I woke up last Friday morning to see snow out the window. This was not pleasing, but I was okay with the fact that it was snowing because I was flying out of town later that day to go to Las Vegas.
I had a much better time in Vegas than most people do, because I didn't lose a cent of money to the slot machines. Instead, I went and played with Danielle and her family- Adam, her husband, and their three kids.
The highlights of the weekend were as follows:
No snow! Nice, warm weather in the 70's
Danielle's little boy, Jacob, kept forgetting my name and referring to me as "that girl" or "you." This was very hilarious.
Danielle's baby is one of the happiest infants I have ever seen, and I've seen a few.I think my heart melted a few times.
When Danielle and I lived together in Provo, she was studying piano performance in college and we would often have music nights where she would play the piano and I would sing. I took a good chunk of my music books along and we had a wonderful time
playing through our old favorites. Hooray!
Little Cindy went through a routine each night where she pointed out that my toothbrush was in the toothbrush holder along with her and Jacob's, as though this was the most pleasing thing in the world to her.
Now I am back in Utah and it is, again, snowing. Hard. And foggy. But I think it will warm up soon and then it will be spring for real!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Of plants and birthdays and other such things
The grow light is here! I thought I would have to dismantle my leafy corner to keep seedlings there, but then I figured out that I could rig the light up under my desk table. It always surprises me how bright it is when I turn it on, but I guess that's the point. Most of the basil has been potted and is sitting under the caring watch of the grow light even now. The rest of the basil and the tomatoes will get to begin their lives this weekend.
This is birthday week at our house. Wednesday was Theresia's birthday, today is Sarah's, and Saturday is mine. Then Kerstin's is on the 24th. And Cassaundra's is on the 30th of April. We are a pretty decent cluster, I think. We're having a mass birthday party on the 18th and calling it "Cassaundra's roommates' birthday party." I guess Cassie gets her own because her birthday is spaced out by a month from the rest of us. But we've been having lots of good food here this week.
Speaking of good food, I am having a heyday with different kinds of ethnic food lately. There is a Finnish breakfast and lunch place in Salt Lake. Did you know that? I need to get over there for a Scandinavian breakfast soon. The girls at work and I are going to lunch tomorrow to Mazza, a middle eastern restaurant and I'm starting to drool thinking about hummus and gyros and pitas and tabouleh and fresh limemade, which Emily claims is divine. I was supposed to choose a meal for the family birthday celebration this Sunday and it was a struggle. It's going to be a fairly Italian, very European meal with foccacia bread and pureed carrot soup and spinach salad. But I'll be home Saturday too, and I'll be using that as an opportunity to try a few new Thai dishes (there will be curry on the menu along with the new dishes in case they don't work. Thai curry is one of my favorite things ever).
Lastly, life is good. But good and easy are not the same thing, don't fool yourself. Life is good and it's hard work- digging deeper and deeper into the heart of things that really matter and trying so hard to cast aside the things that don't, that just weigh you down and hold you back and prevent you from becoming the person God wants you to be. This is my quest. I think it will keep going my whole life- I think it is largely the point of being alive. And it's good and satisfying and sometimes even exhilarating. But man, it can be tiring sometimes. I'm feeling particularly introspective because that happens to me around things like birthdays. The goal is that next year at this time, I will be a better, more compassionate, deeper, more mature and Christlike person than I am now. Gearing up for a spiritual marathon!
This is birthday week at our house. Wednesday was Theresia's birthday, today is Sarah's, and Saturday is mine. Then Kerstin's is on the 24th. And Cassaundra's is on the 30th of April. We are a pretty decent cluster, I think. We're having a mass birthday party on the 18th and calling it "Cassaundra's roommates' birthday party." I guess Cassie gets her own because her birthday is spaced out by a month from the rest of us. But we've been having lots of good food here this week.
Speaking of good food, I am having a heyday with different kinds of ethnic food lately. There is a Finnish breakfast and lunch place in Salt Lake. Did you know that? I need to get over there for a Scandinavian breakfast soon. The girls at work and I are going to lunch tomorrow to Mazza, a middle eastern restaurant and I'm starting to drool thinking about hummus and gyros and pitas and tabouleh and fresh limemade, which Emily claims is divine. I was supposed to choose a meal for the family birthday celebration this Sunday and it was a struggle. It's going to be a fairly Italian, very European meal with foccacia bread and pureed carrot soup and spinach salad. But I'll be home Saturday too, and I'll be using that as an opportunity to try a few new Thai dishes (there will be curry on the menu along with the new dishes in case they don't work. Thai curry is one of my favorite things ever).
