talent for spirituality."
Monday, October 28, 2013
Jordan Craters
On our way back to the apartment in Caldwell from Jordan Valley, Oregon, we drove to the Jordan Craters. We really weren't sure what we would find. A well maintained gravel road takes you about 24 miles one way. During the last mile the road got a little rougher. Amazingly, we found lava cones/formations which witnessed to us of a tumultuous eruption in ancient times! This particular field of formations is called "Coffee Cup". We were able to drive down into the formations and get right along side of them while in the car! There is a turn-around at the end of the road with a Bureau of Land Management information exhibit.
These lava fields extend for miles and miles across the expanse. One's imagination can run wild contemplating this severe eruption/s.
On our way back to the apartment in Caldwell from Jordan Valley, Oregon, we drove to the Jordan Craters. We really weren't sure what we would find. A well maintained gravel road takes you about 24 miles one way. During the last mile the road got a little rougher. Amazingly, we found lava cones/formations which witnessed to us of a tumultuous eruption in ancient times! This particular field of formations is called "Coffee Cup". We were able to drive down into the formations and get right along side of them while in the car! There is a turn-around at the end of the road with a Bureau of Land Management information exhibit.
These lava fields extend for miles and miles across the expanse. One's imagination can run wild contemplating this severe eruption/s.
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau
The most amazing discoveries can be made out here "in the middle of nowhere!"
While in Jordan Valley, we learned that Jean Baptiste was buried in the vacinity. It was fascinating to read about this man who was really a man of two different worlds. We visited his grave on the way back to Caldwell.
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was born to Sacagawea and a French Canadian trapper named Touissant Charbonneau during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. William Clark was very fond of the boy who was nicknamed "Pomp".
When Sacagawea died, William Clark adopted Jean Baptiste who was approximately seven years old. Jean Baptiste was educated in St. Louis, Missouri. Already knowing several native dialects, he was fluent in English, French, German, and Spanish!
At age eighteen, he toured Europe and Africa. He was close to a German family of nobilitiy.
Not too many years later, he returned to the United States and spent the rest of his life as a fur trapper, trader, military scout, gold prospector, and mountain man.
He died at Inskip Station in Danner (now a ghost town), Oregon from pneumonia. Interestingly he had left Auburn, California and, it is thought, may have been headed to Montana for more prospecting. He was 61 years old.
For you Californians out there, you can visit a memorial plaque in his honor under the cedar tree near the Old Fire House in Old Town, Auburn, California.
The most amazing discoveries can be made out here "in the middle of nowhere!"
While in Jordan Valley, we learned that Jean Baptiste was buried in the vacinity. It was fascinating to read about this man who was really a man of two different worlds. We visited his grave on the way back to Caldwell.
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was born to Sacagawea and a French Canadian trapper named Touissant Charbonneau during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. William Clark was very fond of the boy who was nicknamed "Pomp".
When Sacagawea died, William Clark adopted Jean Baptiste who was approximately seven years old. Jean Baptiste was educated in St. Louis, Missouri. Already knowing several native dialects, he was fluent in English, French, German, and Spanish!
At age eighteen, he toured Europe and Africa. He was close to a German family of nobilitiy.
Not too many years later, he returned to the United States and spent the rest of his life as a fur trapper, trader, military scout, gold prospector, and mountain man.
He died at Inskip Station in Danner (now a ghost town), Oregon from pneumonia. Interestingly he had left Auburn, California and, it is thought, may have been headed to Montana for more prospecting. He was 61 years old.
For you Californians out there, you can visit a memorial plaque in his honor under the cedar tree near the Old Fire House in Old Town, Auburn, California.
Jordan Valley Oregon
This past weekend we spent Saturday and Sunday in Jordan Valley, Oregon which is about an hour and a half south of Caldwell, Idaho. We visited a very small LDS Branch which boasts 15 members max! Norm and I spoke on Sunday on Missionary Work.
There is a possibility that a silver mine may reopen in this area which would bring employment and, hopefully, more members to the branch. We assured the members that we would be praying this will come about.
