Melva Gifford

A lot of us are collectors. For those of us who like to read we might have hundreds, perhaps thousands of books. If we like movies or TV shows that we like to watch more than once we might have gathered an extensive collection throughout the years. Today’s book of lists topic is Ideas behind creating a digital database so you can access any relevant information when necessary.

The virtue of having a digital database is:
1. It can be constantly updated.
2. It can be accessed as a hard copy or softcopy
3. Once you create the general format of one list of data you can use that foundation to start documenting an entirely new list of important information.
4. It can help track missing items.
5. In a format such as in Word’s Excel or Works spreadsheet you can create filters and thus list your collection in any particular sequence
6. You can easily search a digital list where looking for something on a hard copy might be easily missed.

For my collection of books I might list:
Book title
Author
Genera (mainstream; action; SF; F; nonfiction; children, anthology, romance etc.
Rating (G/PG/other)
Publish date or signature (If I’m a collector)
Purchase price and from who purchased (If I’m a collector)
Loaned to: who and when)
Type of book: i.e.: if humor or sad to match my mood upon a reread.
Condition of book (in case I need to replace my dog-eared favorite)
A brief synopsis of the story of the book to help me remember the story.
Web links to the author’s web page.
Page length (in case I want a short or long read)
Favorite scenes in a series: what key scenes in what books
Link to artist web page
Web links to articles or fan pages.
Color code for easy visual access of types of books

For movies I might have:
Title:
Key actors:
Movie type:
Rating:
Reviews:
Synopsis:

Additional notes:
Once you create the format of one list of information for books, it could be easily altered for your collection of music.

Everything that I loan out, I put my name on it. When you donate to some charities, they will often send you a bunch of little address tags to get you to donate to them again. I use those to put on the packaging of movies I loan out. I also document when I lent it and to who.

For author name: I might put last name on a separate column from first name in case I want to search by first name. I might also put down any related pen names in case I want to group a certain author and all their pen names in the same section of the list.

If a book is part of a series I like putting the name of the series and what sequence each book is in. This helps me see what books I am missing. It also insures that I read them in the right sequence. By making a hard copy, that I update a couple of times a month, I can go to a new or used book store and compare my list to the books on the shelves and avoid duplications. Many libraries will have book sales of books that have been donated or that have been dog-eared so they can get newer versions. This is a great way to check out different writers.

A great source for titles of a series, or pen names is the site: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ . If you want to read fiction written by fans of a certain writer, movie or TV show, check out http://www.fanfiction.net.

A good friend of mine gave me a wonderful tip on how to file documents. Usually I put items in folders behind the alphabet that the title of the paper matches the most. She suggested I assign each document a number. The first 25 documents go into the folder 1-25. The next set of 25 goes into folder header 26-50 etc. On a separate list (digital or hard copy) I create titles pages for folders 1-25 and files 26-50 etc.

The wonderful thing about this process is that I can list the article under multiple subjects. Let’s say that there is an article is about compassion. The same article is also about single mothers and Firemen. I want to list that one article under all three headers in case I need one of the three to remember the piece. So I would list it under compassion and under single mothers and under firemen. There is one article but three references. Thus the cross-referencing can help me find my needed document when necessary.
Well there you go a few ideas when you start crating a digital list of your collection, whatever it, or they may be.

Object Lesson: The traits of physical, mental and spiritual growth.

Today’s lesson for use in youth ministries, home devotionals or family home evening is on: The traits of physical, mental and spiritual growth.

When we are conceived, we are at the beginning of our lives. Our physical size is not only an indication of our infancy of body but the beginning of growth for our minds and spirit. Through the years our bodies grow as we nurtured by our parents. We learn to walk and talk in imitation of those around us. Our minds learn things from others in our lives and their instruction. Our spirits already have a relationship with God as we are his children. He is our Heavenly Father. Our spiritual decision can be influenced by the Holy Spirit to prompt our actions. We gain additional wisdom and insights through family and teachers about God, his love, his scriptures and commandments.

Items needed for this object lesson:
Different sizes of clothes from Toddler to big adults including shoes and socks.

