Double Birthday

 Camille's birthday was July 10, 2014, and Michael's birthday was July 20.  We celebrated both birthdays with a dinner party at Camille's house on Sunday, July 20, 2014.  Camille didn't get back into town from Bryce Canyon until midnight Saturday night and she was in charge of Primary sharing time on Sunday morning, so I offered to do the shopping.  Dave and I arrived with a trunk full of food.  Since we have no kitchen, the cooking had to be done at the Eberts' house.  In one hour, we put together a dinner of baked salmon, grilled flank steak, green salad, fruit salad, sweet potato fries, and French bread.   Dessert was slices of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with raspberry sauce. 

 I brought lots of sauces, since there wasn't time to cook fancy food.  Dave and I bought a pint of dill vinaigrette when we had supper at Oscar's in Springdale yesterday, and we also brought sun-dried tomato sauce for the salmon, smoky mustard sauce for the steak, raspberry sauce for the cake and ice cream, and true Utah "fry sauce" for the sweet potato fries.   Annelise loved those fries and fry sauce!

 "This isn't a tattoo," Mia protested, when we asked her what her blue face was all about.  We never did learn....

 Camille and Michael blew the candles on the cake out together.  Camille put five candles on the cake--the three and the two represented Michael's 32 years, and the four and the one represented Camille's forty-one years.

Southern Utah Through Fresh Eyes

 Emilie's friend, Alisha, visited from Boston.  Camille took Emilie, Alisha, and Ezra on a trip through Southern Utah during the week of July 13 to 20, 2014.  We met up with the travelers in St. George on July 19 and took a hike with them in Zions Park.  It was a treat to see our beloved Zions through the amazed eyes of an Easterner who had never seen red rock canyons before. 

 A day with Camille is a treat any time, anywhere.

 Emilie now has her driver's license.  She and Alisha enjoyed the luxury of traveling in a car by themselves, as Camille and Ezra came with us on the trip to Zions.

 We stopped in Hurricane at Swig, a new soft drink shop which is the rage with Emilie's friends from SLC who visit Southern Utah.

 The Swig store had bright, snappy décor.

 "Dirty" is the name of one of Swig's drinks--Cola mixed with coconut syrup, as I recall.  I ordered "the missionary," which is Sprite mixed with tiger's blood and coconut syrups.  It definitely had an exotic taste, as if named for an exotic land visited by Mormon missionaries!

 What could be more of a treat than blue shaved ice?

 Emilie took a lesson from her mom in filling a car with gas--how to insert the credit card, push the nozzle into the gas tank, and squeeze!

 One of our favorite Zions Park hikes is the short trail just past the "tunnel."  It is only a mile long, but it has all the hike essentials--some ups and downs, a cliff dropping away dangerously, a cave, and a spectacular view at the end of the trail.

 We promised Ezra he could have one "funny picture" if he'd look respectable for one serious picture.  Emilie and Alisha helped Ezra create his "funny picture."

 Camille and her charges drove to Bryce and then to SLC, after the hike.  Dave and I drove back to St. George, where we watched the Tuacahn production of "The Little Mermaid."  Tuacahn has a special arrangement with Disney for performing Disney musicals regionally, before the best ones move to Broadway.  "Aladdin," which was a Tuacahn production a few years ago, is playing on Broadway now.  Dave and I were charmed and impressed with "The Little Mermaid," which had great songs and innovative special effects.  A wall of water fell from a pipe above the stage, creating the impression of being under the sea. A huge mock ship surfed the stage during the "above the sea" scenes.  Colorful puppets, ala Lion King, floated across the stage.  We could easily imagine this production on Broadway.

U-2 Music in the Mountains

 It has been years since Dave and I attended a Deer Valley summer concert.  On July 12, we took Michael to a concert of U-2 music in the mountains.  We brought with us sandwiches and soup from Paradise Bakery, and sat high on the mountain, with the music engulfing us and the sun setting on the western horizon behind the auditorium.  The Utah Symphony played U-2 songs for more than two hours, with an added rock band and excellent male singer.  "Is this the way U-2 music usually sounds?" I asked Michael  "No," he responded, "there are more violins than in your typical U-2 concert, but this sounds great."

