Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving is now just a memory and the turkey soup is almost done. We were joined by several members of Meagan's family. Lenore (Meagan's mom) was on the mainland because most of her kids are in Utah. Emily and family had dinner with Jayson's sister's family, but joined us later in the afternoon along with the cousins for dessert. The food was delicious and the company was fun.

Pilgrim stump dolls from York in England, purchased
way back in 1984

All the usual suspects joined by the Wais

Some people just know how to have fun

Tutu and Grammy

The Soelbergs and Auntie Ann

Tonight (Friday) we went for supper with Stephen and Ann to Marley's at Timpanogos Harley Davidson in Lindon. It was fun and the burgers are good. The building is just so cool.

Marley's

Clearly, these diners are pleased

Kris, Ann, and Stephen

The weekend isn't over yet, so well keep you posted.

OXO

D.

The Rest of the Weekend

On Saturday, 22 November, there was a mini London reunion at the Barton's. Amy and Jennifer made soup and Kris made her killer French bread. It was fun to see some of the folks again.

Katy, Matt, Christian, Amy, Eliza, Kelly, Preston, and Mairin

Sunday (23 November) afternoon we went to the WVC to celebrate Lucy's 9th birthday. Anna made dinner and dessert and we had a great time.

Little Goat Cheese had me roll up the sleeves on Lizzie's coat in
hopes of escaping outside without shoes --FYI: didn't happen

The cousins enjoying supper, especially Ollie -- Anders, not so much

Clara on her daddy's shoulders

Cheeser!

Grammy strikes again!

Each candle is worth 3 years -- clever

Delicious carrot cake and Anna's famous BTS cake

Good times.

OXO

D.

3rd Folder Tag

Anna tagged me. The task is to show the third picture from the third folder in your photo file. I lost a bunch of photos years ago with a nasty accidental delete. So these are the best I can do. The third picture in the third file was blurry, which wouldn't be any fun, so this is #4 and a bonus. They are from the Taylor family reunion at Lake Tahoe a few years ago. Enjoy.

These little folks have all grown

Sucker for sunsets

Anna already tagged almost everyone on my links list except for Katy Kathryn, Ellen, Anne Marie, and the Texas Browns, so I tag them (if they want - no pressure here).

OXO

D.

It Was About Time

Back in 1972, while on our honeymoon, Kris and I made a Monday-night pilgrimage to Maddox, just south of Brigham City. I had eaten there as a youngster and was anxious for Kris to try their "viand rouge." Maddox is known for raising their own tasty beef and we were both excited for a delicious meal.

Oh snap! Much to our chagrin, they were closed on Mondays and after driving all that way, we had to settle for a crumby dinner at Sizzler in Ogden. We never made it back -- until tonight.

This fall Debra Sue stopped at Maddox while traveling to Logan with Alison. She was extremely thoughtful and sent us a Maddox gift card. Tonight we drove to Brigham City and finally redeemed the card. It was a lovely evening and the food was worth the wait.

Thanks Deb!

Off on an adventure

It was open!

Mmmmm, red meat

Chicken-fried steak

The sunset over Willard Bay was spectacular

And the Box Elder Tabernacle was beautiful

It was great to finally get to complete our honeymoon adventure and we had a wonderful evening. More later.

OXO

D.

Another Weekend in Review

Friday evening, 14 November, we hosted the dinner group. We made meat loaf, rotkohl, baked squash, and garlic mashed potatoes. Except for the squash, it was the Christmas Story movie dinner. Kris thought it might be a little low-brow, but I was convinced that it was just good old-fashioned comfort food. For dessert I tried the pumpkin pie cake again, but this time with sugar. It was all very good and we had a nice evening visiting with long-time friends. Sorry, no photos.

Late Saturday afternoon, Anna and Rob brought the kids to visit while they had a nice dinner at P712. It is always fun to have them come. Janet made supper for us and the kids watched Harry Potter, which, I believe, they have been reading at home.

Sunday, Chelsea Gibbs came to dinner, which was a bit disappointing -- the dinner, not Chelsea. After dinner she and Katy made fridge magnets out of Katy's collection of badges.

Millie and Holden joined us for Chinese take-away - they
were mucking out their new house just north
of Uncle's: the Roylance place

Clara and Holden liked the Asian grub

Looking away from Harry Potter just long enough for a photo

Clara and Andy

Clara teaching Grammy how to drive

Clear the streets! She's behind the wheel!

Turning badges into magnets

The Mountain Ash in the front yard in full fall dress

Thanksgiving is coming up fast, but for now, that's it.

OXO

D.

Mixed Bag of Emotions

The heavens seem to be weeping in Provo this morning: you can see a tear on the camera lens. OK, that's a bit of hyperbole, but the local election results have taken the edge off of what was a very happy national-election result. After working his buns off, Don Jarvis was defeated by Steve Clark 63.31% to 36.69%. Clark's key issue was the fact that he is a Republican and that one-party rule is good for Utah. I guess Utah gets what it deserves. I haven't seen any breakdown of how many people voted straight ticket, but that possibilty has certainly been my fear through the entire campaign.

On the up side of the mixed-emotions bag was the election last night of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. The emotion in the faces of older African Americans on TV was moving and the joy in the group watching the returns here was palpable. Americans decided and the "Decider" is on his way out. Happy day.



Today, I'm proud to be an American (not so much a Utahn -wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?). I think I'll fly the flag for a while, and I believe I'll just snatch joy wherever I can.

OXO

D.

Bits and Bobs - Late October Edition

Tuesday, after a fun visit from Grandmother Boynton, Rod, Kris, and I took her to Salt Lake to spend the rest of the week with her sisters. That intrepid group of widows has been blessed to be able to spend lots of time together, traveling and visiting. They laugh, watch movies, read, eat lots of chocolate and have a wonderful time. After dropping Grandmother off at Aunt Donna's, we went around the corner to the Lone Star Taqueria for supper -- yummy fish tacos and tamales.

As you saw on the previous post, Wednesday was Kris's birthday. We had a delicious steak dinner. I bought the meat at Costco and it was superb. I made a chocolate cheesecake instead of a proper birthday cake, and it was delicious too. There is still a little bit left in the fridge! Lucky me.

Friday night was, of course, Halloween. Anna and Emily planned the party and everyone met here to celebrate and trick-or-treat. The food was great, the costumes were fantastic, and we all had a great time.

The lovely Beck sisters: Bonnie, Raye, Donna, Carol, and LaVee

Birthday dinner: steak, squash (from our vines),
salad, and garlic-mashed potatoes

Chocolate cheesecake for dessert

Anna reading Halloween tales to the binkers

Alice, mad scientist, rooster, Snow White, Indy, Hermoine, Harry

We managed to get a pumpkin carved just in the nick of time

Only two more day until the election (not counting today). I hope I survive the anxiety and stress. That's all for now.

OXO

D.