#3033 lunchtime adventure

On Monday I had a lunch date with my friend Wendy from work. We were looking forward to having empanadas from Empanada Co. Unfortunately, we didn't check their hours ahead of time, and when we got there, we found out the restaurant is closed on Monday. 

In the same complex, there is (was) a kolach store, and we usually get a couple of kolaches while we are in the area. Unfortunately, the kolach store, Hruska's Kolaches, has moved, so that place was closed, too.

In the building behind the empanada store is a place called Wasatch Tap Room. It's part of the Squatter's Brewery group. I thought they might have a restaurant, so we walked over there and they were open, but unfortunately, it is just a bar, no food, so we left.

We looked at the map program to find restaurants near me. Sugarhouse, the neighborhood we were in, has a gazillion places to eat. A restaurant I've been to,  Fiddler's,  popped up as being nearby, so we decided to go there. It is classified as a bar, even though it has a big dining area and menu, so according to Utah laws, you have to show your ID even if you are clearly over 21 years old. Unfortunately, Wendy did not have her ID with her since I drove, so we left that place, too.

We decided to go to Pretty Bird because we knew where it was and we knew we could get in there easily. I had chicken strips and fries and it was really good. We were bummed not to have empanadas, but we have already made plans to go to Empanda Co on March 10, a Tuesday, so we can satisfy our taste buds. We might even find Hruska's new location and get a kolach as well!

#3025 an evening with Alice Feeney

Alice and me

 On Friday night I did something fun and different. I went to a book talk sponsored by The Kings English Bookshop. The author Alice Feeney was in town to talk about her latest novel, My Husband’s Wife. The ticket included a signed copy of the book, and at the end, you could have Alice personalize the book with your name, which I did. 

Woooo!

I have only read one of Alice’s books, Daisy Darker, which I really enjoyed. It was Agatha Christie-esque.

Feeney’s books are psychological thrillers. They aren’t scary or bloody, but are a little creepy, the kind that get in your brain. I would like to read more of her books. She has written eight novels, including this latest release. She’s pretty popular and her books are waitlisted at the library. Fun fact, one of her novels, His and Hers, is a limited series now streaming on Netflix. 

The talk was held in the First Baptist Church of Salt Lake City. I thought the talk would be held in a meeting room, but it was held in THE meeting room, the actual chapel. There were hundreds of people there, and we were totally eating up her British accent and stories about walking along the cliffs with her dog as she works through her stories in her mind. 

Alice Feeney (right) discusses her writing process

It’s fascinating to me to listen to an author talk about their process: how a story forms in their minds, how the characters evolve, and how the words finally make it on to the page. Feeney says that she has five more novels already taking up space in her mind, and she is itching to get back to her shed to start writing the next book. I can’t even fathom that imagination. I would love to have a story floating around in my head waiting to escape onto a page, but I don’t, at least not now. Maybe someday, and maybe not. 

I am glad I looked at the email from Hey Salt Lake on Thursday morning. That’s how I found out about the Alice Feeney event. I do get emails from The Kings English, but I don’t always pay much attention to them. I’ll have to pay more attention in the future, but it worked out okay. I really like the Hey Salt Lake newsletter that comes in my email every day. Between that email and the daily email from Axios SLC, I get a lot of good info about stuff that’s going on that I might be interested in, interesting places, and local news. 

That’s all for today. Take care of yourselves. Be safe out there.

Xo

#2960 good times this weekend

There has been a lot happening at my house in the past few days. Let me tell you about it.

On Friday, I worked at the office in the morning, then came home at 1:00 to finish up my workday, and to have a chance to say good-bye to MT as he set off for his through-hike on the Colorado Trail. I felt emotional when he left - like, I actually cried. I wasn't expecting that, and I was puzzled by this reaction. Hang on to that thought, because we'll circle back to it in a bit.

That night, T and I went to see the new Superman movie on an IMAX screen. I didn't really want to see it, but I did really want to hang out with my son. I didn't really particularly like or dislike the movie. T really liked it, and I think I was the only person in the theater with a meh response. There was a lot of cheering and clapping at the end of the show.

Yesterday (Saturday), I was up fairly early to play with the dogs, water the plants, and feed the birds; it's my usual morning routine. I also cleaned up the kitchen and made some nice coffee, then did the bookkeeping. T's friend Jordyn came over and they were day drinking. It sounded fun, but I had other things to do.

I'd decided earlier in the week that I was going to fulfill a wish that I'd had for years, and that was to have a picnic in a cutaway at RBG. There are two cutaways on the main trail; basically, they are little patios in the trees along the northeast part of the trail. I stopped by Delice, a French bakery/cafe for a baguette with ham, cheese, and butter. There were also cornichons, but I swiped them off quickly. Of course I also got a kouign amman for later. For a drink, I stopped at Starbucks for a green tea lemonade. I felt like it was a very nice meal.  Since it was around 2:00, I had no problem getting a table in a cutaway, and it was everything I wanted it to be. I was truly delighted by the whole event! Here are some photos:

ham & cheese baguette, chips, and green tea lemonade

nom nom nom

livin' the dream!