The Remodel

 Ann Larsen, our architect, and Scott Goddard, our general contractor, are the masterminds behind the remodel of our house, which has been going on since mid-January.  Susan Taggart is our decorator.  She has wonderfully flamboyant clothes.  I'll have to take her picture on a day when she is wearing silver shoes or a 20's style, extra-long necklace, or a jumpsuit or long, flowing skirt.  Her unique personal flair assures me that my home will also have style and flair!

 I wanted an extra 144 square feet added to the living room.  Dave wanted the largest walk-in closet.  We made a trade. Dave's walk-in closet encompasses our old upstairs storeroom.  He has decorated it with his favorite photographs and knick-knacks, and he has added an easy chair, side table, TV, and fridge.  It is his own world.  Not everyone understands why Dave luxuriates in his closet.  One of the workmen saw him there, drinking soda pop, and asked, "What did you do that was so bad that you have to stay in here?"

 We have Oriental rugs for all of our floors.  All but two of the rugs are new.  This rug is in the hallway between our bedroom and master bathroom.  We have two batiks decorated with Buddha figures to hang in the hallway.

 Our bedroom has a new sofa and chairs, in shades of sage green and muted turquoise.  We will add new furniture--turquoise Chinese headboard, brocade-covered telephone chair and black oriental table--as well as chartreuse and royal blue accents.  This room will pop with color!

 One of the pleasures of decorating has been choosing new accents.  I love the website for Novica, an organization sponsored by National Geographic for selling foreign craftsmen's artwork.  We bought two wood panels carved with elephants by Indonesian craftsmen.  We also bought Indian batik and applique hangings, and Indonesian wood masks.

 Dave chose this Lladro statue of an elephant.

 This bowl is one of the treasures I discovered in India when I traveled there to see Jonny and Jenny in 2008.

 We kept the reading nook in the "office" (as opposed to the "study"), but we bought new furniture and tables.  An orange Indian embroidered panel will hang on the wall.

 Dave and I love dragons, including this wall carving from Indonesia.

 We have three Indonesian demon masks to hang above our desk in the study.

 Susan loves bright colors, such as this velvet couch in the study.  I found a Thai silk pillow that includes both the turquoise of the couch and the blue and orange of the rug and lamp.

 The upstairs guest room is still a work in progress.  Susan and I found a carved Indonesian headboard for the bed and a green Chinese wall panel.  We're adding a turquoise table to accompany the upholstered chair, green Chinese "crackle" lamps, dark blue bed stands and a dark blue quilted throw to lay across the bottom of the bed.  Those colors are all in the Oriental rug on the floor.  We'll have to see how the room comes together!

 It's amazing, how much bigger the living room and family room look with the porch between them covered and incorporated.  We now have one huge, L-shaped "great room."

The stained glass window that covered the back wall of the living room will be reinstalled on the side wall, softening our view of the Monson's house.

 Scott Goddard supervised the framers who transformed the back of the house.

In Search of Culture

 Dave says that the Springville Art Museum is his favorite art museum in Utah.   We have attended the annual Spring Salon there several times, and we especially enjoyed our visit on July 7, 2014. 

 The Spring Salon showcases new works by Utah artists.  There are rooms and rooms of oil paintings, sculptures, and watercolors for sale by both very modern and very traditional local artists.  The exhibit is a "Who's Who" of today's prominent artists.

 Dave and I love traditional Utah landscapes, of which there were many in the show.

Mormon art (example above) is another specialty. 

 

One of Jonny's and Jenny's favorite Utah painters is Kirshisnek.  His paintings remind me of Chagall's magical realism.  They are very dreamy.  Again, the Spring Salon had not one example of Kirshisnek's work, but several.

 

 The Springville Art Museum also has a large collection of Soviet art.  Many of the paintings are in the Impressionist style, although some portray war and are very realistic.  The painting on the far wall is of a German soldier, during WWII, who has just discovered a sick old man in bed, as he raids a house.  The question hanging over the painting is whether the soldier will be merciful or cruel.

 There were also wonderful paintings in the Art Museum's permanent collection by early Utah painters, such as James Harwood and John Hafen, and by more recent, prominent painters such as this work by LeConte Stewart.

Dave and I love plays, as well as paintings.  We spent the weekend of July 12 and 13, 2014, in St. George.  One highlight of our trip was attending the musical, "The Wizard of Oz," at Tuacahn.  The Tuachan outdoor amphitheater is framed by red rock.

R