January 2021

January started with a bang! The 6th was SKT's birthday and we joined in a celebratory dinner at P712. The 6th was also the day of the attempted overthrow of the legislative arm of the government at the National Capitol by a Trumpist mob. They violently attempted to stop a Joint Session of Congress in the process of certifying the election of President Biden. On Friday the 8th a team of movers emptied all the rooms of our house that have hardwood floors. This in preparation for refinishing to repair the damage from our broken ice maker many months ago. That weekend we packed and prepared to return to Mesa. Bright and early on the 11th the refinishers knocked on the door and started the process. We chose a stain color from samples applied to a stripped test patch, and by midday we were off to Henderson NV for the night. We arrived in Mesa the next day and took over the 24-hour care of Grandmother Boynton. We had an enjoyable time but were almost completely confined to home because of the high rate of Covid in Arizona. We spent the entire day of the 20th consuming every morsel of the Inauguration. What a complete relief! We returned to Utah via Henderson on the 30th with a short stop in Peoria. Arriving home on the 31st, we found the house mostly returned to order with beautifully refinished floors.

Happy Birthday to Stephen

This was a beyond-shocking scene

The Mormons were there: Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty

The immoveable table was no sweat for the movers

Clearing out the living room

The garage was our storage unit

Sanding gets underway

Four choices

Greek supper in Henderson

Grandmother and Kris

We watched movies and lots of HGTV

Kris playing Jenga with Brigham

Winter fruit in Arizona

Dickie cooking up some hash

Chip can be a clown -- Sunday dinner

Lantana is a favorite of mine

Such a happy day!

The stench is gone from the White House

Kris got an exercise gizmo for GB

Chip and Grandmother in earnest

M&G

The Youngs in Peoria

Home again, home again...the floors are splendid

So that's the month in review, and that's all for now.

OXO

D.

December 2020

Because of the pandemic, December was very different from the past. The kids all decided to stay put and so we were alone. We did see Opa and Annie regularly, but that's about it. We cooked most nights and tried some blasts from the past. Vaccines were approved and started to roll out. Christmas decorations were almost the same as usual, but since nobody was coming, we decided to do what Kris has been wanting to do for years: a simple green tree with white lights, glass stars, and glass snowflakes. It was actually very pretty. The Taylor/Woodburys joined us on Christmas Eve for a turkey dinner. Christmas day was very quiet, but that's nice sometimes. Emily set up a Zoom call with the family that afternoon and it was good to see everyone remotely. A couple of nights ago, after a dinner of ham and funeral potatoes with SKT and AW, we decided to see what kind of accommodations we could find in Paris next fall so we could use our Delta credits. Annie and I found a wonderful place in the Place-de-la-Contrascarpe neighborhood we love. We threw caution to the wind and booked. We now have something to look forward to for ten months! We had a New-Years-Eve snacks nosh with those same folks, and after watching Pixar's Soul, made it to bed just in time to tell 2020, GOODBYE! Hoping for a vaccine, an abating pandemic, end of travel restrictions, and every good thing in the new year.

So, it turns out that borscht is delicious

Quiche Loraine is good, too

Rob and Daniel (not shown) got the vaccine

Glass stars and snowflakes are a first

These guys are from England 1978

So this guy, also from England, spends Christmas with us each year

Mille popped in for a minute on Christmas Eve

Opa's rotkohl with our turkey

Christmas Eve dinner

It turns out that Kris already has a couple of pearl pendants

I love these miniature doors from England

Maren's photo of the Christmas family Zoom call

Thank heavens for Marco Polo to keep us connected

Reservation for next October in Paris!

New Years Eve with the Taylor/Woodburys

Typical New-Years fare

Still undecided on this one

Goodbye 2020

Here's hoping the plague can be brought under control and that the new year brings getting together with family and travels! That's all for 2020.

OXO

D.

November 2020

 Covid raged on through November, Joe Biden won the election so Donald Trump began to sit more gently on my mind, and we continued to keep in touch with the girlies by Marco Polo. Erick and some of his family received United States Citizenship in November. Grandmother's health took a bad turn in November and we headed to Mesa, AZ for a couple of weeks to be with and help her. We saw several family members, including Trevor and his new baby Elle. We went to the mountains to see Matt and Kim's "Land" on a delightful day out. We had a small Thanksgiving dinner with Grandmother. She had another setback that night and returned to the hospital. The next morning we headed home by way of Peoria, where we social distanced with Maren's family for a couple of hours. It's hard not to properly visit family; the pandemic sucks. 

We met Tucker in SLC to take him to get his passport renewed and

we had a nice late lunch at Greek Souvlakia

Fish sandwiches from Ripples with some of the SKTs

Proud to be American

Marco Polo keeps us connected

A great accomplishment for Erick and family, not quite in

time to vote

Taking Grandmother's Danish Modern chairs to be rebuilt

in Tempe

An ergonomic chair for Grandmother's back

Facetime chat with Ray and Carol in Canada on Bonnie's 

propped-up phone

The Mesa Temple is undergoing a multi-year refurbishment

Reading chapters of my personal history to Grandmother who

maintains that she loves it

Newest great-grandchild

Elle Boynton

I had never seen a photo of Grandad Boynton's parents, 

and Chip scanned this portrait for me

"The Land" just below the Mogollon Rim (in the background)

Matt has a wonderful well on his land

This will become the interior of the Marlpit-Hill Boyntons' cabin

This was once a garage for a neighboring cabin that will be converted

into a cabin for Matt and Kim

Kris preparing her famous stuffing

A new headset so Grandmother can listen to music

AJ's sold us a few slices of turkey and some yams

on Thanksgiving morning

Thankful people

It turned out fine: we made everything but the turkey and yams

Meagan got us all together on a Zoom call Thanksgiving evening

Social distancing outside with masks in Peoria with the Youngs (the

boys haven't had haircuts since the pandemic started)

We spent the night in Henderson on the way home and

had supper at our favorite Greek restaurant there

So isn't remarkable that the month started and ended with Greek food? We will be all alone for Covid Christmas, but will certainly celebrate anyway. That's all for now.

OXO

D.