Zions in the Spring

Spring is the ideal time to visit Zions Park and all of Southern Utah.  Dave and I spent the weekend of April 8, 2017, at our home in St. George.  We devoted Saturday to roaming through Hurricane and on into the Park.

The antiques store on Hurricane's main street always draws us in.  We bought our saddle for the Bunk Room there, and, this week, I found a footed crystal trifle bowl for $17.  "Where will we put it?  The whole house is filled up," David grumbled, but it made a great salad bowl for Sunday dinner.

 Old photographs with names of the people on them sell for more....

 Dave's protest symbol has been a flamingo ever since I used a decorator for the St. George house.  After the house was meticulously (and expensively) decorated, Dave planted a plastic flamingo in the back yard!

 We never tire of the magnificent views in Zions Park and its artsy/cutesy gateway city, Springdale.

 A favorite stop in Springdale is Worthington Gallery, with its hand blown glass and wind sculptures.

 We stopped at the Zions Visitors Center next to a scale model of Zions Canyon.

 We hiked the Riverwalk to the base of the Narrows.  The Virgin River was swollen with spring run-off.

 I took photos of the canyons, but also of the little things that make the hike special--water weeping through the canyon walls with plants sprouting out of moist cracks, bright wild flowers, squirrels.

The canyon was full of people, during this perfect spring day.  Many spoke foreign languages.  This family lives in Los Angeles, but its roots are in the Middle East.

 A wild turkey strolled in front of our shuttle, as it waited to fill with passengers before leaving.  "Run, get a picture!"  Dave urged.  I did.

 We treated ourselves to supper at Oscar's, a favorite cafe in Springdale.

I took a bottle of Oscar's special salad dressing home with me.  It was flavored with dill, and so was perfect for our Russian dinner on Sunday.

I ordered a Russian shawl that still had the tags on it, in Cyrillic script.  I could just see it wrapped around the head or shoulders of an old lady walking the streets of Moscow.  It looked nearly as good on my table, laden with plates of beef stroganoff, and bowls of borcht and plum ice cream. I ate plum ice cream for dinner ten nights in a row as my family drove through Russia in the late 1960s.  All the hotels, across the country, were owned by the government, and they all had the same menu!

Passover (And Conference)

It was a "Christian Seder."  Alan Dale, Mike and Heidi, and the Kids from Provo (Spencer, Naomi, and Kirsten) joined Dave and me to watch Conference together on Sunday, April 2, 2017. Afterwards, we celebrated Passover.  I found a Passover script, or Haggadah, that incorporated Christian perspective.  As the Jewish version directed the participants to pass a bowl of water and a towel around the table to wash their hands, my Christian script pointed out that this was when Jesus would have washed his disciples' feet.  As the Jewish version directed that the matzoh (unleavened bread) be distributed and that the guests drink their first cup of wine, my Christian script said that this is where Jesus would have told his disciples to "do this in remembrance of me."

Passover is one of the most sacred holidays to the Jews, and Jewish wives set out their best china, tablecloth, and food for the Passover dinner.  So did I.  We had all the traditional Jewish dishes, including matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish, braised brisket with a sliced potato casserole, and flourless chocolate almond cake.  Alan Dale brought a loaf of bread from his breadmaker and pronounced it "unleavened."   Michael went to the door to look up and down Northland Drive for Elijah and we proclaimed together, at the end of the service, "Next year in Jerusalem!"

As always, Conference itself was a feast of inspiring talks.  President Monson announced five new temples, including one in Nairobi, Kenya!

Lazy Weekend

Dave and I keep promising each other that we'll spend some lazy weekends together.  The weekend of March 25 and 26, 2017, was as close to that model as we get.  In the late morning of Saturday, after Dave walked five miles up City Creek Canyon, I worked out at the gym, and we cleaned the house together, we wandered down to the Farmer's Market in the old Rio Grand train terminal.  Dave was entranced by the dog bone shop.  A creative entrepreneur buys elk bones cheap and sells them dearly, as dog treats.

Dave bought a $15 dog bone and took it to Camille's dog Oakley, as a special treat.  Dave described Oakley's reaction as, "Where has that bone been all of my life?"

After overdosing on Pike Market in Seattle, it is a luxury to have our own winter Farmer's Market, even if it is only open every other Saturday.

I couldn't resist the entreaty to "Turboganic" my garden.  I bought a quart bottle of the chocolaty, highly concentrated miracle syrup.

Another entrepreneur sold seedlings--radish, broccoli, chard.

I bought a half-tray of tiny chard plants for my garden at Cannon Greens in Glendale.

On our lazy weekend, we had time to mosey through Costco with all the pleasure Dave's mom and dad used to find in a saunter through Walmart.

I did get those tiny chard plants into the ground before they withered and dyed, to the amazement of David.  I am looking forward to another multicultural experience with all the immigrants who garden at the Cannon Greens community garden with me.  It was here that a Bulgarian man told me I had a "Russian face", and that I watched the Rwandan women hoeing their plots, completely filled with string beans..

Dave relaxed with a JAZZ game while I attended a potluck supper hosted by our stake Relief Society prior to a screening of the newly named "first session of Conference".  The Conference session included speakers from the Women's Auxiliaries, as well as the First Presidency.  I took a tray of mint chocolate brownies to share.

 I met my cousin Bob Edwards' wife, Judy, at the supper and sat with her and her daughter, Catherine, and her daughter-in-law.  Diane, the sister-in-law of Holly Young (a neighbor of ours) also sat with us. Diane and her husband are living with Holly's father, Elliot Richards, a grand old man now in his nineties.

Judy's daughter, Catherine, sitting at the far left, teaches at an exclusive private school in New York City.  It was fascinating to hear her talk about her efforts in helping children from extremely rich families grow up to be community-oriented and unpretentious.  Catherine was just back from leading a tour of high school students from her school to China.  I told Catherine how much she looks like an Eyring and she responded, "I look just like you!"

On Sunday, March 26, I produced another in my series of "theme dinners."  I cooked Middle Eastern food from the highly acclaimed "Jerusalem" cookbook.  The best entree dish was the white and black rice pilaf with garbanzo beans, flavored with cumin and turmeric.  The best dish, overall, was fresh lemon ice cream, which I served with homemade baklava.

Dave's sister, Janice, joins us for dinner when her children don't have their own family events.  Alan Dale joins us often, and has started to bring homemade bread made in his bread machine.  "I have hundreds of recipes," he says, as he contributes cranberry or blueberry or apricot or cheese versions.

It is a continuing delight to have Mike and Heidi come often.  My food can never be too exotic for Mike!

St. Paddy's Day Parade

Dave and I devoted Saturday, March 18, 2017, to all things Irish.  We attended the St. Paddy's Day parade at the Gateway and, in the evening, attended a show of Irish dance, music, and storytelling at the Rose Wagner Theater in downtown SLC.  I admit, we had a jarring bowl of tortilla soup at Costa Vida after the parade, but everything else was Irish!

 A parade is a photographer's dream.  I am my father's daughter, in my fascination with "people" shots.  I love catching the costumes, the colors, the expressions, and the body language of people having fun.

 Our Irish show, in the evening, turned out to be the annual recital of a local Celtic dance studio.  Although not all the dances were professional, we were charmed by the little guys, as well as the accomplished high schoolers.  There were also guest artists, including a harpist and a fiddler who played Irish jigs.  I simply cannot get enough Irish music and dance!