The Basque People
I've always been intrigued by the Basque people. Their homeland is on the border of Spain and France near the Pyrennes Mountains and the Bay of Biscay. It is said that half of Columbus' crew were Basque men.
Their language is very unique and is called Euskara.
They have tried for ages,it seems, to get their independence from Spain and finally got it in 1936. Unfortunately, the independence was short-lived and Franco's forces totally destroyed Gernika, a major city, during the Spanish Civil War. Many left their homeland rather than live under Spanish rule.
The Basque people of the Jordan Valley region arrived in 1889. They were mainly sheepherders, stone masons, or inn keepers at that time.
This past weekend we spent Saturday and Sunday in Jordan Valley, Oregon which is about an hour and a half south of Caldwell, Idaho. We visited a very small LDS Branch which boasts 15 members max! Norm and I spoke on Sunday on Missionary Work.
There is a possibility that a silver mine may reopen in this area which would bring employment and, hopefully, more members to the branch. We assured the members that we would be praying this will come about.
The Basque People
I've always been intrigued by the Basque people. Their homeland is on the border of Spain and France near the Pyrennes Mountains and the Bay of Biscay. It is said that half of Columbus' crew were Basque men.
Their language is very unique and is called Euskara.
They have tried for ages,it seems, to get their independence from Spain and finally got it in 1936. Unfortunately, the independence was short-lived and Franco's forces totally destroyed Gernika, a major city, during the Spanish Civil War. Many left their homeland rather than live under Spanish rule.
The Basque people of the Jordan Valley region arrived in 1889. They were mainly sheepherders, stone masons, or inn keepers at that time.
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| Carnegie Library 1913 100th Birthday Caldwell, Idaho |
The Caldwell Idaho Carnegie Library just celebrated its 100th Anniversary!
Steel industrialist and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, funded 2,509 Carnegie Libraries between 1883 and 1929 with 1,689 in the United States. Many of the Carnegie Libraries in the United States are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie had an interesting take on a person's life. This life view is called the Andrew Carnegie Dictum.
- Spend the first third of one's life getting all the educaiton one can.
- Spend the next third making all the money one can.
- Spend the last third giving it all away for worthwhile causes.
Andrew Carnegie wanted to be identified by the world as a "positivist."
Friday, October 18, 2013
Picture Gallery
- Brandon, Catherine, and Rachel's First Day in Kindergarten Pictures
- Sammy and Thomas' First Day in School 2013
- Brother and Sister Masters with Bear Denner, Tyler Bennett. We miss our Bear Den!
- Masters Family Birthday Plaque
- Grandma and Grandpa Masters with Grandchildren Before Mission
- Jump Creek Falls Missionary Preparation Day Trip Marsing Idaho
- Clocks, Clocks, Clocks! City of Caldwell Idaho Town Clock
- A Typical Day in the Mission
- Elder William A. Masters Florida Jacksonville Mission
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| At BYU A Few Weeks Before Entering The MTC On August 5, 2013 |
We miss our Bear Den!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Silver City Idaho
Many years ago, we visited the ghost town of Silver City Idaho! Now, many years later, we went again on a day that had just experienced rain and thunder. The mountains, sky, and earth in general were clean and crisp and a feeling of calm was in the air.
We passed through the little town of Murphy where we saw an old cabin, railroad car, and covered wagon to name a few.
Then up we climbed in altitude, marveling at the vistas surrounding us, until we reached Silver City. Who knows which is the greater delight - the beautiful journey to and from Silver City or the many things of yore to experience there, or a little of both!
Interesting Curiosities Pop Up Right And Left
In the little farming town of Homedale Idaho is the New York Cafe owned and operated by New York transplants.
One item on the menu features "salt potatoes", tiny baked potatoes cooked in salt water, drained,served with melted butter, sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper, and popped into the mouth for a delicious culinary experience! Very unique.
We visited a gentleman with a lovely home and yard which were neat as a pin. Some time back, he had some pipe work done and afterwards he wondered what he would do with the large pile of dirt that remained to the right of his home. No problem! He decided to build a mine!
