Category Archives: My Projects

Pupdate – Zodiac

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Zodiac is now 3/4 of the way through his formal harness training to become a guide dog! This week’s phase report has him in phase 6 of 8 phases. The next class in Oregon starts on August 5th. It is unlikely that he will be “class ready” by then but the following class he probably will be. Then the challenge becomes finding the right partner for Zodiac. He needs just the right kind of handler, one that can appreciate his love of life and exuberance and being jumped on occasionally. I’m expecting it to take a while for him to graduate.

Zodiac has always had a zest for life. He is a fun-loving boy and loves to be out doing things, going new places and making new friends. Zodiac is sure that everyone he meets is just as happy to meet him. He is ever the optimist that something fun is just around the corner. I love the happy light that is typically in Zodiac’s eyes and his exuberance for life.

“My Grandma Mary” on Amazon!

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I just checked on Amazon and “My Grandma Mary” is there and available for sale! It is amazing to see it there for real. I Just had to share this milestone in family stories here. Plus we got it done by Pioneer Day, which is July 24th. The day that Brigham Young and the first batch of Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. I seems like a fitting day to complete this step of my journey to learn about Mary Taylor and share her story.

“My Grandma Mary” update – hidden pictures

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So I’ve official finished editing “My Grandma Mary” and now we are just waiting for the box of books I’ve ordered to print! I’m so excited and nervous as the same time. That takes me to the next step in the Doable approaching to telling your family stories, link. This book brings a whole new area to learn in sharing it with a broader audience.

One of the fun things about this book is that we have put hidden images throughout the book that represent other stories from the Martin Handcart Company that we didn’t put into the main storyline. The book refers to this blog for help in finding these images. I decided to do 4 levels of hints. The first level of hints in under the “My Grandma Mary” tab above and the rest I wrote as post that you can see below. I have links to these posts of the “My Grandma Mary” tab. Hopefully that this will work well in helping those who get stuck finding all the images. Some of them are really pretty easy but some are much harder. DOABLE Sidebar L

“My Grandma Mary” hidden pictures key

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Key to Finding the Hidden Pictures:

A Goose: hint – fireplace – page 2 lower left

A Wooden Box: hint – resting place – page 14 lower left

A Coin: hint – river crossing – page 24 upper right corner

Scales: hint – Brigham – page 27 lower right

False Teeth: hint – ocean – page 12 lower left

An Apple: hint – elms – page 4 upper left

A Teacup: hint – sewing – page 11 lower right

Salt Shaker: hint – train – page 15 lower left

A Bar of Soap: hint – baptism – page 9 middle right

Buffalo Chips: hint – Indians – page 16 lower right

A Musical Note: hint – clouds – page 22 middle

An Onion: hint – carriage – page 29 lower right

A Pair of Shoes: hint – fun – page 20 & 21 middle

Can you find the hidden picture that isn’t listed in the back of My Grandma Mary?

A Wolf: hint – sleeping – page 19 lower right

After the snows came, the ground was frozen so hard that graves could not be dug, so they covered the bodies of the dead with brush and snow. This only provided a temporary barrier from the hungry wolves who were waiting nearby. In Martin’s Cove the burying-ground was up over a little rise which sheltered the main camp from the howling and snarling of the wolves over the bodies of their loved ones.

 

Still need help with “My Grandma Mary” Hidden pictures

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Hints in Finding the Hidden Pictures:

A Goose: hint – fireplace – page 2 lower left

A Wooden Box: hint – resting place – page 14 lower left

A Coin: hint – river crossing – page 24 upper right corner

Scales: hint – Brigham – page 27 lower right

False Teeth: hint – ocean – page 12 lower left

An Apple: hint – elms – page 4 upper left

A Teacup: hint – sewing – page 11 lower right

Salt Shaker: hint – train – page 15 lower left

A Bar of Soap: hint – baptism – page 9 middle right

Buffalo Chips: hint – Indians – page 16 lower right

A Musical Note: hint – clouds – page 22 middle

An Onion: hint – carriage – page 29 lower right

A Pair of Shoes: hint – fun – page 20 & 21 middle

Can you find the hidden picture that isn’t listed in the back of My Grandma Mary?