After the meal, I recorded blooms in the Children's Garden. It was glorious. I want to show you this pic of a blooming yucca plant. She's not in the Children's Garden, but you can see her from there. 

blooming yucca in the Water Conservation Garden

She's gotta be 15 - 20 feet tall! I love it!!

When the blooms were recorded, I stopped at bougie Harmon's for a salad and some good German pilsner. I sat out on the back deck at home. The dogs ran around while I ate my salad, drank some beer, and read a book. It was truly pleasant. I kinda feel like having a meal outside is one of the simple pleasures of life. 

With a slight buzz, I came inside the house, ate my kouign amman, and turned on Netflix to watch the movie Nonnas. It was cute. Then I put clean, fresh sheets on my bed and went to sleep. It was a good day.

This morning I slept a bit late until the dogs wouldn't let me sleep anymore. I actually appreciated them getting me up since I slept through my alarm. Just as I was about to leave the house to go back up to the Garden, my SIL Janet sent me this photo of MT:

MT's first day on the Colorado Trail

Again, I teared up and I think I know why: I should have taken him to Denver. I should have driven him to Pocatello, then rode along with them to Denver to drop him off at the trailhead. What I was feeling was guilt and selfishness. I also feel worry, and concern, and sadness that he is doing this adventure alone. Not that I would hike 500 miles in the Colorado mountains, but it's a bummer that he doesn't have a trail buddy. He is not a solitary individual like I am. I know he'll be okay and that he will get a bunch of new stories to tell from this trip. I'll miss him, though. When he was in Pocatello for the past six months, I knew that he could come home just about any time, and I could talk to him every day, which we mostly did. It's much more difficult to come home now since he'll be out in the wilderness, and we probably won't get to talk as much.  He did call me this morning as he was walking, and he said he has some butterflies about the whole thing, and he is excited and happy that he is doing it. Anyway, I'll keep you updated as I hear from him.

The docent shift was uneventful. It was pretty slow early, then picked up quite a bit after 11:00. I stopped at Raising Cane's for lunch, and now I'll be getting ready to go back up to the Garden to work at a concert. Tonight's performers are Watchhouse, a duo from North Carolina that I saw play RBG when they were known as Mandolin Orange. Their music is folky/Americana. Very on-brand for RBG and it will be a good show. I am working the recycling station.

I guess that's all I've got to say for now. Have a great week! Please keep MT in your thoughts, and send good vibes for his safety and health.

XOXO

#2912 10 day wrap-up

I mean...I don't know where the time goes! I wrote here on the 14th and today is the 25th . What the heck have I been up to these past 10 days? I have to consult my planner because I haven't even been writing in my journal. I miss it. Anyway, let's catch up, shall we?

MT got home from his trip to Missouri on the 14th. Technically it was on the 15th because it was after midnight. I don't think he moved around very much on the 15th. It's a long drive to come straight through, but that's what they did. The 15th was our 31st wedding anniversary, so it was cool that he got home so we could hang out together. He sent me a sinfully beautiful (and expensive, I found out) bouquet of flowers, delivered to my office. I think he was trying to pick up style points with my coworkers. LOL

On Friday the 16th, we went to RBG to see Fitz and the Tantrums and O.A.R. in concert. I had to work on the clean up crew, so we got to enjoy the whole concert together, then he waited in the truck while I picked up garbage. MT hadn't seen either of those bands before, and he especially liked Fitz and the Tantrums. Both bands are great, and it was a fun show.

Saturday 17 August was a dark and stormy day. MT and I went to Cabela's so I could buy some trail shoes - I had a gift card there. I didn't care for the store, but I really like the shoes! The two of us had a late lunch/early dinner at The Pie in Midvale. Such good pizza!

Sunday 18 August was a big Garden day. I worked the docent shift, came home, had a bite to eat and a quick nap, then went back to RBG to work in the bike valet station for the Beach Boys show. We have had some big storms this month (monsoon season) and that night was no exception. I was under a canopy watching the storm roll across the Wasatch Front, complete with lightning and thunder. It rained hard to go along with the lightning, too. The gate time for the show was pushed back one hour because the authorities don't want people in the venue when there is lightning. Most people just stood there in line under their umbrellas. When the rain ended, the wind kicked up and it was gusty and kind of awful. By the time the Beach Boys came out around 8pm, the weather had calmed down a bit and then it was fine. I didn't stay for the whole show because I was kind of cold and tired. And no, there weren't many bikes being stored with us. 

I didn't have any concert duties this past week, and I spent my evenings puttering around the house, not doing too much. I've been learning Italian, French, and Spanish with the Duolingo app. I've got a 165 day streak going as of today, so I make sure I have time for that practice every night. 

That's really pretty much it for home. Other than that, I'm working and constantly thinking about the upcoming trip to Italy. Only 49 days away now!

