Virtual Oasis, June 16

I’m a couple of weeks behind, so you get lots of lovely links this weekend!

• Former Governor Olene Walker, still going strong: “Always a bit of an insomniac, she gets up at 4 a.m. to read newspapers online and catch up on e-mail, including messages from some of the 90 ambassadors she met while serving an LDS public affairs mission to the United Nations.”

• The new Relief Society Presidency has made early calls to increase our humanitarian relief efforts. Here’s a great example of one woman who has been doing just that, from her home in Utah.

• Over at Mormon Momma: “I am just like you, except I don’t have to bring Cheerios to church. My childless state is not by choice, but it is the part of the vineyard of life I am in.”

• Caroline: Patriarchy vs. Heirarchy

• Maralise’s “Things Fall Apart”: “Last summer, a wise friend of mine mentioned that in building their own home after having rented for a number of years, they had in mind how to make it perfect. But instead of making the mistakes of the former homebuilders, they just made new ones.”

• Kathy Soper’s new book up is written up in the Salt Lake Tribune! (Visit her great blog here)

• Eve: On the (Occasional) Spiritual Necessity of Defying the Church

• A couple of weeks old, but worth the link: Please stop telling me how blessed I am!

• Ardis shares her fascinating talk from the Mormon History Association meeting. Corianton the Musical, anyone?

• Elizabeth (ECS) is guest-posting at FMH.

• An excerpt of Jana’s interview with Terry Tempest Williams

• Ann: “What a Family Does”

• Tracy is painting again — (and if you like this, you should see her quilts and hand-painted chess boards!)

• From Salon.com: It was generally assumed that it wasn’t until preschool — when kids split into gender segregated groups — that they started to recognize gender stereotypes or expectations. But researchers from Brigham Young University found that 2-year-olds are well aware of socially proscribed gender roles and when they’re being subverted.

Just because:

• One state senator in Massachusetts explains why she changed her vote.
• And have you seen the sensational singing Welshman?