December 2025

December was like most Decembers, but a few new twists. In a move to make our lives as simple as possible in our old age, we didn't hang a garland on the portico; we opted for an old-fashioned string of big colored lights that we (as kids) and our children grew up with. They are cheery and bright. Inside, we put up a fake tree with glass stars and tiny red balls, just as Kris has always wanted to do. It was also festive and Christmasy and so easy to put up. The HI Taylors came to the mainland and just before the big day, the Youngs arrived from AZ. We fed the family, as usual, on the second Sunday and celebrated Madeline's 30th following dinner. We enjoyed a couple of meals out with the HI Taylors. On Christmas Eve we were joined for the most delicious prime rib dinner with meat from Heritage Craft Butchers in Orem. There were lots of late night of board games that Kris and I slept through in peace with our sound machine. Christmas morning we joined with extended HDT family at Ringers for brunch. Post-Christmas we joined our dear Hansen cousins in SLC for brunch at Kreg and Dorothy's. The HI Taylors flew home at the end of the month and the Hastings arrived from NM to fill their beds.

Cover choice for the Tony history book as the project finishes up

New "old" lights

That mountain is so damned wonderful

New tree and baubles

Second Sunday dinner with the binkers

Madi's cheesecake with broken candles

Oliver can pack away the Japanese hot pot

We can all pack away the eternally delicious food at La Casita

One of many game nights

Christmas Eve table with Kris's great new 

napkins from a Texas visit to Debby's

Carving the roast beef

Dinner featuring Phillip's Yorkshire puds

The north side of the table

The south side of the table

Everyone but Meagan who took the picture

The Youngs

The Ringers on Christmas morning

Some of the extended HDT family

Grammy showing the girlies her jewelry

Kris and Millie Kay at the Calders in SLC

Terrace Falls, SLC

Farewell to the HI Taylors - well, one of them

It was a great Christmas, and we are happy to have made it infinitely simpler with revised decorations. More to follow next month.

OXO

D.

November 2025

November seemed normal enough, but clearly I didn't get many photos. All the same old stuff plus Thanksgiving at Emily's.

Dinner with The Group at Millers

Artsy-fartsy photo of Fall through the rainy windshield

Breakfast with our dear cousins

Grammy making light and tender rolls

The crew at Emily's

A very heavy snow that lasted only five minutes:

very disappointing!

That's not much, but it's all there is. At least we can still walk and talk.

OXO

D.

October 2025

October started with a quick visit from Debra Sue Darling Gibbs who came for some kind of deal in Kamas with her niece.  We met with The Group for dinner. I had a month of tooth work ending with a root canal and a new crown (still waiting for the permanent crown). I attended the "No Kings" rally in Provo with Stephen and Ann (will we survive the reign of the orange a-hole? Good lard, I hope so!) We got together with Tucker and Madeline in SLC for dinner at Takashi and gelato at Dolcetti. We had Cousin's Breakfast the next day (no photos, but it DID happen), and Kris turned 73 for another year (she thought she was 73 all last year). We hid in our cave with the lights out on Halloween.

Early dinner with Debby at Avenues Proper 

A lovely view from the SLC Cemetery

Debby headed to California for a few days

Stop it! I take the pictures

My tooth - maybe before, maybe after the root canal -

I have no idea

A beautiful fall evening view of Timp from the Astles

The Group on the same evening 

Three libtards

We are in distress: I spend 80-90% of every g-damned

day thinking about the orange a-hole

Now for something lighter: the final show of Millie's cosmos

Takashi with these adult binkers

There's always room for ice cream - or gelato in this case

The birthday girl

Fish and smashed potatoes (I don't like to fry chips), and

the famous Lion House Sting of the Bee Cake

That's it for now.

OXO

D.

September 2025

We went to Vernal again for Arthur's birthday: gifts at home, dinner at Denny's, and a visit to the Halloween museum nearby. Breakfast with the cousins, Kris's Aunt Donna Norton's funeral (she was 104), a visit with Kris's brothers, and a month of cooking Tony's recipes and photographing them for an appendix in his history book. Poof! September was gone.

Gifts

A preview performance of a recital piece

Coloring with the kiddos at Denny's

The birthday boy

Welcome to Vernal

Spirit Halloween is the "Halloween Museum"

This nun was my favorite

B.P.O.E. The best people on earth!

The Boynton kids with their Norton cousins Debbie and Rand

Mark and Matt at Sicilia Mia after the funeral

Fall is the best season of the year

Grandma Taylor's honey cookies for Tony's history book

Let's see what October brings.

OXO

D.