I've got a lot coming up this week. it is the last week of the month, so work will be very busy. In addition, I have back-to-back concerts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both shows are artists I haven't seen before. Tuesday night is Pink Martini, and Wednesday night Lukas Nelson. College football season starts on Thursday; the Utes will play Southern Utah that night. MT is planning to go on a backpacking trip over the long weekend to the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. There is a fire in the area, so he is being thoughtful about where he will go. I'm looking forward to staying home and watching the first part of Season 4 of Emily in Paris.

Have a great week!

#2907 for love of stickers

This morning I was scrolling through Facebook, and I came across a post from the Salt Lake Tribune about something called StickerCon. I was intrigued. Several years ago, I started using stickers in my journal (I'm pretty sure Susannah Conway got me started.) Since then, I've become slightly sticker-crazy. I see them everywhere, and I want to add them to my collection. I now have lots, and I mean lots of stickers. I put them on my insulated water holders, in my journal, in my planner, and in and on my work notebook. I give them to friends, to my sister, and I even put some in a small bowl on my desk in the office for folks to go through. 

After my docent shift at Red Butte Garden this afternoon, I decided to swing by Copperhive Vintage to check out the sticker fest. It turns out that the store is next door to one of my favorite French bakeries in town, Delice. Sadly, Delice is closed on Sunday, so I couldn't partake of their goodness, but Sticker Con made up for it! The whole thing was kind of amazing! On the sidewalk in front of the store was about five or six tables of local artists selling their stickers. Inside the store, there were more stickers, and out in the parking lot, another dozen or so tents chock-full of artists and stickers! 

The variety was impressive. There was queer-based art, drug art, cute art, funky art, nature art, funny art, art based on lettering, and tattoo artists that had made their art into stickers for reference and booking. I really kind of wanted to buy something from each of them, but I didn't. That certainly doesn't mean I walked away empty handed, though.

I'm glad I went to check it out. It was fun to see other people geeking out on stickers and to talk to some of the artists. 

The upcoming week will be full of music. On Wednesday, I'll volunteer at the Lyle Lovett concert at Red Butte Garden. I've seen Lyle once before at RBG, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the show, so I'm looking forward to hearing him again. This weekend, MT and I will have "Park City weekend." We have an Airbnb for three nights, and tickets to two shows at Deer Valley. I haven't been to a show there before. The venue is bigger than RBG, but it's kind of the same premise: bring your own chair, food, and drink. Kevin and Janet will be joining us. During the day, we will likely take walks. There's a pool at the condo unit where the Airbnb is, so there may be some pool time for me if they want to do a big hike. It is supposed to be hot in the valley over the weekend, so hopefully we will enjoy slightly cooler temperatures up in the mountains. I'm looking forward to all of it!

Have a great week! 

#2834 weekend wrap-up

It's been a busy few days since our mid-week check-in. Here's what I have been up to.

I took Stella to the vet on Thursday. She needed all her vaccinations, and I wanted the vet to check her over to make sure she is healthy in general. She is. Her vet records stated that she is part Australian shepherd, part Shetland sheepdog, but I think there is some terrier in there, too. 

My vet agreed. He said she looks like an "Idaho Shag," a type of herding dog mixed with terrier. He said the terrier is added to the mix to give the dog a little more pep. Stella is plumb full of pep, let me tell you. 

Here's a pic of an Idaho Shag I found online:

Stella's ears don't stand up like that, they are more yorkie-type ears, but the facial hair is very Stella-esque. I know there are DNA tests we can do, but I don't think I'm going to do a test. I am satisfied that the the vet agrees there is terrier in her, and we'll go with that. Stella is doing great here. She is getting along well with the big dogs and is getting comfortable with the humans, too. I actually think that taking her to the vet on my own helped us bond a little more. I felt like she realized I am her human now. She has been a little more snuggly with me, curling up into me when I lay down and coming over to snuggle when I was watching TV this weekend. Plus, I play with her the most. 

This weekend has been pretty good. On Saturday, I slept in a little, then made a pot of coffee and finished a  book, which I then returned to the library where I picked up another book. I couldn't help myself. I went to Old Navy to return an item I'd purchased online, then MT and I had a late lunch at Chili's. We hadn't been there for a long time, and it was pretty good. I had a burger that was fresh and nice, but kinda salty. We stopped at Petsmart to buy the girls some new toys, including a frisbee for Stella, then we hit the Costco for some meat. At night, we watched the NBA All-Star skills challenges. It was fun.

Today, MT and I had an afternoon date. We went to lunch at La Hacienda, then up to the Natural History Museum. There was a special exhibit of Angkor Wat that we were eager to see. It has been four years since we visited Cambodia and spent a day at Angkor Wat. I don't think I will ever forget crossing the moat and looking up at the spires of the temples. It took my breath away.

This was my first view of Angkor Wat. We came in from the back.

The NHMU exhibit was interesting and beautifully done. There were some statues and lots of  good information about the site. MT kept saying, "I'd go back there. I liked Cambodia. I'd like to spend another day at Angkor Wat." I do feel like the day we spent there was rushed. There is so much to see! I agree that it would be cool to go back there someday, but not for awhile. It is so, so far away. The trip is kind of punishing. Seeing the exhibit at the museum did bring back good memories.

