Mostly about Utah
On Monday I stopped by Motor Trend’s Auto Show in Sandy. My sons Paul and Jake wanted to see it so I went along. In the time I was there, I wasn’t approached once by any salespeople (a positive) and I was able to check out a lot of new autos. I was interested in [...]
Yesterday we only had two hours before dark on Steven’s roof. After helping pull out two tree stumps at our neighbor’s homes, we headed back to Layton to finish the repairs to the roof. We nailed the last shingle by 4pm. Earlier in the day it seemed like the whole of Davis [...]
This year’s Halloween nor’easter has started me thinking about how to heat my apartment if the power goes out for an extended period of time. If the water and gas are still on, one possibility is to make a simple hydronic heating system using the water heater. The basic idea is to hook a hose [...]
Megan moved into the Davis Park YSA Ward in September 2010. She attended the newcomer’s gospel doctrine class that Paul taught. On the day that Megan went Paul was not teaching but he went each week. On 14th October 2010 the ward sponsored a pizza making activity that Paul and Megan attended. Paul made a [...]
We were sitting in the living room when Dan came in and asked Paul if he wanted to go hike to get an old shovel they had found months ago. Paul said that was a good idea and I reluctantly went along, giving them reasons why I didn’t think it was a good idea. We [...]
Last November Paul and I visited Spiral Jetty at Rozel Point. Then the Jetty was several hundred feet away from the waters of the Great Salt Lake. Yesterday Paul revisited Spiral Jetty, accompanied by Megan, with Julie and Dan. They found the Jetty almost submerged. Compare the photographs of the Jetty from November of last [...]
One of the main ingredients for Family Home Evening must surely be the treat. On Sunday, I spied an old can of Lyle’s Black Treacle (by appointment to Her Majesty) on the pantry shelf and prised open the lid, which had printed upon it, “BEST BEFORE OCT 2001″ and “DISPOSE OF ON EXPIRY.” [...]
Paul seems to think my eyes aren’t able to see quite as well as when I was his age. So for his latest project he programmed a jumbo universal remote that Megan bought from Deseret Industries. It cost $1.50 because the battery cover was missing. But there is nothing that Paul can’t fix with a [...]
Paul slid on some ice on a mountain trail two weeks and wrecked his Jeep. Now it is time for repairs.
This is for today’s youth that can’t build anything without first looking it up on the Internet.
Have you ever felt like you were going around in circles? That all you were doing was spinning your wheels? That the next round that life dealt you would be just the same as the last? Well no, not normally. That is until today when Paul asked me if I’d like to get out of [...]
Last Tuesday afternoon found Paul and I heading north to visit Spiral Jetty at Rozal Point. It was a warm day for Northern Utah in November. We drove past the Golden Spike Visitors Center and followed the signs to Spiral Jetty. The dirt road was being graded in places as we traveled closer to the [...]
The odometer is driven by a small unipolar stepper motor. The motor is so small it can be driven directly by the Arduino using the example code found here at Arduino.
Paul decided it was time he took up four wheeling so he bought a 1993 Jeep Cherokee. There was one problem — there always is: when Paul tried to shift into 4-wheel drive there was “a grinding and crunching noise,” as Paul described it, coming from the transfer case. This newly acquired 4-wheel drive vehicle [...]
Steven visited yesterday evening and with his brothers gave my tree a new look.
The women were safely occupied with General Relief Society Meeting so we wouldn’t be disturbed for two hours.
Below is a one minute video of someone many of us know who is teaching himself piano. Can you guess who it is? The identity of the musician is revealed at the end of the video. The title to this post also gives you a clue. The arrangement was purchased for $1 from the Jon [...]
In the photograph above Connie illustrates what the canyon looks like by the pictographs. Not that it helps much I admit. There is a Forest Service marker at one point that warns you not to touch the rock art. We looked at the rock, and even took pictures, but we could not see any art [...]
On Labor Day at 8 am nine adventurous souls set off to find the Parrish Canyon Fremont pictographs. The pictographs are not very far up the canyon.
