"Thanks for the Moisture" by Robert Gibbs

For days it has been raining in the valley with snow in the mountains (my preferred winter-weather pattern). This is the same series of storms that is inundating California. Last night, however, it was cold enough to snow and we awoke to 12 inches of the stuff, heavy and wet, perfect for snowmen. I drove Kris to work early in the dark snowy hours before dawn, and drivers were insane. We saw a car careening down 900 East sideways at about 40 MPH trying to make the turn onto Birch Lane. Nobody seems to understand that even if you can GO with your nifty four-wheel drive, YOU CAN'T STOP!

We had a compound shoveling fest and Millie and Uncle helped me clear the driveway on the north side of the house where all the snow must be pushed forward. That was most appreciated. The entire time I was shoveling this morning I had a little ditty composed by Robby Gibbs running through my head.

By way of background, you are aware that it is extremely common to hear, "Thank you for the moisture" in prayers at church and elsewhere here in Zi-yon. Don't get me wrong, that makes perfect sense in the desert where we live; we need every drop we can get. Bishop Christensen, who was raised in Seattle in constant "moisture" mentioned how odd that bit of prayer language is to him and apparently he isn't the only one who feels that way.

A while ago, Alison Gibbs received a musical message from her very creative and humorous older brother, Robby. It was a very peppy little song sung as only Robert can. It said in part: "Thanks for the moisture, thanks for the moisture, thanks for the moisture on this rainy rainy day." Today those words cycled through my head, with the word snowy substituted for rainy.


I am pleased we had rain rather than snow for the last few days, otherwise we would be buried in several feet of "moisture."

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Tabernacle Update

There is already a push underway to rebuild the tabernacle. You can read about it here.

Emily found this photo online today. It was taken by Mayor Curtis, who was allowed to enter the building. Pretty sad.

And have a look at this photo also found by Emily. In Latin America this would become a sacred relic and form the centerpiece of a pilgrimage shrine.


D.

A Tragic Loss

Early Friday morning (17 December) the Provo Tabernacle was destroyed by fire. The roof collapsed around 6:00 A.M. The fire wasn't completely extinguished until Saturday night. The fire was a tragedy because they are not sure if it can rebuilt. That is still to be determined. Of course, even a building that is gone (Nauvoo Temple) can be rebuilt. It is just that with President Hinckley gone I don't know if the church will have the will to do it. I certainly hope so. The building we knew and loved had already been "restored." It was where our stake held conference during our entire married life. We attended concerts, scout speech contests, and seminary graduations there as well. The tabernacle was tightly woven into the fabric of our familly.

An early view with the tower intact and the original
Pioneer Tabernacle still visible on the left

The interior view from near where we usually sat

The stand, podium, and organ, now gone

Fire fighters trying to extinguish the fire

This is how it looked this morning in the rain --
it felt like the heavens were weeping

My greatest fear, as I mentioned, is that the church won't have the will to rebuild it. Following is a photo of the Summit Stake Tabernacle demolished in 1971 during the night (to prevent preservationists from interfering). It was demolished to make way for a new and more functional church building. I fear the same fate for our tabernacle, though hopefully President Hinckley left a strong legacy of preservation.

Summit Stake Tabernacle in Coalville

The building that replaced it

This all makes me very sad.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

A Holiday Concert

Yesterday, 15 December, Katy arrived in SLC and Kris and I picked her up. We lunched at Greek Souvlaki and then drove through Salt Lake (twice because of a wrong turn on I-80).

Emily came by the house after the kids finished school so they could see Katy and she invited us to accompany them to Wasatch's choir program. It was really good!

Thankfully, there was nothing even close to Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, both of which I really don't care for even the tiniest bit. Instead they sang numbers like I Saw Three Ships, Il Est Ne (3rd Grade Choir [in very-good French]), Ding! Dong! Merrily on High, Pie Jesu, Handel's O Sing Out With Pleasure, and Thank You Very Much from Scrooge, all of which I adore! Well done Max and the "Best School in the Land!"

Young Mawell Gaylord Ensign of
the Wasatch School 5th grade

Please be sure to enlarge this one and look at the
young lass two away from Max: hysterical!

Mr. Peterson conducts the Concert Choir

The happy and well-rewarded concert goers

This music program is all run by volunteers without any budget, and they practice before and after school. The commitment paid off because the 3rd Grade Choir and Max's Concert Choir are both really are great!

Thanks for the invitation, Emily. This was a holiday highlight.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Thanksgiving Week 2010

This has been an eventful and fun Thanksgiving week. Just about week ago on Saturday, the weather people were predicting the storm of the decade: a full-on, two-day blizzard just like Little House on the Prairie. In preparation, we madly cleared all the leaves from the yard before it was buried in several feet of snow. Well, the storm stayed north of here and we escaped untouched. Maren and Gavin encountered a bit of it further south as they traveled through the mountain passes on I-15 the next day. They were hung up on the highway for quite some time until Gavin made a sneaky run up the middle between all the cars and semis that were stalled on the slick and snowy roads. They arrived a few hours later than expected to a joyous welcome from the cousins on Sunday evening.