Wolf

A Wolf: hint – sleeping – page 19 lower right

After the snows came, the ground was frozen so hard that graves could not be dug, so they covered the bodies of the dead with brush and snow. This only provided a temporary barrier from the hungry wolves who were waiting nearby. In Martin’s Cove the burying-ground was up over a little rise which sheltered the main camp from the howling and snarling of the wolves over the bodies of their loved ones.

“My Grandma Mary” hidden pictures key

Some More Hints for “My Grandma Mary” Hidden pictures

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Hints in Finding the Hidden Pictures:

A Goose: hint – fireplace

A Wooden Box: hint – resting place

A Coin: hint – river crossing

Scales: hint – Brigham

False Teeth: hint – ocean

An Apple: hint – elms

A Teacup: hint – sewing

Salt Shaker: hint – train

A Bar of Soap: hint – baptism

Buffalo Chips: hint – Indians

A Musical Note: hint – clouds

An Onion: hint – carriage

A Pair of Shoes: hint – fun

Can you find the hidden picture that isn’t listed in the back of My Grandma Mary?

Wolf

A Wolf: hint – sleeping

After the snows came, the ground was frozen so hard that graves could not be dug, so they covered the bodies of the dead with brush and snow. This only provided a temporary barrier from the hungry wolves who were waiting nearby. In Martin’s Cove the burying-ground was up over a little rise which sheltered the main camp from the howling and snarling of the wolves over the bodies of their loved ones.

Still need help?

Hidden pictures key

 

Pupdate – Zodiac

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Today marks two months exactly since we put Zodiac on the truck for his formal harness training. He was still listed in phase 4 on the report this week. Though it is most likely that is his trainer not updated his records just like happened with phase 1. I was expecting it this week so it wasn’t so disappointing. In the past two months we have gotten used to Zodiac not being around but we think about him and pray for his future every single day. Go Zodiac!

The day started out dark and rainy but by the time we got there the sky was blue and the sun was shining. What a beautiful day! Zodiac got to meet his brother Zenith. They are so much a like in temperament, but Zenith has a leaner build than Zodiac. We took one last walk with Zodiac and Dune and then put Zodiac on the puppy truck to return to GDB to start is harness training. Though we already miss him it was a day we have been working toward for over a year. Now we wait and watch the phase reports to see what Zodiac decides to do with his life.

“My Grandma Mary” update

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I got the proof for “My Grandma Mary” on Friday afternoon! Yeah! Overall it looks good but a few of the illustrations are too dark and I forgot the retail price on the back cover. So today I’ve adjusted illustrations and made some more edits. I plan to upload the revisions tomorrow and go from there. One disadvantage of Lightning Source is that there is a charge for every time you upload a new file.

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Pupdate – Zodiac

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Zodiac has finally moved on from phase 1! Not only has he moved on but he has jumped to phase 4! I’m so excited and relieved. I was beginning to worry that he wasn’t enjoying training and/or his stubborn side was interfering with his training. Since two other dogs have showed up on the phase report with the same numbers as Zodiac, the most likely reason is that the trainer didn’t update their status for a couple of weeks.

The only thing about Zodiac that  is fine and light is his hair. He is a lab so he has plenty of hair. It is the thickest and scruffiest of all our puppies. Though as he has grown up it doesn’t seem so scruffy.

“My Grandma Mary” update

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I seem to have jumped through all the hoops to get a proof copy of “My Grandma Mary” printed by Lightning Source! I got an email today confirming the order from last week. The holiday has slowed things down but if I understand how it works, I should have the proof copy in my hand this week! I’m really excited to see it. If everything looks good than I will make it available for sell asap. My mom is usually really patient about histories but on this one she asks me about it every time I talk to her. It has taken a long time to get to this point. I’ve learned so much. But I’m sure there is a lot more to learn.

One thing I’ve realized is I’m glad there are places like Blurb and places like Lightning Source. Even though they are both print on demand companies their business models and target customers are completely different. I can see that I’ll be using both companies in the future depending on the project. For small runs, Blurb is a better choice. For books with a larger audience Lightning Source can be the better choice. While Blurb has a higher price per book they have no set up costs and no on going cost to keep the book available to print. While LSI has a much cheaper price per book they set up cost of about $100 mean you have to order at least a certain number of books to make it more cost-effective than Blurb. In the case of “My Grandma Mary” you have to order at least 5 copies to make LSI a more cost-effective option.

I’m still waiting to see how the quality of Lightning Source compares to Blurb.

 

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