US - Launch Scriptorium!
The pun here: this was both the beginning of my Library Life Era, and I have actually experimentally created a really cool medieval themed note taking app called Scriptorium (while I was playing around with AI learning that would eventually lead to the creation of WOSF as a graphic novel rather than an ordinary book) that I would like to be using, but the code disappeared into the ether instead of going to GitHub like it was supposed to and Hadrian can't figure it out for me either.
Newsletter excerpts:
The recipe section from issue 1 of my Snacks, Stories, and Scriptures newsletter that I produced for my young missionary friends beginning in March 2024 is reproduced below. Recipe was taken from my family cookbook, now sadly lost along with the rest of the personal and household items we had shipped out to Utah in anticipation of being able to move there. At some point I realized it was mostly stuff I could let go (a vast library of Mormon books, survivalist and outdoor equipment we can no longer feasibly use in Hadrian's condition), and the money I could have spent on shipping it to Alabama or continuing to pay for storage would be better spent on building our new lives here, including treating myself to a complete Navarre edition study Bible set! BETTY’S SALAD 1 cup salad oil [this would be some type of refined and relatively flavorless vegetable oil, not a strongly flavored olive oil] 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup catsup [ketchup] 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 medium diced onion 1/2 bag fresh spinach [if using more commonly available pre-washed baby spinach, use the whole bag] 4 hard cooked [hard boiled] chopped eggs 4 slices crisp, crushed bacon 1 can drained bean sprouts [I would recommend substitute fresh if possible, since they are more commonly available than they used to be, and will be much nicer in a salad!] 2 heads lettuce [iceberg - you didn’t used to have to specify!] Mix oil, brown sugar, vinegar, catsup, Worcestershire sauce, and onion well. Store dressing in refrigerator overnight. Toss lettuce, spinach, eggs, bacon, and bean sprouts in large salad bowl. Pour dressing over the salad and let it soak in. This is the Betty Timko recipe from Soup ‘n’ Such restaurant in Toledo, OH. [My mother used to use entirely spinach in an attempt to make the salad healthier. Of course you can substitute any fresh greens blend you wish for reasons of nutrition, flavor, allergy, or seasonal availability.] — Issue 2 had an interesting scripture study section because I made positive reference to my prior experience with Catholicism, which was considered a bit dubious by the Mormons. (I get the inverse reaction nowadays when I try to explain that there were actually good or useful things I learned from the Mormon experience!) Specifically, for whatever reasons I chose to share the message of Saint Faustina and the Divine Mercy - astonishingly (if one does not believe in Divine Providence...), exactly two years later, our Viking Van would end up on a collision course back into the Catholic Church on Divine Mercy Sunday - April 12, 2026!! (In the following and ongoing excerpts, it goes without saying that I have removed Mormon doctrinal specific content and most references to extrabiblical scriptures, while trying to preserve the best of what I learned and taught!) The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch, Five Books of Moses, or “first five books of the Old Testament”. [...] the Tetragrammaton, the true name of God, YHVH or YHWH (commonly pronounced by English speakers as Jehovah or Yahweh), is rendered as LORD to conform with the Jewish tradition of not speaking the sacred name aloud. Jews will substitute the Hebrew word “Adonai” when they encounter the Tetragrammaton in the text, which means “Lord”, and thus in the KJV and most other English bibles, it will be LORD in all caps to distinguish it from regular governmental use of the term Lord. There are many lords, but only one LORD. And in this case, “Adonai” means not only “lord”, but also has a sense of “mercy”. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 12-14 (discourse continues until verse 57) Jesus took on a mortal body, died, and was resurrected bodily, in order to make it possible for us to do the same by becoming like Him. Without this, there really isn’t much point to mortality. (Note that some religions teach that resurrection is of the spirit only, not the body, and that bodies may even be evil or at least an impediment to our eternal progress. Paul straightens that idea out very well here!) Jesus Christ becomes our sinless sacrifice to fulfil the demands of Divine Justice, and provide an Atonement to fulfil the demands of Divine Mercy - because He is our Merciful Judge! One of the things I have carried over from my experience with Catholicism is the “Divine Mercy” image of Jesus. Revealed in a vision to Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish Catholic nun and mystic who lived from 1905-1938, the Divine Mercy Jesus is a very popular image as it presents Jesus as alive, generous, and loving; rather than the depressing “hanging on the cross” image more commonly associated with Catholicism. (I’ve bought a solar garden light version that I plan to install this spring.) Sister Faustina, despite coming from a very poor background and having only three years of formal education, had a deep mystical relationship with her Savior and kept extensive diaries of her mystical experiences. I have included the image at the end of this issue. The main message Sister Faustina received from Jesus is that “Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to my Mercy.” This works both collectively and as individuals. Amen. (Yes, I have a thing for mystical nuns. We’ll be hearing about Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich in future issues, too.) — In conclusion: I can't believe I got away with this newsletter. I was already hiding a rosary in my library even at this early date! Hence the comic title... I had to keep my little mustard seed of faith buried very deep for a very long time to survive a very dark winter.
