While the Cat's Away...

When I told Dave I was taking a trip to San Diego with "the ladies," he quickly said, "I'm going on a trip, too."  I was curious to see how he would spend the weekend of October 26, 2018.  Dave's choice was a solo road trip to southeast Utah, with its glorious red rock country.

To my surprise, Dave began his weekend with an LDS temple session at the tiny, rural Monticello Utah Temple.  One of my goals is to visit 10 new LDS temples each year, of the more than 150 which have been built.  I enjoy seeing the local motifs that the designers build into the temples, and to feel the pride, spirituality, and sense of community that a temple brings to each Mormon area in which one is built.  I had no idea that Dave embraced the idea of visiting temples himself.  He promised to take me back to Monticello to add that temple to my list.

 Wherever Dave and I go, we look for John Deere equipment, since that's what Jonny sells.

Dave spent Saturday in Moab, just north of Monticello.  It is a biker's and hiker's paradise, particularly in the spring, with wildflowers, and in the fall, with golden bushes and trees.

Dave hiked to Delicate Arch, in Arches National Park.  Delicate Arch is an international icon.  Dave reminded me that, during a trip to Germany, we saw Delicate Arch on the cover of a German magazine!

 Dave texted me photos of a Native American bear pendant, inlaid with turquoise and bits of opal, which he discovered at a Moab trading post.  It hung from three strands of onyx and other semi-precious stones and was certified as Navaho-made.  "Do you like this?  Would it be a good Christmas present?" he asked.  I was the envy of my friends, to have my husband so thoughtful and generous.  And yes, I loved the bear pendant!

It just so happened that I had been admiring bear pendants myself, as the ladies and I browsed in San Diego shops!  I had a great trip to San Diego, but I looked forward to spending the next trip (and many more) with David.

San Diego with the Ladies

One of my favorite weekends each year is the trip to Tracey Cannon's San Diego condo.  I'm on my best behavior, hoping to be invited again.  The 2018 troupe included nine old friends--Pam Cole, Robin Kimball, Julie Grow, Virginia Walker, Bobby Casper, Tracey, Janie Rogers, Julie Monson, and Robyn Petty.  We spent from Thursday, October 25, 2018, until Monday, October 27, 2018, with Tracey in San Diego.

There are always two groups--the early risers and the late snoozers.  Dave is amazed that I align myself with the early risers, but in my top bunk in the open loft, I hear everything, see everything, and am up by 5, if not 4!  That's the way I like it, though, so I can fill my day full to brimming with the delights of old friends and San Diego.  During our Friday through Monday visit, I made three trips to the beach, including two early morning walks.  On Friday morning, Bobby Casper, Robyn Petty, and I strolled the mile to the beach, picking up giant pine cones and admiring the subtropical flowers along the way.

 Surfers in wet suits were already riding the waves when we arrived.

On Friday afternoon, we took a tour of the $60 million Stuart Collection at UC-San Diego.  The best-known art piece is "Fallen Star", a miniature house perched on top of the Engineering Building.  The Korean-born sculptor of "Fallen Star" said that moving to America challenged his ideas of "home"; he sometimes felt as alien as if he had fallen from a distant star.

 The assistant curator briefed us on the art works and then led us around campus to see them.

Another favorite sculpture is the teddy bear made from California boulders.  We saw its prototype in the curator's office.

I deeply admire each of the women whom Tracey invited.  Pam Cole is a very capable mother of six who is also the soul of humility--very sweet and unassuming despite the many challenges of her life.  Humility has never been one of my strengths, and I admire it in others.

It was a special treat to spend time with my much-loved second cousin, Julie Grow, after not seeing her for several years.  Julie has always been a talented leader of women, not only as the mother of six or seven daughters, but as a Young Women president with whom I served in our Church, and now as a Relief Society president.   We talked and talked and talked.

 When this limestone teddy bear was first erected next to the Engineering Building, the engineers were offended, as if their technical skills were being minimized.  They later adopted the teddy bear as their mascot, seeing it as a symbol of the scientific skills that can turn building materials into art.

 This quotation by Emerson was incorporated into another University artwork.

 It was a treat to have such a knowledgeable guide.

 And, finally, we entered the "Fallen Star" on top of the Engineering Building.

Everything was at odd angles, emphasizing the feelings of discomfort and unrest in getting used to a new home.

On Saturday morning we attended a session of the San Diego Temple.  It was sweet to share that spiritual experience with good friends.

But back to material things--we stopped by the discount DSW store on our way home to check out its huge selection of shoes and boots and bags.

The Nine Ladies were champion shoppers, more aggressive in their pursuit of The Bargain than I typically am while on vacation.  I did find some treasures for my Christmas table at the Leaping Lizards consignment mall, and I also fell in love with a Native American inlaid bear pendant at a Seaport boutique.

That very evening, Dave called from his trip to Moab, Utah, to tell me that he had bought me a bear pendant that he hoped I'd like.  Our minds are attuned after 48 years of marriage--the bear pendant Dave chose was similar to but even more beautiful than the one I'd fallen in love with at Seaport!

 On Saturday afternoon, we walked the beach at La Jolla Shores.

 We passed an artist, photographing her artwork in the sand.

