Once Upon a time...

Goldielocks came to live with the three bears, Daddy Bear, Momma Bear, and baby Josiah bear. Or did Goldielocks just come home to Daddylocks, Mommylocks and Josiahlocks after being in the bears house. I guess it depends upon the version Goldie Emma chooses to tell.

Pancakes

This is what I make once or twice a week for my family now...can you believe it?

I, Rishi, have disliked pancakes for more than twenty years. My memory claims that as a child I was fed pancakes every morning for one year. I think it was the baking powder or something, but by the end of the year I wanted to puke and did so quite often. I know, I know, it was all in my head, but after awhile I just refused to eat them anymore.

...until now. A few months ago, as Josiah was getting old enough to eat from the table, I was getting tired of the same thing again every morning for breakfast so I began experimenting and got brave enough to try pancakes.

They weren't to good at first and the first couple of attempts were a month or two apart. But eventually I got better. That was in part due to my father Arrel. He came to visit and suggested that I beat an egg and put it in the batter, making the pancakes fluffier. He also suggested I put some powdered milk in the batter to make them darker.

Both suggestions have been great and now we are happy with our experimintation. So here is hurray for pancakes and two little kids who were the only ones who could make me try them again.

Princess for a Day

Princess Goldie got up this morning and went to the library for a special tea time story hour. She got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with princess fruit snacks.













She hob-nobbed with princesses from the surrounding community.












This particular princess is one with whom she has created a special bond at storytime. Notice the magic princess wand she created.












It was the Fairy Godmother, Miss Lisa, who conducted the story hour, taught princess manners and told royal stories.








After story hour was over she stopped off for a visit at the local Dollar General. She brought a library book to show it where her dad worked and tried to convince Josiah that he should be a prince. But I don't think he was too interested. It was an exciting day!

I love mountains. My mom always told me that it didn’t matter where I lived as long as I lived right. I could never agree with her. I love the family I grew up in, indeed there are times when I desperately wish to be closer in proximity to them.

However, in January 2002, with the help of my mother I moved in my little blue Toyota Corrolla. I left the Wellsville Mountains and traveled to Idaho where the Tetons “almost” reside. Then a couple of days after Christmas I left for Johnson City, Tennessee.

We traveled down to Interstate 40 and then cross country until we reached Tennessee. I remember passing through the western states where the tall mountains loom off in the distance. At times we’d respectfully travel up, up, up into the high mountain passes.

Then there was Texas and Oklahoma where the land lay flat. There was a fierce snowstorm during our travels, but we drove on, getting through about one state every day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Our muffler broke at the top of one mountain near the beginning and after that we had to yell in order to be heard over the racket it was making.

When we got across the Mississippi River at Memphis, I knew we were in a different place. The land had already been changing. There began to be trees on either side of the road. Not pine trees or aspen, but deciduous trees. As long as these trees are green you can’t see anything hidden behind them.

Also, the land began to roll. It went up and down not like my mountains that I loved so well back home, but just enough to make you know you weren’t on flat land anymore.

I was interested in these mountains. After my mom left Tennessee I started school and in my spare time I began to get to investigate them up close. They smelled different. At first I didn’t appreciate that. But a friend told me that these eastern Appalachian Mountains were like a sweet old grandma who takes you in and loves you, enfolding you in her arms.

He also said the Western Mountains, which he’d visited, where like a young stripling warrior proud and standing tall. I liked that assessment.

Eventually, I married and for three years Mike and I lived in a home in Jonesborough, TN. While I loved many things about that place, I did not love the mountains I saw every morning out my front windows. They did not communicate with me except on rare occasions.

I remember being in Logan, Utah and watching the first snow storm of the season descend upon the valley. The clouds were broken up and hung upon the mountain changing it from blue to white. They stood there all day. If it wasn’t so cold I could have watched their dance all day.

The clouds in Jonesborough didn’t talk to their mountains. Each fall season the leaves left them and I finally could see their outline, but then in the summer season they seemed to be green, content to soak up the sun and live a small life.

I suppose that is what I should not have expected more from them, but I continually wished them to communicate with me more. I was asking them to be something different than they were. I thought I was lost to the magnificence of mountain grandeur.

Then I moved to West Virginia.

Because these mountains are also low I did not expect much from them, but I determined to take what they offered. And they surprised me.

They speak to me. I have once again found Mountain Bliss. I see frost on them. I see the clouds rolling in to have a private conversation. I see the sunlight fade upon their stark tree tops. I’m not sure what summer will bring. But the winter has brought a wonderful, magical connection that I thought was lost to me.

I’ve decided that West Virginia deserves its title as “The Mountain State.”

Flat Stanley Came to Visit

Flat Stanley came to visit us. Can you see the deer in the background? We were delighted by them.
Or should I say, Mike and I were delighted?
'Siah and Goldie just fell asleep.
We stayed at my friend Connie Jo's house when I went to defend my thesis. We took our visitor with us and showed him around Connie's farm.
Goldie, Josiah and Flat Stanley rocking out together in the barn.

When we got home we sent him vack to Virginia. It was a fun visit.

One BIG Step Closer to the Finish Line

I am one step closer to my finish line of obtaining a Master's Degree in Storytelling! I defended my thesis last week. February 27, 2008 at 4pm. My family went with me to Johnson City, TN and then I went alone to present part of my story to an official 4 member committee. (There were actually 5 members but one was not official even though she did a lot of work.)

I was a bit nervous or wondered what would happen since I'd never been to defense. In my case I had to tell a portion of the story I've been working on. Then I sat down and they asked me questions and told me things that needed to be different in my 92 page paper.

I answered their questions and took the copies of the paper they had marked up. Then I thanked them all and two members of the committee went to dinner with my family. So, this morning I've entered nearly all their corrections into my draft and within the next few days I will be submitting it to the graduate school.

They will send me corrections which I will enter into my document and then when the graduate school is satisfied I will graduate. It will happen this semester. Although I wrote it out I don't dare say it to loud. I am pleased and thrilled.

All I can say is YIPPEE, its almost done.

Rishi Allen Richardson

...Christmas from Nephi and Katherine

It's difficult to see except in the middle picture when my heads cut off, but we got these awesome aprons from Nephi and Katherine for Christmas. Katherine sewed them and we all love them. Goldie because hers has a princess on them and Josiah because it keeps him clean. I've even learned to like pink a little bit more.

Thanks a bunch Katherine and Nephi!