Since we were right next door to Red Butte Garden, we took a stroll around there, too. It was a gorgeous day with a bright blue sky, and glaring sunshine that actually had a little warmth to it. The mountains around the valley were shining white. The city looks pretty for NBA All-Star weekend! Here's a pic of MT at RBG:

After walking around, it was time for dessert. I'd read about an ice cream place, Normal Ice Cream, that is nominated for a James Beard award, so I thought we'd check it out. It's a small little shop on 200 East and 900 South. They serve fancy-flavored soft serve ice cream either in a cone or "deconstructed." MT had the Be Mine deconstructed cone with red velvet ice cream, bits of red velvet cade, and a cream cheese frosting swirl. He gobbled it down like a pro.

The man is so serious about his ice cream!

I had a cone with the salted vanilla bean/raspberry sour cream swirl. It was a lot of ice cream for me, but I managed to eat it all.

We enjoyed trying something new. I'd probably go back another time. The place was quite busy for a winter Sunday afternoon. I bet it is crazy-busy in the summer. 

Back at home, I took the dogs for a quick walk, then we played outside. Stella loves her new frisbee. Mac and Harley were happy figuring out how to get kibbles out of their puzzle toys. After outside playtime, it is quiet time. I went into the guest room because it was nice and dark in there (east-facing room) where Stella and I snuggled in for a nap. Felt so good!

I'm happy because tomorrow is a holiday and I don't have to work! Having President's Day off is fairly new to me. Prior to last year, Utah operations traded President's Day for Pioneer Day which was great because it is nice to have two holidays in July, but was kinda grim because there are no federal holidays between President's Day and Memorial Day in May, so it was a long stretch between breaks unless you took vacation. Now, The Company recognized MLK Day in January, so Utah traded out MLK for Pioneer Day, and now we don't work on President's Day. It's all good for me.

What am I going to do on my day off? Well, the book I picked up at the library on Saturday is a Lucky Seven loan, so I only have seven days to read it; it is due on Saturday the 25th. I would like to spend a chunk of the day on the couch or at my dining table reading that book. I also need to do the chores I typically do on weekends, like bookkeeping and sweeping up dust and dog hair. I'll probably have plenty of things to keep me busy tomorrow.

I hope you had a nice weekend! Stay safe and be happy!

#2695 where have you been?

It's been a couple of weeks since I wrote here. My darling sister, Lizzie, came to visit on the 23rd and stayed for a week. We were busy having fun and I chose not to write. I only wrote in my journal once while she was here, so don't feel too neglected, blog. 

Lizzie and I had a good time! She got here on a Wednesday night. I worked in the office on Thursday morning, and I was grateful that my boss let me work from home in the afternoon so I could be home with Lizzie. She read and played on her phone while I worked. Lizzie also worked that day; she works part time, so she was done working when I got home. We both took Friday off. I worked from home on Monday and Wednesday. I was in the office Tuesday morning, and home in the afternoon. Lizzie worked all those days, too. Thanks to Kelsie and Nicole for their kindness on Thursday and Tuesday!

We went to five places I haven't been while Lizzie was here. We had lunch at Lucky 13, a groovy burger and beer place in the Ballpark neighborhood. We browsed at Dancing Cranes, sipping coffee from the cafe and soaking up the hippie-dippie vibe of the place. We grumbled through a really good beer and a lackluster food experience at Hopkins Brewing Co. We explored Marissa's Books in the Millcreek area, a very large independent bookstore with some interesting spaces. We compared cookies from Crumbl and from Crave. Crave is new to my area. I've been to Crumbl many, many, many times.

Of course we went to familiar places like Atlantis Burger and Red Butte Garden. Lizzie got her first taste of The Pie and a stroll through Liberty Park. She also got to experience the dog park. We watched three movies while she was here. All of us went to the theater to see The Lost City, which is total brain candy that made me giggle pretty much through the whole thing. We indulged in an animation double feature, watching two films that were up for the Academy Award for best Animated Feature: The Mitchells vs the Machines and  Encanto. 

It was awesome to hang out with my sister. I really enjoy being around her. We have similar interests and likes, so it's super-easy to relax and have fun or just sit around reading and chatting. I appreciated the timing of her visit because I was kind-of-sort-of obsessing about my upcoming trip to Europe and Lizzie's visit broke up that obnoxious obsession and gave me a chance to regroup and think of other things. Thanks for coming to visit, Lizzie! I love you!!! 

Now that she has returned home, though, my obsession is in place and all-encompassing. There are only 11 more days now until we fly to Spain and spend two weeks abroad, so I think I'm a little entitled to obsess.

Today MT and I went to Famous Footwear so we could get some vacation shoes. I ended up with a pair of Sketchers. They are slip-ons and although they are not as cute as the shoes I wanted to take with me, they are waaaaay more comfortable and since I plan to be walking all over Barcelona, Rome, and destinations in between, I definitely want some comfortable shoes. We also went to Kohls where MT found some trousers he likes. He was very smiley about his new pants.

