Nothing Like a Good Soup in the Winter

Well, it's not really very like winter as it is unseasonably warm in SLC and there has been no snow for several weeks now. But in a joint effort with my two daughters and the internet, we have recreated, and maybe improved upon, the Olive Garden minestrone. It didn't take that long to cook, and even the most resistent soup hater (Cameron) admitted he liked it. I'd post the recipe, but Laura is the one who put it all together, and I'm not sure of all the ingredients. It has been a busy couple of weeks with very little to show, but I soldier on nonetheless. I'm looking forward to seeing many of you Thanksgiving evening for dessert.

Addendum: Turns out the invite didn't go out for Thanksgiving evening dessert. Nonetheless, we'll be here with pies if anyone wants to come. E mail or call for details. I'll try to get the soup recipe up tomorrow if the dinner preparations don't get in the way.

Not Too Smart

Since Laura has my camera, and I'm not sure I would have anything to post by way of illustration, this will stand as a narrative entry.

First, I decided after weeks of debating that I would do two things this week--go to the temple and get new tires on my car. The temple part I hadn't debated, but just hadn't put it in the proper place on my list of priorities. I headed out from work at about 4:30 Wednesday afternoon hoping to avoid the worst of the traffic on the way to the temple. Unfortunately, it gets dark really early in Las Vegas when daylight savings time ends. Furthermore, there has been a lot of road construction along the route I use to get to the temple. In the dusk I missed a new division in the freeway system which would have allowed me to head East to the temple and ended up going South on I-15. As luck would have it, there was a traffic accident and the traffic on Southbound I-15 was at a standstill. It took me half an hour to get to an exit where I could turn around and right myself. Not that it mattered so very much, but it made going to the temple feel like more of a sacrifice than I planned on. Serves me right for putting it off so long.

So, Thursday I went to Costco to get new tires. I waited almost two hours for them to finish the installation. Determined to be cheerful, I commented to the guy at the checkout that it looked like it was a busy day. He said, "Yes, and the funny thing is yesterday we only sold one tire all day." Just my luck to pick the wrong day and the wrong time to do that task, but anticipating bad weather on the way to SLC this weekend, I thought it was important to get it done. Surely I could have done with a little inspiration or prompting to make my week go more smoothly.

Today I spent the day cleaning blinds and windows. One of the blinds on the back door had been broken last winter when the wind caught the door and wrenched the blind--it has been hanging crooked ever since. I took it down to evaluate the damage. A plastic piece was broken, and part of it was just lying in the header. As I tried to figure out if it could be glued or fixed, the other piece it connected to was so brittle it broke again when I tried to manipulate it. I began looking about for some potential repair, and saw the lid to a spray can which I had emptied in the process of cleaning the windows. A view came into my mind of how I could modify the lid to fix the blind, which I did. It works perfectly, and even rotates to open and close the blind. I am not too smart, but I am smart enough to know I couldn't have come up with that by myself. I am thankful at last for a little bit of inspiration--it makes me happy every time I look at the blind now hanging straight. I guess the week turned out all right after all.

Instruction Book

OK, I forgot how this works. Please read the second blog entry first so you get the picture. I am in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor and want to share, but I'm a little inept. Maybe you should go to the web site for the hotel for a better perspective.

Last Century Elegance

There are a lot of lobbys and places to sit and read, meditate or relax. There was one lobby in particular that I would like to miniaturize and create in my house. Most of the shots are a little dark, but hopefully you will get the idea. If I get some housekeeping service, I will try a shot of our room, which is in the old original hotel, built in 1918. They are celebrating 90 years this year. All of the lobbys have to have a table and fresh flowers to maintain their five star rating. The model living room is the picture on the right and the one so dark you can hardly see it. It brightens up a bit if you click on and enlarge it. In spite of all the beauty and elegance, I would rather be in SLC with little Ben. I keep telling myself there is not much I could do, but my heart is there nonetheless.

The Fabulous Broadmoor

I came somewhat unsuspecting to the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado Springs--business trip with David. It is gorgeous, and although I have pretty much been on my own all day for these couple of days, I am happy to be here. I wanted to share a few pictures of the grounds and maybe a couple of interiors. I'm not much of a photographer, and there was some strange icon on my camera, but at least I got photos. Click on the photo to see the autumn glory of the grounds. There are two pairs of swans on the lake--one black and one white. I caught one of the white swans on camera this morning.

End of an Era; Sign of the Times

Last Monday (or Saturday or Sunday) we filled our gas tank(s) at the Sunshine Truck Stop in Summit. We returned Thursday late evening to find the station had closed in our absence, shocked to learn we had filled up for the last time in Summit. I have been in mourning all weekend over the loss. I learned from Uncle Alma that the truck stop had been there for 35 years, and that four Summit residents lost their jobs when it closed. I had noticed that since the new truck stop opened on the north side of Cedar City, fewer trucks accumulated at the Sunshine stop. I had also noted that the facility was old and looked run down. But the 87 octane gas for cars was the lowest price in the vicinity, and it had a reputation for being good quality gasoline. I'll get over it, but I feel unaccountably sad to see it all boarded up.

On a brighter note, Barbara came for the weekend. We enjoyed watching General Conference, and last night took a tour of the environs visiting Parowan Gap, Parowan, and Cedar City. She did her weekend shopping in Cedar including buying paint for her downstairs bedroom. We had a great time. We also had a nice little visit with Uncle Alma and his kids--Cleon and his family, Steve and his wife, and RaeLynn and a couple of her children--between sessions. David picked apples which are littering the ground faster than we can get them off the tree. Fall is here and winter can't be too far behind, but we had no rain and a little sunshine today.

Default Post

OK, it has been so long since I posted the address has dropped off my list. I have not much to say. I have been here in SLC on baby watch since a week ago Friday. My biggest accomplishments so far have been to change a light bulb in my garage (no mean task since the ceilings are so high and my ladder is not) and get the drapes ready to hang in my bedroom--I have been working on them, intermittently, for months. I don't miss Las Vegas, and I do feel bad about having missed my opportunity to speak in the Summit Ward Sacrament Meeting last Sunday--I guess I do not so much enjoy speaking as feeling good about disciplining myself to prepare a talk. I have been so out of the loop with no church callings for a year. I am now a visiting teacher and loving it. I was also asked to do the monthly Relief Society bulletin. Fall is clearly on the way. I love fall, but winter always depresses me in spite of my efforts to overcome it; it's the short days and lack of sun more than the cold. Again, no pics, but at least I won't get all the way to October without having said something!!