Put all the clothes in a big pile and mix them up. Now have every student or family member grab a shoe, piece of clothing and sock. Have them try to put on their item on top of their current clothes. It’s not likely that the clothes will fit. A father or adult may have the pants of a two year old. A boy might have gotten his sister’s dress. A toddler may have gotten a size twelve shoe. Have a fun time trying to put on some object that does not fit your body type.

When we start life we have the smallest sized clothes that fit our youthful bodies. As we advance from child to teen our clothes are altered again to match body type and maybe style. From teen to adult, our clothes might be influence by our occupation. Accessories such as buttons, shoe laces and belts enable clothes to fit more security to our body types.

We began learning. As toddlers we learn how to walk and talk. At a certain age we start school where we learn how to read and write. Our minds and intellect continue to grow as we move from reading and writing to math, history and social studies. We learn how to interact with one another. After leaving school we may pursue higher education to specialize in a certain area of knowledge or we might be trained to work in a certain occupation. We can continue to learn by reading and studying throughout our lives.

God is interested in our spiritual progression. He has given us leaders, disciples and prophets, to represent him throughout the centuries. Moses, Isaiah and Norah are some of the most well-known. The scriptures depict the words of prophets. We have commandments to help us make good decisions. Prayer, scriptures study, living a righteous life as influenced by the Holy Spirit can aid us in our spiritual growth. Seek out the words of the prophets and his modern day disciples to build our spiritual progression.

Our body, minds and spirit are in continual flux. The three need constant attention. If we have exercised the body we may have longer endurance for certain tasks. The same thing might be accomplished with us studying something so intensely that we might become an authority on a certain subject. Our efforts to constantly seek God’s will, often enable us to feel prompting to act on his behalf in an act of compassion or to get a personal answer to prayer.

And just like the bodies need clothes to match a particular moment of growth so we should concentrate how we nurture our minds and spirits. Life is in constant motion. If we must move, then let’s move forward rather than backwards in a continuing effort to grow a healthy intellect and spirit.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=i+know+you+think+this+is+a+toaster

Irreantum, the literary magazine of the Association for Mormon Letters

Irreantum, the literary magazine of the Association for Mormon Letters, will be accepting submissions to our 2012 literary contests until May 31, 2012. Prizes range from $100-$300 and include possible publication in Irreantum. Our fiction and creative nonfiction contests are supported by a grant from the Eugene England foundation, and our poetry contest is supported by a grant from Mary Ann Taylor. Because Irreantum is a journal dedicated to exploring Mormon culture, submissions that relate to the Mormon experience will be given preference in judging. Authors need not be LDS. Please visit http://irreantum.mormonletters.org/ for contest rules and further information.
 
From an email from Angela Hallstrom 4-5-12

Presence Located in the area or vicinity
When I want to restrict access to a certain area of my yard I present a fence around the area.
PRES-f-ENCE.

Present at the current time or right now
A lot of people have sent their presents early in the mail
Pre-SENT

Picture a photo or image of someone
Taking a picture is a cure to not forgetting someone
Picture
PI-CtURE
or:
I’m PICky of how my photo is taken

Pitcher a container with a handle
One way I remember this it that after PITcher plays a baseball game. Her favorite thing is to drink a Cup water from her pitcher of water.
PITcher Cup HER Pitcher

Found this web site: check it out http://spellingcoach.com/

I am trying to learn gardening. And with enough practice maybe I’ll have a few plants survive through harvest. Today’s topic is what can we plant now in Utah.

Items you can plant in Utah county are lettuce, peas, radish , beats, potatoes, onions and spinach. For the Dixie area down south everything is moved a month ahead.

Many people will start early plantings some things in the fall. Carrots: September 10-15; Onions, August 1-15; and Spinach, September 15-25.

Useful links:
http://extension.usu.edu/utah/htm/horticulture/
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/utgard/
http://www.utahcountyonline.org/dept/Exten/Horticulture/WeeksQuestions.asp
http://www.co.utah.ut.us/dept/Exten/Horticulture/UtahVegetables.asp