Tonight, while I was watching the Duke/North Carolina Final Four game (that's college basketball), I started gathering my vacation wardrobe. I aim to follow the 5-4-3-2-1 packing formula: 5 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 shoes, 2 jacket/cardigan, 1 dress. I actually have two dresses. I don't know if both will go on vacation with me, but I kind of think so. (?) Tomorrow I'm going to have my eyebrows tamed, then I'll go over to Old Navy to see if I can find a couple of other tops. I feel pretty good about everything, except maybe my raincoat, but I have told myself that I shall NOT buy another raincoat! I have a perfectly good one. I'll be fine. I do expect to use my raincoat. We are still far enough away from the trip that I don't know the weather forecast, but I know that is has been chilly and rainy in all the places we plan to go. 

I've never been to Spain in the spring. I've never been to France or Italy at all. I'm just a little bit excited.

#2688 Saturday with Sandy

 Why oh why does the weekend go by so quickly? It's already nearly 9:00 on Saturday night, and there is still stuff I want to do today!

Today has been action-packed, for me. Let me tell you about it. 

I was up early so I could get to the gym for a spin class at 8:30. I've been to two group classes this week, so I can check that item off my self challenge list for the week! Although I booked a bike for the class, I got there a little late, just five minutes to spare before the class started and there were only two bikes left in the room. I picked one, and a minute later a woman came in to claim the last bike. At least two more people poked their heads in the biking cave, but there were no bikes left. I'll have to count the rows, but I bet there's a good 30 bikes in there. The Saturday morning instructor, Denise, is really good. I attended one other class she taught on a Saturday in December, and the room was full then, too. Her riders are loyal! Spin class is a calorie-burning sweat-fest. There are lots of fans blowing air around the room, but it was hot as an oven in there this morning. All those people generated some heat. When I walked out of the cave, I was surprised how cool it felt out in the main gym environment, and people out there were sweating, of course, as they did their workouts. 

My next big thing today was getting my hairs cut. It was a trim, really. I get my hair trimmed every 12 weeks. It helps to get the ends evened up; makes me feel refreshed. Plus, it gives me a chance to chat with Lanna, and I like that. And yes, I showered before I went to the salon. I didn't wash my hair, but I did get it wet so it wasn't all sweaty/salty. LOL

With my hair all clean, curly, and fresh, I zoomed home to join the book club discussion. We read the book It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. Everyone in the club liked it and there was a lot of discussion about the premise and a bit about the ending. Ekpe hasn't sent out our next book yet, but he says it is coming this week. He didn't give any hints about what book he chose. 

MT and I went to La Hacienda for lunch around 2:30. It tasted so good! While we were there, a couple of men came in, one carrying an accordion and the other with a guitar. They played and sang while we ate. They sounded good, but I could see Marty was a bit uncomfortable. He doesn't really care for the traditional Mexican music, particularly the accordion. I don't think we've ever had a musical accompaniment to our meal in previous visits. Maybe it's a Saturday afternoon thing. 

Next we went to Lowe's. MT is going to replace the flooring upstairs. We have carpet that is bubbling up in places. It was cheap carpet and probably not put down very well. Plus, the dogs have dug up the carpet at the base of the stairs. I don't know why they did that. Bad dogs. We went to Lowe's to look at flooring not only for the stairs and throughout the upstairs, but also for the basement,. MT has been working on getting the basement ready for a bedroom for T. I think it is a good idea and I know T thinks so, too. 

When we got home, I took the dogs for a quick walk. The temperature had really dropped and the sky was clouding over with thick, heavy, grey clouds. The forecast was for rain today and snow tomorrow, but it had been dry all day, until, that is, I drove T over to his friend's house. 

T's friend, Derik, lives in West Jordan, which is south and east of our place. As we drove south  on Mountain View Corridor, the sky to the southeast was dark and cloudy. There was lightning. As we got closer to WJ, the lightning felt like it was right on top of the car. It started raining, a heavy, chunky rain that wasn't fully-formed snow flakes, but it wasn't far off. It continued to thunder and lightning and chunky rain. We call that THUNDER SNOW. By the time I dropped T off, it was coming down pretty hard and it was getting cold. I saw a couple of cars having troubles. I was extra-careful and really thankful for my all-wheel drive Subaru. (I love that car!)

There wasn't much weather happening at my house when I got home, but the chunky rain began here shortly after I got home and has now turned into full-on snow. It is already covering the ground and the temperature is right above freezing. I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere else tonight *knocks on wood*. 

My big plans for tomorrow are to work with MT on gathering our tax info. We have a meeting with our tax guy on the 16th, and we need to get him our paperwork by Wednesday. I might go to the grocery store, but I might not if the weather is crappy. I've got food to get us through a few days without going to the store.

I hope y'all are enjoying the weekend. Stay safe and have some fun!

#2599 weekend wrap-up

It continues to be extremely smoky here. I stayed inside yesterday afternoon. I took the dogs out in the morning and ran a few errands, then I stayed home. In the evening, I thought it might be clearing up a little, but today has been awful air quality again. I saw a headline on Twitter Friday that declared "Salt Lake City air quality among worst on the planet."    Cheery.