Paul and Jake tell me that yesterday they launched from the south and sailed to the east on Causey Reservoir. They camped there and then sailed back to the south today.
My son Steven went with the crew of the Good Raft Paul to photograph the launch at Causey Reservoir.
The raft was completed yesterday evening. The second story was braced and disassembled for transportation.
Paul and Jake have all the barrels and the wood they need and this evening are finishing the project. With help from kind friends they were able to complete a portion earlier. If you had no clue what the project was about then the photographs and videos here should make it a little clearer. Click [...]
Paul acquired his last four barrels for $5 each. The next stage of this project involves a lot of wood. No problem, Home Depot is not far away.
Paul has undertaken a number of projects of late. There was the arc welder from microwave ovens (still to be completed); the Halloween costume from a microwave oven; the Arduino AVR High-Voltage Serial Programmer; Green Jell-O Filled Orange Wedges; and Green Jell-O Pineapple Rings.
Derek and Sarah have been back from Texas since June and staying with family. Yesterday it was time for them to move back into their own home.
This year’s Kaysville South Stake 5K Family Fun Run participation was a little lower than usual, probably because of the weather. With rain, temperatures in the 40′s, and a 12 mph wind only the hearty ventured out. Here’s what the weather looked like from where I stood, nice and dry inside the bowery. There were [...]
Paul spends a portion of his time constructing arc-welders from microwaves and making green Jell-O treats. Jell-O pineapple rings are easy to make: Empty juice from a can of pineapple rings. Mix the Jell-O (use green if you live in Utah), substituting juice for water. Use the can as a mold, moving the pineapple rings around to [...]
This year Father’s Day came early. No, I’ve not moved to Romania, Tonga, or Germany (they all celebrate Father’s Day in May). It is just that Paul and Jake decided to move up Father’s Day a whole month.
This month it was Paul’s birthday so we asked him where he wanted to go to eat. He decided on Dairy Queen, which explains the photograph above. He’s the good looking chap in the yellow shirt.
The invitations were sent out and the relatives arrived with varying degrees of gifts. Paul and Jake had present parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, a grandparent, a niece, and a sister-in-law.
On Friday, May 7th, at the University of Utah 141st commencement, 7,034 graduates from all 50 states and 76 countries will receive degrees. We will be with Paul and Jake at the College of Engineering Convocation at the Jon M. Huntsman Center at 6:45 pm.
Rachel agreed to model the Turkish Delight. After eating one bar she wanted to also eat the bar that has been reserved for first prize. Perhaps these Turkish Delights are addictive after all. Well now, write a caption at your own risk.
At the last YSA party Paul put bacon in his Jell-O jigglers. Fortunately for about everyone concerned Paul is out of bacon and so instead he is making Jell-O filled orange wedges.
The admission was free and along with the planes there were a number of displays that taught us about events in history like the Doolittle Raid.
Paul overheard Jill say that she wanted to change the wallpaper on the stairs. So Paul started ripping it off.
Yesterday Susan, Shauna, Jill and I hiked Shepard Creek Trail. Shepard Creek Trail winds out of …
Last Wednesday Jill and I took Bryson to visit Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. The weather was cooler …
Recently I have been concerned about the increased deficit spending by the Obama Administration. The …
The New Testament is rich in the accounts of courageous, humble, beautiful women. The same is true …
In the United States, in these times of high unemployment, increasing deficits, and seemingly …
Last November Paul and I visited Spiral Jetty at Rozel Point. Then the Jetty was several hundred …
Ponds Park was alive this morning with a number of hot air balloon launches. I enjoyed taking …
I'm Rick Willoughby. I live in Utah, working as a Software Engineer. I'm a Mormon, married with 5 children and 3 grandchildren.
I emigrated from England in my late twenties, bringing with me one small suitcase and $1,000. I appreciate the opportunities America gave me and the friendliness of the people to new citizens.
I blog about my family as well as politics, religion, finance, technology, and other topics.
Currently Rickety has an average of 17,000 pageviews a month and over 400 visitors a day. Thank you for being one of them.