The result is a small mine which we explored with him. Amazingly, he built it to look like a "real mine" complete with mining artifacts, some of which he gleaned from exploring nearby old mining ghost towns of the late 1880's! To top it all off, at Halloween he decorates it to the hilt and the trick or treaters have the time of their life within its confines!
Who has ever seen the likes of this as they've cruised neighborhoods past and present!
In the Sacramento California vicinity, there were hop fields on the way to Jackson California. As a child, I was intrigued with the way the hops grew up the wires and often thought to myself, "How in the world do they make beer from these things?" I still don't know the answer to that question, but hops are alive and well in the farmlands of western Idaho!
Many years ago, we visited the ghost town of Silver City Idaho! Now, many years later, we went again on a day that had just experienced rain and thunder. The mountains, sky, and earth in general were clean and crisp and a feeling of calm was in the air.
We passed through the little town of Murphy where we saw an old cabin, railroad car, and covered wagon to name a few.
Then up we climbed in altitude, marveling at the vistas surrounding us, until we reached Silver City. Who knows which is the greater delight - the beautiful journey to and from Silver City or the many things of yore to experience there, or a little of both!
Interesting Curiosities Pop Up Right And Left
In the little farming town of Homedale Idaho is the New York Cafe owned and operated by New York transplants.
One item on the menu features "salt potatoes", tiny baked potatoes cooked in salt water, drained,served with melted butter, sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper, and popped into the mouth for a delicious culinary experience! Very unique.
We visited a gentleman with a lovely home and yard which were neat as a pin. Some time back, he had some pipe work done and afterwards he wondered what he would do with the large pile of dirt that remained to the right of his home. No problem! He decided to build a mine!
The result is a small mine which we explored with him. Amazingly, he built it to look like a "real mine" complete with mining artifacts, some of which he gleaned from exploring nearby old mining ghost towns of the late 1880's! To top it all off, at Halloween he decorates it to the hilt and the trick or treaters have the time of their life within its confines!
Who has ever seen the likes of this as they've cruised neighborhoods past and present!
In the Sacramento California vicinity, there were hop fields on the way to Jackson California. As a child, I was intrigued with the way the hops grew up the wires and often thought to myself, "How in the world do they make beer from these things?" I still don't know the answer to that question, but hops are alive and well in the farmlands of western Idaho!
Sopjhia Ann Masters
Ryan David Masters
On August 30, 2013, Sophia Ann Masters was born.
On October 2, 2013, Ryan David Masters was born.
We love these two little Masters!
When grandchildren are born, the thought often comes as to whether they will rise to the occasion and carry this world forward toward good things. For the most part, we can rest assured that this will happen. These new little ones have come to this earth at the precise time they were meant to and things will move forward as planned by the Lord.
Ryan David Masters
On August 30, 2013, Sophia Ann Masters was born.
On October 2, 2013, Ryan David Masters was born.
We love these two little Masters!
When grandchildren are born, the thought often comes as to whether they will rise to the occasion and carry this world forward toward good things. For the most part, we can rest assured that this will happen. These new little ones have come to this earth at the precise time they were meant to and things will move forward as planned by the Lord.
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| Sophia Ann Masters - Daughter of Norman S. & Kimberly Masters Born August 30, 2013 |
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| Kevin Masters With New Brother Ryan David Masters - Son of Matthew & Amber Masters Born October 2, 2013 |
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| Christine at Murphy, Idaho - Notice the Construction of the Log Cabin |
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| Norm at Murphy Idaho |
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| Is This Paradise Or What? |
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| Old Corral On The Road To Silver City, Idaho |
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| Hop Field (Hops Are Used In Making Beer) In Wilder, Idaho |
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| Salt Potatoes (Tiny Potatoes Cooked In Salt Water And Dipped In Melted Butter) |
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| A Yard Display Of Replica Of A Mine (The Mine Contains Interesting Original Mining Artifacts) |
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Stronger Challenges, Stronger Individuals
Difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives, to become better than we were. Only the Lord Himself knows the depths of our trials. He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity. The poet Douglas Malloch expressed it this way in his poem entitled "Good Timber."
Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.