Monday, Kris and I both had work, but Tuesday we went to the BYU MOA for a look at the Carl Bloch exhibit, which is quite wonderful, in spite of several families with screaming and crying babies and small children in those echo-prone spaces.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and a small gathering of the family met here for dinner. Emily and family went to Jayson's sister's, Anna and family are in VA, and Katy is with them. So it was just 10 of us for dinner.

Friday, Auntie Em very kindly volunteered to baby sit while we went to the movies with Maren and Gavin. We saw the latest edition of Harry Potter, which we enjoyed quite a lot. Last night we went to SLC for Greek food and a swing around Temple Square to see the lights. Millie, Colton, and family joined us and introduced a new wrinkle into the tradition. We parked at Gateway and rode TRAX three stops to Temple Square. It was great fun -- Salt Lake really is a wonderful place, particularly at Christmas.

This morning we awakened to snow -- not the blizzard of the decade, but serious snow. We got the driveway cleared, Gavin got their car packed, and the Youngs are now on their way to Las Vegas. They scored a very inexpensive room at the Bellagio and will stop there for the night, continuing on to Phoenix tomorrow.

Rushing to get the leaves raked before the storm
that never materialized here

Max, Lizzie, and Ollie welcome the cousins

Getting reacquainted with a larger Beck

Tuesday at the MOA with Carl Bloch

A very cold nine-degree walk along the newly refurbished
canal walk at BYU on Thanksgiving morning

Those who walked, on the steps near the Maeser Building

The walk finished in the Park with Timp in the distance

The kids' table

Pippy, Beck, Maren, and Gavin

Kris, Meagan, and Phillip (again)

Millie taking family photos on Friday

The sitter tries feeding Beck some Germade

This was a bit of fun

Supper at Greek Souvlakia in SLC

Waiting for TRAX

On the train

Family group at Temple Square

Aren't they cute?

A snowy farewell this morning

We have that melancholy empty-house syndrome today, but will be back at work tomorrow and things should be better. We missed Anna and her family and Katy, and hope they all had a nice holiday in Virginia, too.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Really-Odd Post

This is an odd post; my students would say it's totally random. The weather is becoming wintry as the snow sinks closer and closer to the valley, and I am ready for a bit of color and solidarity. You see, I love to fly the flag, not just for patriotic motives, but also because it adds a punch of color to the house.

Like many others back in 2002 we bought British and Brazilian flags to show personal connection with participating countries and displayed them on our front porch during the Salt Lake Winter Olympics. I have wanted to fly these flags again but always missed the appropriate holidays so they have languished in the drawer of the Chippendale secretary. This year I stayed ahead of the game and yesterday marked Remembrance Sunday with the Union Jack. Remembrance Sunday is the second Sunday in November and commemorates the end of WWI as well as those who fought in all the great wars.

As I sit here at the computer, the Brazilian flag is flying on the porch in commemoration of Brazil's proclamation of a Republic in 1889. Every city in Brazil has a praça (square) or street named "Quinze de Novembro" (15th of November), and today I am remembering Brazil, particularly the Rua 15 de Novembro in Curitiba.

Winter creeping down toward the valley

2002 Olympic flag display at 853 North

Remembrance-Sunday poppy

The Cenotaph in London

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
between the crosses, row on row...."

The Union Jack

Deodoro da Fonseca proclaimed
the Brazilian Republic

The Brazilian flag was officially adopted on Nov. 19th 1889,
just four days after the Republic was proclaimed

It's all a bit nuts and obsessive, but I am both of those, so there ya go. AND, the touch of color is welcome in an increasingly wintry landscape!

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

All-Hallows-Even 2010

Because we are in Mormonland, we celebrated Halloween on Saturday this year. I don't know if this is common practice in say, Salt Lake City where the gentiles live, but in Utah County it is de rigueur. It is a curious thing because there is no official announcement or the like, everyone just knows! Even the good Hispanic folk, who now make up a significant section of our population and are generally Catholic, knew to come on Saturday. It is, quite simply, a Festivus miracle.

As per tradition, the local family, such as it is, gathered here for supper. I made homemade sloppy joe filling using the Better Homes recipe. It was so bland I had to add everything I could think of to make it tasty, which seemed to work. We also provided some of our cantaloupe that is still very good. Phil made rolls/buns, Colton made coleslaw, Emily brought chips and treats and we made a meal of it. After dinner the kids all went trick or treating in the rain. Fortunately, the rain stopped quickly and was followed by an eerily beautiful All-Hallows-Even sunset.

We missed the AZ and VA cousins, not to mention the TX auntie. Hope you all had a good Halloween, too.

Jack-o-lantern 2010

All home-grown this year in a variety of
shapes, sizes, and colors

Lord Vader, Legolas, Tinkerbell,
Princess Lea, and a puppet

The Taylors are always good with
their fancy dress, this year with a
Star Wars theme

This is a fierce shark!

A spooky Halloween sunset

Yes, some things just don't change

That's all for now.

OXO

D.