T was actually out in the gunk all day both Friday and Saturday. He attended the Hive Festival at the Utah State Fairpark. I don't know if you can open the link; it connects to the Hive Festival's Instagram page. I was following along through IG both days, and it looked wild! So many people! T went alone, but somehow, miraculously, bumped into his old friend Trent who was there with his wife. T tagged along with them on Friday and Saturday. I was glad he was with people he knew. 

MT was in Idaho on Friday and Saturday. Our old friends, Rob and LA, are building a cabin the the Lava Hot Springs area, and MT went to help put up the walls. He said it wasn't as smoky there as it was here. 

I wrote on Friday that I was working at the Travis Tritt concert at Red Butte Garden. His music was not my jam. I actually spent the whole show chatting with a fellow volunteer, Bridget. Tonight I am working another RBG show. There are two headliners tonight: Wilco and Sleater-Kinney. I've listened to a few songs from each of them. Wilco is alt-country and Sleater-Kinney is a grrrl punk group. Interesting combo. 

All three of us are home today. MT and I went to REI and the grocery store to get more provisions for his big backpacking trip that's coming up in a few weeks. I'll be writing more about that in the weeks ahead. T is also getting ready to be away from home for awhile, but I'm not quite ready to talk about that just yet. 

Well, it's time for me to get ready for the concert gig. I hope you had a great weekend! 

Stay safe!

#2359 walking to the Great Salt Lake

Today is Sunday. It is Easter. I am not a spiritual person, and the religious significance of Easter isn't really a thing for me. Since T got big and we stopped hiding eggs and giving Easter baskets, it's really just another Sunday. In the past sometimes we have gone to Pocatello for Easter lunch. I have also spend Easter with my first family, because it is close to my dad's birthday. It's one of those food holidays, I guess.

This weekend has been super mellow. Yesterday MT and I followed a pattern that went something like this:

Eat

Read

Nap

Repeat

At night we watched a couple of MCU movies. We were quite sedentary.

This morning we both slept in and laid in bed for awhile just reading and relaxing. In the afternoon we went out for a walk. We decided to go back out to the Great Salt Lake and explore the little trail we looked at on Friday, called Lee Creek. We walked to the end of the Lee Creek Trail, which was about half a mile long, and then decided to walk to the water. It was pretty desolate and the water seemed like a long ways away.

To the left (west) of where we were walking, we saw some things that I thought were random, but it turns out, they weren't random at all. It was some sort of marked trail.

What was it? Those are salty blocks of wood that are all worn down. The soil was sandy dirt covered by a fine crust of salt. We walked and walked until we got to these:

Also salty wood, but a lot taller. What was this? Why is it there? The lake has been receding over the years. I imagine that at some point the water surrounded these posts. Was there a pier?

We kept walking. The trail was still marked, although you could really walk just about anywhere. There wasn't a lot of water on the flats. Finally we made it to the lake itself.

That might be Antelope Island out there. I don't know. There was another island closer to us to the east (not pictured). Maybe Stansbury Island? There 15 islands out there in the lake.

You can see that the ground is pretty muddy, so we didn't get any closer to the real water than this. There was a cool, stiff breeze coming out of the north and the temperature was in the mid-40s. The sun felt good and we weren't cold, especially on the way back to the car when the wind was at our back. It really wasn't a very long walk, only about a mile from the end of the Lee Creek Trail to the water, In total we walked about three miles. We didn't see any other people out there.

On our way back home, there were more people out on the beach by Saltair. One day we will walk out there too. That's definitely not a long walk and it might be fun to check it out.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend and if you celebrate Easter, that you were able to get some joy or peace or fun from it.

Keep staying safe!

#2323 I needed that

You know that I have had a cold over several weeks this month, and since I'm feeling better, I craved a bit of time outside. This afternoon I drove up to Red Butte Garden, and of course, it was just what I needed.

Even though the sky in the valley where I live was grey and cloudy, up in the foothills the sky was blue and the sun was shining. Here's what it looked like:

Can you see that layer of gunk sitting over the west side of the valley? That's where I live. Also note how pretty and blue the sky is above me. That's why I came up here!

The temperature was a balmy 45 degrees (that's 7.22 C). I wore a t-shirt with a sweater over it and my puffy coat with a scarf. I was nice and warm. I did see people in long-sleeve t-shirts without coats. No way!

The minute I walked out of the Visitor's Center into the Courtyard, I took a deep breath of fresh air and I felt myself relax and expand and smile. It was so nice to be back there. It looks different in the winter. All the trees are bare. There is snow on the ground up there, but the paths are all cleared off. It's a different kind of beautiful than during the summer. It's so peaceful. I did see a few other people walking around, but a lot of time I felt like I had the place to myself. Here are some photos from my walk:

This is one of my favorite trees in the garden, a paperbark maple. Can you see, especially on the left side of the tree, some brown paper-like bark? There are three of these trees on this path and I love them.

