Friday, April 2, 2021

7 Quick Takes about How Androids Do Leisure Activities, the Great Backpack Cleanout, and Things I'm Looking Forward to About This Easter

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?

1


There are many suboptimal things about Zoom church, but one thing that's kind of cool is how you can join in from anywhere, even if you live nowhere nearby. 

When my kids have played musical numbers or when I gave a talk in church, my out-of-state parents have loved being able to watch. And conversely, we can do something similar.

On Sunday, I learned through the grapevine that Brandon Flowers from The Killers was doing a devotional in his home congregation in Utah and, thanks to a Zoom link courtesy of my daughter's seminary teacher's cousin who lives there, we were able to "be there," too (because I really like The Killers.) How cool is that?

2


I've been with Phillip for 23 years, and I've never seen him do a puzzle. Well, maybe once. But I can't recall if he actually participated in putting it together or he just hovered nearby while the rest of us did it.

So I was pretty surprised when he sat down and joined us working on the 1,000-piece monster I brought home from the library exchange last week. 

It turns out that Phillip's approach to doing puzzles would best be described as "computer algorithm." 

I was so fascinated watching him fill in the puzzle from left to right, organizing the loose pieces in rows according to shape so he could quickly eliminate the rows that wouldn't fit.

Was it efficient? Yes? Did it look enjoyable? Not really.

"Are you having fun?" I kept asking skeptically. "It just doesn't really look like you're having fun."

"Well, how do you do puzzles?" he finally asked me.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I look for one about the right color and try it if it looks like it might fit."

After a few moments of silence Phillip said, "That sounds horrible."

On a related note, when I was a kid I had a crush on Data from Star Trek. I'm not sure if that's relevant here but I have a feeling that it is.

3


My kids went back to full-time, in-person school this week. Up until now they've been doing hybrid (two days at school, three days at home) so they had quite a few materials to bring in that they've been keeping at home or carrying back and forth with them.

Last weekend I asked everyone to clean out their backpacks and get them ready, but the 9-year-old told me "there's not really anything in there."

Girl, please. I've been hearing lies like that longer than you've been alive. You can't fool me.

This is what "not really anything" looks like.

4


The kids are starting spring soccer soon, so this week's project was to inventory their soccer gear and order anything they don't have. 

My 4-year-old is going to be playing soccer for the first time, so finding him some shin guards was my first task. I know from the review that the ones I ordered will be perfect because this is exactly how pee-wee soccer works:


Next, I bought some more water bottles because my kids keep losing/breaking theirs, and found a kindred mom of 4 in the reviews with the same problem. She planned on buying a second round of water bottles, but wisely noted this at the end so I knew she was a seasoned parent who could be trusted:


5


I'm really looking forward to this weekend, because it's general conference! Twice a year, the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do a worldwide broadcast where they share inspiring messages that help me be a better mom, friend, and Christian.

Want to watch with me? You don't have to be a member of my church or any church, and you don't even have to put on real pants because it's all online. 

This special invitation from the president and prophet of the church gives you a preview of what you can expect, and it explains why I love it when general conference coincides with Easter:


A list of viewing times and ways you can watch general conference are here if you're interested. I hope you join in!

6


Because we'll all be watching general conference instead of regular church this weekend, my local congregation had its Easter-themed service last Sunday.

During the service I was leaned over, whispering explanations into the 4-year-old's ear to help him understand what we were talking about.

"But why did He have to die for us?" he asked.

In a whisper, I tried to explain that Heaven is a special place where there's no sin allowed. Heavenly Father really wants us to live there with Him, but it's impossible because we all have sins and make mistakes! So Heavenly Father sent Jesus to suffer and die for us, and take away our mistakes  then we can be resurrected and go live with Him and God again after we die.

That must have been kind of heavy for a 4-year-old to absorb, because he just sighed and said loudly, "Okay, but that still doesn't give me a clue."

7


Having finished the puzzle from Take #2 with the kids, I decided to pick up another one from the puzzle exchange table at the library. 

Being Easter this weekend, I thought The Last Supper would be appropriate.

Another 1,000 piecer. Somebody help me.

The kids are off school today for Good Friday and it's going to be kind of chilly, so this will be a good thing to do indoors all day. 

Happy Easter!

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

When Kara and kids were here in January they started a 1000 piece Avatar puzzle. One of those puzzles where much of the puzzle is subtle gradations. I've been slogging away on it. And I use Phillip's method. Though I have my pieces organized in trays since I'm working on a card table. If it weren't for that I couldn't do it. Plus its Megans puzzle and she told me it wasn't a random pattern but the pieces are in vertical rows. So I know how the various shapes are oriented. And in spite of all that I've still been working on it off and on since January! Getting close. I never thought of myself as a computer algorithm kind of person though I am concrete sequential. On another note I just love how the 4 yr old expresses thoughts. Pretty heavy subject for 4.

PurpleSlob said...

Wow! I would NOt be able to do a puzzle with Phillip!! lol
Stand in a circle and kick each other! lol
Happy Resurrection Day!! He is risen!