Lastly, life is good. But good and easy are not the same thing, don't fool yourself. Life is good and it's hard work- digging deeper and deeper into the heart of things that really matter and trying so hard to cast aside the things that don't, that just weigh you down and hold you back and prevent you from becoming the person God wants you to be. This is my quest. I think it will keep going my whole life- I think it is largely the point of being alive. And it's good and satisfying and sometimes even exhilarating. But man, it can be tiring sometimes. I'm feeling particularly introspective because that happens to me around things like birthdays. The goal is that next year at this time, I will be a better, more compassionate, deeper, more mature and Christlike person than I am now. Gearing up for a spiritual marathon!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Great Basil Experiment
I am an absolute sucker for fresh basil. Oh my goodness, the stuff is heavenly. So, I figured, what could be better than trying out a few different kinds to see which varieties I like best, and which ones work best with different dishes?
Hooray! Today my herb seeds arrived. The garden will be sporting:
Thai basil
Baja basil
Sweet basil
Italian large-leaf basil
Sweet lemon basil
Purple sacred basil
DiGenova basil
Siam Queen basil
And just for good measure, there is peppermint and spearmint, and I couldn't resist the description of their Alaska mix nasturtiums, and they threw in some sweet rocket as well.
Now if that grow light would just get here . . .
Hooray! Today my herb seeds arrived. The garden will be sporting:
Thai basil
Baja basil
Sweet basil
Italian large-leaf basil
Sweet lemon basil
Purple sacred basil
DiGenova basil
Siam Queen basil
And just for good measure, there is peppermint and spearmint, and I couldn't resist the description of their Alaska mix nasturtiums, and they threw in some sweet rocket as well.
Now if that grow light would just get here . . .
Monday, March 1, 2010
Winter's on the Wing!
Today when I got home there was a small package on my desk containing my tomato seeds! With a little luck, this year we will get to partake of the delights of
chadwick cherry
Green zebra
Cherokee purple
Red Pear
White Wonder
Amish Paste
Brandywine
Mortgage Lifter
Green grape
Heinz 1439
Pink bertona
Black krim
and yellow pear tomatoes
That is assuming that I can get them all to germinate and thrive in my bedroom for several weeks . . . hopefully that grow light gets here soon . . .
chadwick cherry
Green zebra
Cherokee purple
Red Pear
White Wonder
Amish Paste
Brandywine
Mortgage Lifter
Green grape
Heinz 1439
Pink bertona
Black krim
and yellow pear tomatoes
That is assuming that I can get them all to germinate and thrive in my bedroom for several weeks . . . hopefully that grow light gets here soon . . .
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thoughts and happenings
I had a voice lesson last Wednesday. I've been feeling really good about my lessons lately, like things are really starting to come together and my muscles are starting to internalize how they're supposed to move and behave when I'm singing. But Wednesday for whatever reason, probably a combination of tiredness and pollution, it took about half the lesson of different exercises to get my voice behaving correctly. But once it started sounding right, I was able to hold it there and sing through the numbers I've been working on and they sounded pretty good. Linda, my teacher, approved, and although she is an upbeat, constructive person, she won't hand out compliments when they aren't due.
We had a Chinese New Year party at my house on Friday, complete with a full-fledged Mongolian barbecue in the living room, manned by Dennis the jack-of-all-trades. The house smelled like a Chinese restaurant all day Saturday until Sarah decided enough was enough and opened the doors wide. The house aired out nicely, but it was like a fridge inside.
I went to hear the Utah Symphony on Saturday. I love the symphony. Why don't I go more often? It's such a fun reason to get dressed up and it's so easy to feel sophisticated when you're sitting in the elegant auditorium of Abravenal Hall.
They played Smetana's Ma Vlast in its entirety, all six movements. I had only heard three of them before. The whole symphony is so lyrical and poetic, although my favorite was The Moldau, without a doubt. This may be in part because I played the second flute part in high school, but it's also because The Moldau is simply a beautiful piece of music. I know of few program pieces that tell their story with such clarity and colorful illustration. The Moldau is a river in what was Czechoslovakia, Smetana's homeland ("Ma Vlast" means "My Country" in Czech, and each of the six movements is about a different region or a different story in Czechoslovakia). Listening to The Moldau is a journey of following the river from its source- little rivulets that are represented by two flutes- down as they become larger and merge and become a full-blown river. The river goes past a hunting party in the forest, a wedding party in the meadows, an old, abandoned castle by moonlight, and fairy sprites come out to play on its surface. It hits some rapids and waterfalls and then flows off into the distance. I love it because I've pictured the story that goes with it a hundred times in my head and I know every turn of the music and where it will take me on my journey down the river.