Here are some cute little cypress trees all wrapped up for the winter. These particular trees are up in the Water Conservation Garden area.

The pond is frozen and I liked how the shadows of the trees behind me looked on the ice.

I have deep feeling of love and affection for the waterfall and it's surroundings. In the summer, that little stand of trees is leafy and provides lovely shade for that bench. In the winter, I like how gnarly the trees and their branches look.

It felt so good to walk around in the sunshine, enjoying the sunny afternoon. I was just what I needed.

#2259 Big Boy 4014

Sometimes random and interesting things happen near my office. What might seem kinda dumb turns out to be pretty cool. That's what happened on Tuesday.

2019 marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. You may or may not know that the crews from the Central Pacific and Union Pacifc that built the railroad met and finished near Promontory, Utah, where a golden spike was driven into the railroad to commemorate the completion of the tracks.

visitsaltlake.com

The Union Pacific Railroad is celebrating the grand event this year. One of the ways they are doing so is by showing off a big ol' steam engine from the 1940s. The engine made a stop at the railroad tracks right across the street from my office on Tuesday.

The Big Boy 4014 steam engine rolled in around 1:30 in the afternoon. For about an hour before it's arrival, cars started parking on the street and near the tracks. I was surprised at how many people turned out to see the train. Because I suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out), I decided I'd go check it out also.

The rumble of the train and the sound of the whistle was a little thrilling, to be honest. The thing was huge!

I'd like to point out that those wheels are as tall as I am. It was massive.

It was parked there for about 45 minutes, and I was out there staring at it for all 45 minutes, along with lots of other people.

I don't know how many people there were, but I'd say hundreds of people of all ages. I couldn't help but think that my dad would have totally loved it. He'd probably know all about the history of the engine and what it was for, so I had to look it up for myself. Here's what I found out: 25 Big Boy steam engines were built in the 1930s and delivered to the UP in the 1940s. They were used to pull big loads over the Wasatch Mountains here in Utah.

Click here to read a little blurb from the UP. I especially like the size comparison of the engine to a 747 jet. Click here to read a longer article from Popular Mechanics magazine that is more about the restoration of the engine or at least look at the pics. Or if you prefer, you can here click to read a quick story and watch a short video from CNN, although it is not about the engine's stop in Salt Lake City.

I really can't say precisely what made me stay out there for 45 minutes. All I know is that I absolutely couldn't pull myself away. We couldn't climb on the train or get closer to it than 25 feet. I was fascinated by the activity around the engine while it was parked there. I saw a couple of men doing something to the wheels. I would say they were greasing the wheels (!) but I don't know for sure.

Finally, the engineer climbed up into the driver's seat (I guess) and started the process of getting that ginormous engine running.

If you watch the video from CNN, this is the guy they talked to!

The amount of steam and noise that came out of the engine as it roared to life was exceptional. Everyone was covering their ears as the steam poured out of the wheel area as it fired up. I have a really cool video of it that I proudly showed to MT that night. I don't know how to post it here though. Sorry. Just believe me when I say that it was awesome!

Then, promptly at 2:15, the train pulled away, chugging down the track to it's next destination in Provo. I felt kind of sad when it left.

I know it sounds geeky and I certainly didn't expect to be as enchanted by it as I was, but I really loved seeing that steam engine.

#2212 travel Tuesday: staycation!

I missed writing on Sunday because I was kind of tired from all the excitement of the weekend. I did all my usual Saturday stuff and on Sunday I was prepping for the arrival of my sister, Lizzie, and the start of my staycation!

Lizzie got here just after 2:00 in the afternoon on Sunday. After hearing about her epic book tour road trip (you can buy her book here!), we decided some fresh air and a stretch of the legs was a good idea, so we headed out for a nature walk. We chose to go on the Wild Rose Trail just above Eaglewood Golf Course in North Salt Lake.

I don't care for the term "hiking". To me it means big ol' boots and heavy socks and a backpack and warm water from a bladder in said backpack and rocky trails and dirt. I prefer the term nature walk, so let's go with that.

What I liked about the Wild Rose Trail was that it was easily accessible and there were other people and dogs on it. There was a man and a dog that was ahead of us a little bit and he came back to where we were and told us he saw a snake on the trail. He threw rocks at it to get it to move along. That's heroic and gentlemanly. We did not see the snake or any other snakes, I am happy to say. We did see different levels of tree cover and beautiful views of the Great Salt Lake.

Open trail leading up to the hills

Trees on both sides of the trail, but still pretty open

Looks like we are going through a forest!

Great view of the lake

 

Lizzie! She's the cutest!

This nature walk is a nearly two mile loop. I enjoyed it and would probably do it again. I think MT would like it. I bet it's pretty in the fall because there are a lot of scrub oak up there. Lizzie and I were happy to see some pretty wildflowers.

Yesterday, Monday, we had a full day. We were up fairly early and decided to go out to breakfast. Lizzie chose Roots Cafe in Millcreek. What a cute place! The temperature was just right, so we sat out on the patio. What a glorious way to start the week. I had an omelet with sausage, home fries and a pancake. Lizzie had an amazing-looking breakfast sandwich. We were nicely full when the food was gone, so we decided to take another nature walk. 

