9:10 A.M.

It's March and Mother Nature can't decide if it is winter or spring. There has been more snow over the weekend and it has left the most spectacular mountain in the world covered in a fresh mantle of white.

This week I had to register with Social Security for Medicare before the great and dreadful day of the 27th. They wanted to see my birth certificate and so I dug it out and discovered that the exact hour of my forced entry was 9:10 A.M.

It has been a pleasant day with telephone calls and good wishes from all four of the girlies and supper with Phillip and Meagan's family. It doesn't get much better than that. We also splurged on a Vita Mix to help with our morning smoothies which have become and fixed part of our diet. Kris gave me a Velcro belt sans buckle for security checks on upcoming airplane trips. She already bought me some slip on Keens which I tried with great success on our recent trip to California. And there is a new pair of Keens in the mail to replace the ones I presently use in spite of having worn through the heels. The weekend was made bright and exciting by Max and Lizzie who have been staying while Jayson and Emily celebrate their anniversary at Disneyland.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this mountain?

Lizzie and Max were great house guests

Phillip grilling Lenore's famous rib recipe

Birthday dinner with the Wais

Blowing out the candle

Smoothies and soooo much more

All in all, it has been a pretty great birthday.

OXO

D.

Arches with the Hastings

Rob, Courtney, Whitney, and Bill Hastings have been in Utah for a short ski adventure. We were pleased to have them join us for supper here with Emily and family on Wednesday. They were kind enough to invite me to join them for a day at Arches National Park yesterday, Saturday 19 March. It was a blustery day but beautiful nonetheless. We hiked to Delicate Arch (three-mile hike), ate our lunches in gale-force winds, and then hiked the entire circle in Devils Garden including all the side trails, which is approximately an eight-mile hike.

It was a full day of adventure, filled with thrills for someone like me who is acrophobic. We encountered a pool of water blocking our path and I was forced to climb, Spider-Man style, straight up a wall of stone, rather than wading knee deep through freezing water. I traversed the fins that form a high-wire part of the trail with only slight fear and trembling. At the end of the day we took the short hike to some of the arches in the Windows Section before proceeding to Moab for supper (thank you, Bill). The three-hour drive home was peppered with good conversation and, contrary to expectation, I did not feel sleepy at all.

I took many photos, but unless you are actually there, one arch can look pretty much like another. This, then, is a small sampling:

Rob (RRL) and DT at Delicate Arch on a
windy March morning

Pine Tree Arch just off the Devils Garden trail

Landscape Arch which really should be Delicate Arch

The Hastings on the trail between some fins

Nervous (the very high winds didn't help my fear of heights)
on a fin high above the ground

The whole group at Navajo Arch - photo
courtesy of some nice German women

Double O Arch

On the "primitive trail" back to civilization; Those are
the German women behind the trees

Scaling the face of the rock to avoid the water
(photo by Courtney)

Turret Arch in the Windows Section

I am most appreciative of the invitation and had a wonderful time. Thanks Robert et al.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

March Madness

This is not a basketball post. March is crazy because it is filled with family birthdays. Tucker was first on the fourth (see previous post), Phillip was second on the sixth, Lizzie was third on the tenth, Clara is fourth on the fourteenth, Jayson is fifth on the fifteenth, Beckham is sixth on the twenty second, Maren is seventh on the twenty fifth, and I bring up the rear on the twenty seventh. Whew!

After many reminders about the day in question, Lizzy's birthday finally arrived and we celebrated with cake, ice cream, and presents. She had plans for games and a video, but I'm not sure if that happened.

In other news, Millie cut her hair. That is to say, Shep cut her hair. She looks pretty cute, but as Uncle reminded her, she would look cute with mud in her hair. The NY Gibbs, less Michael, were here for a couple of days. Linda and Graham flew in to spend some time with Chelsea. They stayed with us, which is always fun.

Timp looks great regardless of the season

Lizzy's party theme was "Tangled/Rapunzel"

Lizzie puts out the fire

Pull it out and throw it on the floor
as fast as you can - some things never change

Millie without mud in her hair

Graham was incredulous (as were we all) at
the hot dog placed on their rental car's
antenna during the night

Look what's at the end of this spectacular rainbow

More madness to come, but that is all for now.

OXO

D.

Chicks and Children

Children: Yesterday, 4 March, was William Tucker Hastings ninth birthday. He is a good man and we are proud to be family. On the occasion of his birthday, we extend warmest wishes for many happy returns of the day. Here are some photos of young Tucker in commemoration of the happy day.

Gobsmacked!

The puckered Tucker

A crystalline beard for the geologist

Nice grillin', dude

Happy Birthday, Tucker. If you were here I would make you some pancakes and let you eat the tiny ones that spill. We love you.

Pop Pop


Chicks: OK then, that was the children part. This is the chicks part. Stephen has a cage full of new chicks to replace the hens that are approaching the end of their usefulness. The management of the chickens is quite an operation, and fortunately, Uncle appears to enjoy it. I, in a most selfish and uninvolved way, enjoy the eggs immensely.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Further the Eichlers

In the last post I mentioned that many of the Eichlers are under-appreciated and miserably remuddled. I found these three sad examples today. Enjoy.

The fanlight can be so elegant

With not much effort, this beauty could look like the next two

You'll say Si Si to this one

Heck, who wanted a courtyard entry anyway?

That's probably the last Eichler post . . . ever.

OXO

D.