Someday I'll go see the Moldau river, and when I do, that music will be playing over and over in my head.
On a final note, patience has paid off and the first of the three amaryllis bulbs I planted in the living room planter is now gorgeous:
We had a Chinese New Year party at my house on Friday, complete with a full-fledged Mongolian barbecue in the living room, manned by Dennis the jack-of-all-trades. The house smelled like a Chinese restaurant all day Saturday until Sarah decided enough was enough and opened the doors wide. The house aired out nicely, but it was like a fridge inside.
I went to hear the Utah Symphony on Saturday. I love the symphony. Why don't I go more often? It's such a fun reason to get dressed up and it's so easy to feel sophisticated when you're sitting in the elegant auditorium of Abravenal Hall.
They played Smetana's Ma Vlast in its entirety, all six movements. I had only heard three of them before. The whole symphony is so lyrical and poetic, although my favorite was The Moldau, without a doubt. This may be in part because I played the second flute part in high school, but it's also because The Moldau is simply a beautiful piece of music. I know of few program pieces that tell their story with such clarity and colorful illustration. The Moldau is a river in what was Czechoslovakia, Smetana's homeland ("Ma Vlast" means "My Country" in Czech, and each of the six movements is about a different region or a different story in Czechoslovakia). Listening to The Moldau is a journey of following the river from its source- little rivulets that are represented by two flutes- down as they become larger and merge and become a full-blown river. The river goes past a hunting party in the forest, a wedding party in the meadows, an old, abandoned castle by moonlight, and fairy sprites come out to play on its surface. It hits some rapids and waterfalls and then flows off into the distance. I love it because I've pictured the story that goes with it a hundred times in my head and I know every turn of the music and where it will take me on my journey down the river.
Someday I'll go see the Moldau river, and when I do, that music will be playing over and over in my head.
On a final note, patience has paid off and the first of the three amaryllis bulbs I planted in the living room planter is now gorgeous:
Snowy vacation = lots of time indoors
This is John (and me):
John is one of my youngest cousins. He lives in Minneapolis not too far away from my grandparents, and since he is a very affectionate lad, it was very fun to spend a little time with him when I wasn't doing biography work. He also has quite a fanciful imagination. I should have written down more of the stories he told me, because they were quite humorous.
Since the high was about 29 while I was there, the only time I spent outdoors for more than a few minutes was when John coaxed me to go sledding the the front yard. The next thing I knew, he was an Olympic sledder:
Very, very exciting. We also had a lot of fun going out to lunch with Grandma, Grandpa, and a handful of their friends who they meet for lunch at a buffet every Monday. I think the average age is about 82. We were all getting seated a a long table when I looked over and realized that John was sitting at a booth by himself. Hum. "John," I called, "Are you just going to sit there by yourself?"
"Well," he responded, "I was thinking that maybe you would come sit by me."
How can you resist that? I left my grandpa describing a dietary supplement and went to sit by John in his booth. He loaded up his plate with chicken nuggets and pizza. Excellent use of a buffet. Later his dessert concoction would be enough to make most people's arteries curdle by just looking at the layers of gummy bears, ice cream, cookies, and whipped cream. The whole time, he gave me a running commentary on the adventures of his cat, Midnight, who he once accidentally swallowed in the middle of the night, and about Ghost Hunters, his favorite TV show, and different ways that he could break his leg to get out of school. He didn't believe me when I told him that breaking a leg would only get him out of a day or two of school and then he'd have to go to school and he'd have crutches.
Even more than John's stories, though, I enjoyed the stories my grandma told me- and I was much more inclined to believe that these ones were true, although they may have been tinged by the fuzziness of many years' passage. I love her sense of humor and her gentle patience with life. She is one of my best friends and I'm a little sobered to realize that she thinks very highly of me, too- it's something to live up to, to be sure. She paid me a massive compliment by telling me that if she were young again, she would want to be like me, which makes me smile, since I want to be like her when I'm old.
Writing this book has been a wonderful experience. I'm not done, but it's been just like going on a treasure hunt, unearthing wonderful stories and experiences about my grandma's life. And hopefully the people who read it will get the same sort of experience. That's my hope.
