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I first began cutting, shaping, and polishing stones in the "hobby shop" at BYU circa 1967. Shortly after my Grandfather (Sessal Dellma Allen) died in August of 1982 Grandma (Charlotte Ballard) gave me his lapidary equipment. I was pleased to have it, but it was one of those, "I'll get to it... tomorrow" things, and Grandpa's tools languished, rusting in my shed for 30 some odd years. Well, "tomorrow" finally arrived and, after some small physical exertion and the expenditure of more money than I care to admit, I am pushing the boundaries of what I can do and generally relishing that hobby. My only question is, "Why did I wait so long? My kids would have enjoyed that experience..." Then again, if, at the close of your life, you can look back and not see things you wish you had done, I suspect that you didn't try to do enough. Or, maybe that's just a bad excuse... At any rate, here are some of the ties I have built. At the suggestion of someone who prefers to remain anonymous, I went as far as naming them. I suppose I ought to add these to the list in my last letter.

When a person gets involved in a hobby, it seems like they can never have enough toys. I recently acquired this ultra sonic rock tumbler. Basically, this is a jewellery cleaner on steroids. It has no moving parts and is supposed to polish rocks in about half the time required by a rotary tumbler. To this point, I am about half way through my first batch and it is definitely more difficult than one might suppose from reading the information posted on line. And speaking of "on line," had it not been for ebay and craigs list, I suspect I would not be involved in lapidary at this point. You who grew up with this marketplace have no idea how it has changed the world.

I attended Rachel's baptism but, as is happening with distressing regularity lately, my camera got stuck in my pocket so I didn't get many photo.

Rachel's maternal grandmother was able to attend and I enjoyed visiting with her for a short time.

I also attended the airshow. It seemed like it took forever to walk from the parking lot to the show proper. This is the Osprey. I observed a couple of them practising near Winkleman, but I don't recall ever seeing one in an airshow.

What is known as a "heritage flight" has become popular at airshows. It typically includes one or more vintage (WWII) aircraft flying along side the latest and greatest from our current arsenal.

This year the heritage flight included a P51 Mustang and a F22 raptor. I enjoy seeing this juxtaposition.

This was a static display of the F35 Lightening II. I don't know enough about our current aircraft to comment on improvements.

I claim no expertise in this field, but my intuition suggests that a new addition to the family may be imminent.

So, in with the new, out with the old. I have attended four funerals in the recent past. My father was one of 15 children (giving me 75 first cousins) and my mother was one of 8 children (giving me 22 first cousins). If my information is correct, I still have 3 aunts extant. With a family that large, you could surmise that I might have had the opportunity to become an expert on funerals. In fact, I am already planning mine. So far I have decided that blubbering is optional, but laughing at my jokes is mandatory, so if you don't "get" them, laugh anyway.

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