Done and Done!

Tonight I finished scanning and retouching a lifetime of slides. That's 6,300 slides give or take.... I am happy to have them done, and I learned a few things. 1. My camera was often out of adjustment and lots of the pictures I took are crap. 2. Garbage in garbage out: if it was a nice clear, well-exposed slide the jpeg turned out well. If it was a poorly exposed photo, there wasn't much iPhoto could do to make it better. Overexposed slides corrected much better than underexposed slides. 3. I took way too many slides! It gets so you can't tell one Memorial Day gathering from the next and the repetitive ones got boring. 4. I LOVE digital photography!!!

I'm not sure by whom or how the images will ever be used, but they are ready and waiting. Included in this post is a jpeg from the first carousel, one from somewhere in the middle, and one from the final carousel before I switched to digital.

Scanning has been my life

Can you find Dickie at the LTM in 1965?

Most of the family in London, 1988

With Katy Kathryn on the Herefordshire Beacon in 2004 --
she was already digital at this point

One thing I know for sure: Kris will be happy to have use of the computer again!

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Bye Bye Birdie

Last evening we drove through the rain and traffic to Pleasant Grove Junior High to see Madeline in Bye Bye Birdie. It was a really fun evening; the kids did a great job. Because it is junior high, it was a cut version and missing several memorable songs. Nonetheless, Madeline was great, born to drama as it were. We appreciate the invitation -- great fun.

Our old phone from the toy box made its stage debut

"He's in love with Kim; Kim's in love with him"

"Goin' steady..."

I mean, who wouldn't swoon...

...for Conrad Birdie

Cute as a bug's bum

The proud parents and sybs

Well done Madeline!

OXO

D.

Three and Seven

Today we celebrated Clara's 3rd (14 March) and Lizzie's 7th (10 March) birthdays. We met the Hastings and most of the Ensigns at the Murray rec center where all were swimming and playing in the wild and crazy water features. Subsequently, we proceeded to Rob and Anna's house for some grilling, eating, presents, and a birthday cake crafted by Auntie Em. We were joined there by Phillip and kids, Jayson and Madeline, and Auntie Courtney.

Anna and Lucy Jane looking way cute

Lizzy and her mom looking equally cute

4/6 of the Hastings family

Another 1/6: Tucker looking otherworldly

Anders at the wheel

Tucker gives Auntie Em a thrill

Anna's fabulous "aguamentation"
(Sorry about the focus, she wouldn't let
me take a second shot)

Two special sillies share a smashing sodden shower

The swimmers (and Kris)

The kek

We blew 'til we were dizzy

No shortage of puff here

A cornucopia of gifts

Those are two spunky lasses! I hope they enjoyed the party as much as we did. Happy birthday Clara Ivy Hastings and Elizabeth Tea Ensign. We love you tons.

OXO

Pop Pop

Hastings, Here

Yesterday, Sunday, the Hastings joined us for dinner. They have been in the area for Tucker's baptism and it was nice to see them again. Jim had already flown home to California, but Whitney, Todd and Courtney, Bill and JLynn, together with Rob, Anna, and their gang were all here.

Anna, Rob, Whitney, JLynn, Bill, Todd, Courtney and Clara,
Lucy Jane, Tucker, and Anders

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Tucker's Baptism

William Tucker Hastings was baptized today. The service was attended by many of his family members, some of whom got to participate. I got to give a talk on baptism, Tutu JLynn was the pianist, Grandpa Bill led the music, Anna prayed, and Rob baptized and confirmed Tucker. After the service everyone gathered at the Hastings for visiting, food, treasure hunt, volcano, presents, and birthday cake. It was a splendid day!

Leading Families Can Be Together Forever,
Courtney's favorite

JLynn is the best accompanist ever, bar none!

Tutu helps Clara with her card for Tucker as Meg looks on

Cheeky-monkey business

The gathering of the clans

Rob, Anna, and family

Clara's low blood sugar momentarily did her in

Tucker and his dad

Phillip, Courtney, Whitney, and Jim

The fabulous volcano at the finish line
of the treasure hunt

Phillip and Jayson, who ARE brothers-in-law,
watching the action from above

The man of the hour

Opening gifts

Tucker is a great young man and we love him.

There are many more birthdays to celebrate this month, but that's all for now.

OXO

D.

Boeuf Bourguignon

After enjoying Julie and Julia, Phillip and Meagan bought Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. They got me excited to try making Boeuf Bourguignon for our group dinner last month. I made the trek to the Utah State Liquor Store to stock up on wine and cognac and I purchased all the other ingredients at the grocery store. If this were any place but Utah, it would have been one-stop shopping.

It was labor intensive because I made two batches simultaneously, which required lots of cutting and chopping, but the finished product was spectacular. I actually used Ina Garten's recipe from the internet because it seemed more friendly than Julia's.

There was enough left over to share with Phillip, Meagan and family, who were most excited to see how it turned out.

All the ingredients ready to go

Ready to add and flame the cognac

The cooking was finished in the oven for much longer
than the recipe required

The mushrooms and pearl onion are finished
on the stove top

The finished product with noodles and buttered
bread crumbs: delicious!

I guess it really is all about food isn't it?

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Dinner at the Taylor's

Yesterday we gathered at Phillip and Meagan's for Sunday dinner. They made rosemary chicken, roasted new potatoes, and cauliflower with cheese. It was delicious. We missed Maren, Gavin, Finn, Harry, and Katy Kathryn.

Lucy and Tucker dig in

Phillip serves the rice

Hi to Katy and the Youngs from the cousins

Phillip takes a seat

Tucker's birthday and baptism will kick off a month of March-Taylor-birthday madness this week, but that's all for now.

OXO

D.