The further the sky, the greater length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
President Thomas S. Monson "I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee" October 2013 LDS General Conference
Difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives, to become better than we were. Only the Lord Himself knows the depths of our trials. He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity. The poet Douglas Malloch expressed it this way in his poem entitled "Good Timber."
Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.
The further the sky, the greater length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
President Thomas S. Monson "I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee" October 2013 LDS General Conference
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Our Greatest Treasure
Next to the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, our greatest treasure in this mortal life is our family.
We strive to speak kindly and be thoughtful, but sometimes we slide backwards and are feisty. When these times come, we get right back up and try again. This is the way it works. It is unquestionably worth it.
Next to the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, our greatest treasure in this mortal life is our family.
We strive to speak kindly and be thoughtful, but sometimes we slide backwards and are feisty. When these times come, we get right back up and try again. This is the way it works. It is unquestionably worth it.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Sunshine and Sorrow
Many times the pathway of life takes a cruel path for us. It is at these times that we ask ourselves, "Shall I falter or shall I finish?"
Of course, the answer is to continue on in good and in bad times because we are promised that The Lord is with us in the best of times and the worst of times.
In addition, the Lord says that He will not fail us, nor forsake us! It is comforting, to say the least, that only the Lord knows the depths of our sorrows. He invites us to come to Him and He will make our burdens light.
It is true that sadness and sorrow are universal, as is joy and hope. Some have struggled in times of challenge, but have been steadfast in their faith because the gospel was the focus of their life. All our brothers and sisters of other faiths and creeds unite with us in making God, our Eternal Father, the anchor of their lives.
In times of both sunshine and sorrow, let us then have faith in God, our Creator, the anchor of our lives!
President Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
LDS General Conference Sunday Morning Session October 6, 2013
With some reflections by Christine Masters!
Many times the pathway of life takes a cruel path for us. It is at these times that we ask ourselves, "Shall I falter or shall I finish?"
Of course, the answer is to continue on in good and in bad times because we are promised that The Lord is with us in the best of times and the worst of times.
In addition, the Lord says that He will not fail us, nor forsake us! It is comforting, to say the least, that only the Lord knows the depths of our sorrows. He invites us to come to Him and He will make our burdens light.
It is true that sadness and sorrow are universal, as is joy and hope. Some have struggled in times of challenge, but have been steadfast in their faith because the gospel was the focus of their life. All our brothers and sisters of other faiths and creeds unite with us in making God, our Eternal Father, the anchor of their lives.
In times of both sunshine and sorrow, let us then have faith in God, our Creator, the anchor of our lives!
President Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
LDS General Conference Sunday Morning Session October 6, 2013
With some reflections by Christine Masters!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
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| Michoacana Restaurant Mural |
The Isla de Janitzio is the main island of Lake Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacan, Mexico.
The area is famous for its butterfly fishermen named for the butterfly shaped nets used to catch the "pescado blanco" - white fish. The statue atop the hill is named for Jose Maria Morelos, a great hero of Mexico's independence.
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| Boone Memorial Presbyterian Church |
Intersperced among the vintage homes in our neighborhood is this beautiful church.
Reverend William Boone founded the church in 1888 and later, in 1891, he founded the College of Idaho, just down the street! Interestingly, the moulded exterior brickwork consists of bricks from a demolished local schoolhouse and a demolished court house.
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| Old Caldwell Home |
This home is representative of the unique and archetecturally diverse homes in Old Caldwell.
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| Old Fashion Garden |
Who wouldn't be tempted to take a leisurely morning stroll though a neighborhood filled with flowers and inviting gardens!
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| Sister Masters At Caldwell Rodeo Arena |
The Caldwell Rodeo is listed among the top 20 Professional Rodeos in the nation. It is one of the rodeos listed on the profession rodeo tour.
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| Elder Masters Beside Indian Creek In Caldwell Idaho |
For years Indian Creek was basically covered in Caldwell by buildings. The downtown area became run down and city planners decided to unearth the creek and create a beautiful park/walkway beside the creek. As you can see in the picture, this area now invites city dwellers to come and enjoy the peaceful surroundings.
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