Glorious Fall 2026

(The front of Mount Timpanogos)

                 How quickly this (above) turns into this (below)!

     Along the road and trails of the Alpine Loop (backside of Mount       Timpanogos); and it's almost in my "backyard"!

We've gotten some rain--even thunderstorms-- but Bridal Veil Falls in the Provo Canyon is still thirsty!

BYU Dance groups are so beautiful and talented we all want to dance

    .......and listen to gorgeous music by talented and famous musicians

Ken, Emily and the rest of us love watching Andrew and Timpview HS basketball games....where do they get the energy and develop such amazing skills? (many hours and years of practice)!

We love to celebrate family birthdays: Luke (24), Simon (17) and Hannah (19). George (21) went to watch football after dinner.

                       BYU campus has something for everyone! 

The International Cinema is free and shows thought-provoking films, like Los Olvidados (1950 Mexican barrios filled with poverty and gangs, victimization and recruitment of very young boys) and...

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Total Trust : In China, big data and government power combine to exercise perfect control over citizens. Three women fight for their rights against a surveillance state that employs face recognition, big data analysis, and behavioral scoring systems. The film particularly focuses on Chang Weiping, now "free" after years of imprisonment. 

Chinese authorities have released human rights attorney Chang Weiping, sending him to live in the southern island province of Hainan under a travel ban following the completion of his 3 1/2-year jail term for "subversion," his U.S.-based wife said on Tuesday. Chang was released from Weinan Prison near his birthplace in the northern province of Shaanxi on July 8, his wife Chen Zijuan told RFA Mandarin in an interview.Prison officers took him to Haikou, the provincial capital of Hainan, where his household registration, or “hukou,” is, but a place he has scant ties to now.

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The past few days have been celebratory for Palo Alto friend Nate Bonham as he marries Naomi Schuerch from Belgium...beautiful reception! I found out I had served with her sister at the MTC!

and very sad for those of us who loved and will greatly miss our brave and beautiful Kristin Rose as she returns to her Heavenly home.

In the semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ this past weekend we were reminded by inspired leaders that this relatively short (though at times feeling very long) earth life is a time to learn, grow, make mistakes, develop eternal relationships with family and friends, and draw closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, who love all people, regardless of flaws, race, creed, education, intelligence, outward appearance, politics, or anything else. We are here together to help, teach, and serve each other with the time, talents and skills we have been given or developed. Through the grace that comes to all through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we, with healthy bodies and minds, will see our ancestors and loved ones again. I look forward to continuing my friendship with dear Kristin and so many others who have gone ahead. 

Wishing you all a beautiful, healthy, & happy October! Try to focus on the big picture, not the small setbacks and daily challenges if you can!

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           Art and Culture in Reykjavik, Iceland

In addition to the glorious natural beauty of Iceland, Iceland has produced some wonderful artists working in several different media.

Einar Jonsson (1874-1954) was the first Icelandic sculptor to make a career in his art. His first works focused on depicting reality, inspired by Icelandic folklore, psychology and emotions, as well as Greek and Norse mythology. After 1903, he subscribed to Symbolism, emphasizing its ideological content, imagination, fantasy and spiritual aspects rather than its style. From 1910 on he made allegorical works, and also produced many statues of renowned Icelanders around the city and elsewhere, among them Jon Sigurdsson, leader of the Icelandic Independence movement in 19th century. In 1909 he offered all his works to the Parliament if they would build a museum to house them. Funds were raised and it opened its doors in 1923, the first Icelandic museum open to the public, showing works of Einar's 60 year career. He and his wife lived on the top floor, with a kitchen and bath on the ground floor. After his death she remained director. In the lovely garden behind are displayed 26 bronze casts of his works. 

front (above) and back (below)

               In the garden some of my favorites are the following:

                                            Mother Earth

                                                     Sleep

                                            Light and Shade

                                        Mother and Child

                                                    Spring

                                      Thor Wrestling with Age

                                                       Fate               

Monument to Hallgrimur Petursson (1614-74), among Iceland's foremost poets who wrote the Passion Hymns (read and sung during Lent for centuries). Behind is the iconic church named after him. At the front of the sculpture is the suffering poet and his spiritual strength. The people of Iceland figure below his poems.

Inside the museum are the plaster casts, other sculptures and paintings of many of the sculptures:

The Poet (Jonas Hallgrimsson, 1807-1845)

(1904) Grief and Joy: 2 female faces in opposite directions, one displaying joy, the other sorrow (2 faces of the same person). Between them stand a man and a woman back to back holding hands. The work may also be interpreted in light of relationships and marriage.

Ingofur, Iceland's first permanent settler (874) who made his home in Reykjavik

"Dawn". Stories of night trolls that turn to stone if caught in the rays of the sun are common in Icelandic folklore. The best known is of a girl left alone in charge of the farmstead on Christmas night. By exchanging stories with him all night she wins, and he is turned to stone. Victory of spirit over matter, light over darkness, good over evil.

            The Spell Broken: A knight saves the girl from the dragon (representing heathenism in the St. George legend). In gratitude the townspeople adopt the Christian religion. Or human will throwing off fetters that confined it.

              Deliverance: Christ carrying a person on His shoulders. 

                The child and adult show the cycle of life and death.

                                            
The Octopus:A large octopus emerges from a shell and human figures are entangled in its tentacles, a man fighting the octopus, symbolizing the human struggle for spiritual freedom and autonomy.

         The amazingly talented hands of a truly remarkable artist

            Statue of Christ (1946) at the moment He received the Holy Spirit. The model was 18 year old Gudmundur Gudmundsson (1927097) who went on to be a labor leader and parliamentarian. The face is not his, only the hands and neck.

I'm so grateful to get to know a bit about Einar Jonssonar, this remarkable and influential sculptor.

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Some favorites from the National Gallery of Iceland: House of Collections

Asgrimur Jonsson: Flight from Volcanic Eruptions

Juliana Sveinsdottir: Eiriksjokull Glacier (1922)

Jon Stefansson: Loons at the Pjorsa River (1929)

Nature

Gannet (largest sea bird in the North Atlantic) in the great bird exhibit

The Heart

Fishing has long been a major livelihood of Iceland

for men and women (who prepared the fish for market and eating)

A strong shipwrecked Icelandic sailor

Women preparing fish

Finnur Jonsson's Morning (1927)

Fishing Boat

Karl Dunganon: Oracles 20

Elves and Hidden People(who are good if you don't cross them)

and Trolls (malevolent) are a big part of Icelandic culture

Elf Church

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and from the National Museum of Iceland: a small sample of items

Population map/ origins of Iceland (some early history)

Medieval writing

Many beautiful artifacts of daily life

A bridal costume

Epitaph: memorial plaque to the deceased often hung in churches

tapestry

chests

Evening in the bath house

a pulpit
And throughout the city are other museums, murals/street art and many statues of prominent Icelanders