DL here. I just got back from Tae Kwon Do. Our family drove up in our minivan on the way to Tae Kwon Do class but I decided to walk down with my brother, Di. It turned out that both of us ran down the whole way. I heartily recommend that to anyone who just wants a bit of exercise. Run downhill a cool night just for a little bit. If you run really hard, then you get cramps. At least I do. If you have long hair, let it out behind you. I don’t know why but I like running downhill on a cool night with my hair flowing behind me. Thought that I’d recommend it for somebody else to try. It just feels good b/c it’s not too hot nor too cold outside and I like the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair. Interesting, huh? That’s all for now. Just a short and sweet post. Signing off. -DL

DL here again. I’ll catch up on some Mansion news. Everything is green again, the trees have their leaves back and it’s warm enough so there are dandelions popping up all over the place. People have been hoeing in the fields by our house. I don’t think that they’ve planted yet. There is a marked section for Long Term Staff gardens. There are 4 or 5 LTS women who are doing gardens. Mom started her garden, she hasn’t planted anything yet. We have a little space right in front of our house and Mom put in some dwarf sunflower seeds so that will be cool. I think that Mom is planting Chinese veggies, basil, tomatoes, snap peas and some other stuff. She’ll have to write her own post about her garden. Mom’s doing the garden work now but she says that we get to help her with weeding and harvesting. Harvesting is okay, you can see all of the bright colors of the vegetables and you get to eat them. I’m definitely not a fan of weeding. That’s just me. I’d like to meet someone who does enjoy weeding.  The weather has been nice although we have some rainy days inbetween. Mom recently put her plants into the ground, she said that she wanted to put them in before it rained. This isn’t the best post but I’m definitely not an expert on gardening. Hope spring is pleasant wherever you are! Bye for now. -DL

Golden raspberries, mmmm!

Dad writing:

I wanted to write about something simple and simply delicious.  We spent 14 years in berry heaven in Portland, Oregon area.  We had awesome strawberries, blueberries, marionberries (created in Oregon), raspberries, and boysenberries.  But along the garden path from our home up to the dining hall, there are these lush bushes of raspberries of the “late” variety in that they bear fruit in late August through September assuming no frost.  

I was struck by the beauty and uniqueness of golden raspberries.  They are frankly more delectable and sweeter than their red companions in the next bush.  I was chatting with one of Ag (agriculture) guys, and he was telling me that many fruits and vegetables we eat come in different colors naturally.  But because of consumer expectations such as tomatoes ought to be red, the other colors are never seen except outside the grocery store.

I appreciate the creativity of God in creating such diverse flora on this earth. To me picking a couple of golden raspberries on the way to work or lunch or a meeting is like a sweet juicy kiss on my cheek from God for my journey.  And Can It Be that God should care about me. I stand in awe of His Love.