John is one of my youngest cousins. He lives in Minneapolis not too far away from my grandparents, and since he is a very affectionate lad, it was very fun to spend a little time with him when I wasn't doing biography work. He also has quite a fanciful imagination. I should have written down more of the stories he told me, because they were quite humorous.
Since the high was about 29 while I was there, the only time I spent outdoors for more than a few minutes was when John coaxed me to go sledding the the front yard. The next thing I knew, he was an Olympic sledder:
Very, very exciting. We also had a lot of fun going out to lunch with Grandma, Grandpa, and a handful of their friends who they meet for lunch at a buffet every Monday. I think the average age is about 82. We were all getting seated a a long table when I looked over and realized that John was sitting at a booth by himself. Hum. "John," I called, "Are you just going to sit there by yourself?"
"Well," he responded, "I was thinking that maybe you would come sit by me."
How can you resist that? I left my grandpa describing a dietary supplement and went to sit by John in his booth. He loaded up his plate with chicken nuggets and pizza. Excellent use of a buffet. Later his dessert concoction would be enough to make most people's arteries curdle by just looking at the layers of gummy bears, ice cream, cookies, and whipped cream. The whole time, he gave me a running commentary on the adventures of his cat, Midnight, who he once accidentally swallowed in the middle of the night, and about Ghost Hunters, his favorite TV show, and different ways that he could break his leg to get out of school. He didn't believe me when I told him that breaking a leg would only get him out of a day or two of school and then he'd have to go to school and he'd have crutches.
Even more than John's stories, though, I enjoyed the stories my grandma told me- and I was much more inclined to believe that these ones were true, although they may have been tinged by the fuzziness of many years' passage. I love her sense of humor and her gentle patience with life. She is one of my best friends and I'm a little sobered to realize that she thinks very highly of me, too- it's something to live up to, to be sure. She paid me a massive compliment by telling me that if she were young again, she would want to be like me, which makes me smile, since I want to be like her when I'm old.
Writing this book has been a wonderful experience. I'm not done, but it's been just like going on a treasure hunt, unearthing wonderful stories and experiences about my grandma's life. And hopefully the people who read it will get the same sort of experience. That's my hope.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Vacationing in the Great White North
Tomorrow I'm heading to Minneapolis, the first of a slew of trips during the next four months or so- some for business, some for pleasure. This one is pleasure with a side of business, but not corporate business. It is my great hope to finish my grandmother's biography over the next few months (between trips) and this visit to see my grandparents is going to be a big part of that.
The goal was to have the book drafted in some form before I left. I can technically say that's true; I have a draft of every chapter that I have enough information to write on done. But there are still four or five chapters I'd like to include that I don't have nearly enough material for. So I'm crossing my fingers that between my grandma and my grandpa and my grandma's friends and my uncles and a few cousins, I'll be able to get what I need. We'll see.
I've been thinking tonight- I flew out to Minneapolis almost exactly four years ago. I remember the date because I remember watching Olympic ice skating in the basement with Grandpa while I was there. I was there to interview for grad school at the University of Minnesota, and between that and the terrible car accident that Grandma was in shortly before I arrived, it was a rather emotional and stressful visit. I anticipate this one will be much more relaxed. Also, the thought that I was interviewing for grad school four years ago suddenly makes me feel rather old. But there's nothing like hearing my grandma's stories about growing up in the Great Depression to make me feel young again, so hooray! This will be a fun trip.
The goal was to have the book drafted in some form before I left. I can technically say that's true; I have a draft of every chapter that I have enough information to write on done. But there are still four or five chapters I'd like to include that I don't have nearly enough material for. So I'm crossing my fingers that between my grandma and my grandpa and my grandma's friends and my uncles and a few cousins, I'll be able to get what I need. We'll see.
I've been thinking tonight- I flew out to Minneapolis almost exactly four years ago. I remember the date because I remember watching Olympic ice skating in the basement with Grandpa while I was there. I was there to interview for grad school at the University of Minnesota, and between that and the terrible car accident that Grandma was in shortly before I arrived, it was a rather emotional and stressful visit. I anticipate this one will be much more relaxed. Also, the thought that I was interviewing for grad school four years ago suddenly makes me feel rather old. But there's nothing like hearing my grandma's stories about growing up in the Great Depression to make me feel young again, so hooray! This will be a fun trip.
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