 We caught Tracey's enthusiasm for San Diego.  Tracey is a successful Utah real estate developer, and her trips to Southern California give her a chance to relax from her stressful career.

Janie Rogers is an artist, with a beautiful and valuable collection of Utah paintings.  Her husband, Ed, recently died, and we were lucky that Janie felt up to spending a weekend with "the girls."  Janie is reserved, but has fascinating talents and interests when you get to know her, including a special interest in Chinese art.

During our San Diego stay, we wandered the shops of both Seaport and Old Town, visiting artisans like this candle maker.

Old Town was covered with decorations for the Mexican Day of the Dead, and a band sang in Spanish.

 We spent Sunday, after Church, at Balboa Park.  Robyn Petty and Julie Monson checked out the craft stalls.  Both Robyn and Julie are good friends of mine, as is Robin Kimball, another dear friend whom I haven't seen lately.

 Julie Grow and I wandered through the Japanese Gardens.

We spent an hour or more in the art museum, enjoying paintings by Old Masters like this common relative of Julie Grow and me--the 18th century English portrait painter, George Romney.

 These statues are of my favorite Spanish painters--Velasquez, Murillo, and Zurburan.

We lingered in Balboa Park as night fell.  This 15-year-old Latin beauty is dressed for her quincineria, or party celebrating her approaching womanhood.

 The colored lights on the Spanish colonial buildings of Balboa park created a magical scene.

And the true colors of the sunset were even more magical yet!

Ogden and Ancestors

 I have grown more and more interested in genealogy throughout the last few years--learning who my ancestors were, and how and where they lived.  I enjoy tracing the Calders, whose ancestral home is in the northeastern tip of Scotland, as they spread out into Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and the United States.  I pore over the "Memories" collections of the LDS Family Search website, which include such treasures as this photo of my father, Grant Calder, and his college debate partner.  There are also photos and stories about ancestors further back, contributed by their many descendants.  My grandson, Grant, posted one of my write-ups about an ancestor on the Family Search website.

 As I find new names of ancestors, I do religious ordinances in the LDS temples for them, helping to link families together, bit by bit.  I believe, of course, that whether any ancestors accept these ordinances is completely up to them.  In the process, I have come to love the beauty and symbolism of LDS temples.  On October 20, 2018, Dave and I visited the newly remodeled Ogden, Utah, temple, one of more than 30 LDS temples in which we have worshipped.

 Most temples are decorated with a theme that repeatedly occurs in the stained glass, upholstery, and carpet.  One design theme at the Ogden temple is the rose.  According to one of the temple workers with whom we spoke, there is a particular variety of rose which is associated with Ogden.

In Search of Calders

It was the perfect opportunity to meet Cleo Calder and to get reacquainted with Francis and Cornelius Montague.  St. John Properties received the "Developer of the Year" award in Washington, D.C. on October 17, 2018, at a conference for NAIOP, the national developers' trade group.  Daniel Thomas, the Utah Regional Partner for St. John Properties, for whom I do legal work, invited me to join the Utah contingent at the awards ceremony.  He also invited me to join him at his home office in Baltimore for a luncheon afterwards.   

The awards ceremony was impressive and I enjoyed meeting the Baltimore staff with whom I do financings and acquisitions, but the highlight of the trip was visiting Ryan and Elise Calder in Baltimore and Mari and John Montague and Toshiko Calder in Washington, D.C.  My brother Kent's son, Ryan, teaches sociology at John Hopkins University.  He and his wife, Elise, who is also a sociology professor, have a new baby.  Cleo is much-loved and adorable.  She lives in a sparkling white home in a Baltimore suburb.  I enjoyed an hour and more chatting with Ryan, Elise, and an intriguing friend of Elise's who has just published a book on alcoholism.  Then Ryan gave me a quick tour of Baltimore's struggling neighborhoods as he drove me to the airport.  I am not surprised that my very interesting brother has such interesting children!

Mari and John live right behind the Supreme Court in downtown D.C.  "We're the house with the orange Halloween lights out front," Mari told me, before my adventure-by-Uber on the evening of October 16.  I arrived just after 5-year-old Cornelius and 3-year-old Francis had been put to bed, but they came bounding down the stairs, all happy grins, at the sound of my voice.  After hugs and slices of Mari's warm pumpkin bread, they bounded back to their rooms.  My sister-in-law, Toshiko, arrived, and we spent a happy hour talking together about law (John and Mari are both Berkeley law grads), learning Japanese (Toshiko is teaching an advanced Japanese course at John Hopkins' SAIS grad school in downtown Washington and my grandson Jono is learning Japanese in Okinawa as an LDS missionary), and new family babies, including my grandson Thomas and John and Mari's new daughter, due at the end of November.   Toshiko then drove me back to my hotel in northwest Washington, with both of us intently navigating the maze of dark, diagonal streets.  I was sad that Kent was in Japan, but it was such a pleasure to spend time with his family!

Edward St. John is nearly 80, yet still the dynamic leader of St. John Properties, which owns nearly 20 million square feet of commercial real estate throughout the United States.  Mr. St. John used the Pleasant Grove, Utah, Valley Grove project as an example of the company's fine development work, as Daniel Thomas and I swelled with pride!