We chose to walk around Sugarhouse Park, so it was more of an urban walk. The walking loop is basically the road around the green space. In the morning there is very little shade on the walk, so it got a bit warm and it wasn't very scenic. Neither of us took any photos. It was nice to walk off breakfast, though.

In the afternoon we spent time planning the weekend - we are going to Las Vegas. Lizzie is going to be doing a couple of readings there on Friday and Saturday night and invited me to come along. How could I refuse? Lizzie and I used to go to Vegas every year or so when we were younger but we haven't been there in awhile. It should be fun.

With our Vegas plans made, we headed up to Park City for dinner and a ghost tour. We. Love. Ghost. Tours. We try to go on a tour in every city we visit pretty much. Yes, I believe in the spirits. No, I haven't ever seen a "ghost" but I have seen some paranormal stuff. What I really like about ghost tours is that you get a bit of history of the town plus some ghost stories. It's good fun.

Park City is cool. We had dinner at The Eating Establishment (fish tacos for me and a BLAT for Lizzie). We finished exactly in time to head to Miner's Square to meet the tour guide, Hutch. There were maybe a dozen people on the tour including Lizzie and me. We enjoyed walking up and down Main Street and listening to stories. Hutch was a good guide. I took a few photos:

These houses!

I like old doors

This is part of a mural that was in the China Bridge parking garage

We finished off the night with a lightning show on the drive down the mountain back to SLC and a stop at Crumbl for a very late dessert. 

What a fun day!

This morning we woke up a little later since we had been up so late and we were moving pretty slow. We decided to get some coffee from Starbucks and just come back home to read and relax a bit. We spent a few hours doing our own things although we were sitting together at the table. I enjoyed just hanging out. 

In the afternoon we went to see the movie Late Night. Both Lizzie and I liked it very much. It was smart and clever and funny. I actually have lots of thoughts about it, but that might be for another time. Let's just leave it at this: it was great to see a show about women by women where many of the men were just sort of in the background. 

This evening I had book club (#ekpesbookclub). We are reading one of my favorite books from last year, Where the Crawdads Sing. I am reading along with the group, but I do know the story and the ending, so it's fun to see what the other readers are saying about it and their speculations. 

Another thing I did today was replant several houseplants that were outgrowing their accommodation. I hope I did okay by them and that they will flourish. I'll keep you posted. I don't have much of a green thumb, but I'm hopeful. 

For dinner tonight we had Atlantis Burger. It is a must-have go-to place for Lizzie and my mom. MT and I like it too. So good!

Lizzie and I have tomorrow's plan roughly sketched out. I think we'll be a little more active than we were today. I'll let you know all about it on Thursday!

ps...you can read Lizzie's take on our adventures plus posts about her epic book tour road trip by clicking here.

#2057 three things: books, music and the shrine

Here we go...

1. An abundance of choices. I like books. I like lists. I have a ginormous list of books that I would like to read. I have marked up the list to identify books that I currently own, both electronic and physical, and books that I can get electronically from the library. There are a whole bunch of books that don't fit into either category, but I'm always looking. The problem I have is that when it comes time to start a new book, I have a hard time choosing. Sometimes I will number the books and have MT or T pick a number in the range and that's how I read the book they "choose". Sometimes I will be in a specific mood for a certain type of book - earlier this week I found myself in dire need of a simple chick-lit story. I hadn't read one of those for awhile. When I got home from work I was looking at the ebooks I have and trying to pick one. I couldn't do it. So I took a nap. I'm really tired.

BECAUSE...

2. Volunteering. I got a new volunteer assignment at Red Butte Garden! I am officially a concert volunteer! You have to put in some time at the garden to become a concert volunteer. Usually you have to have three years of service before you can even be considered. This is my third year, but I reached out to the volunteer coordinator, Lauren, and asked if I could have some concert duty. I had to fill out an application and have an interview with Lauren, but I made the cut. Last night was my first show. My assignment was not sexy: I was on the clean-up crew which means that after the show I put on some rubber gloves and grabbed a big heavy-duty garbage sack and walked through the amphitheater picking up garbage that people left behind. I can tell you that the people who sit in the donor/sponsor pavilion don't much bother with throwing away their garbage and cleaning up after themselves.

The cool thing is that I got to see the whole concert and I only had to work for 20 to 30 minutes. There were four or five of us picking up trash, so it went pretty fast. Even though I only worked for, let's say, 18 minutes, I get credit for volunteer the whole time I was there, which was about three hours!  WIN! I'm tired, though, because I didn't get home until around 11:45.

Last night's show was Michael Franti. I know only one song of his ("Say Hey"), but one of the ladies I volunteer with told me that his shows are fun and he is a cool guy. She was right. The show was fun and he does seem cool. I loved that he went out into the crowd  to sing. He's all about peace and love and being kind. There was such a nice vibe to the crowd. Lots of little kids, people dancing,  waving their arms in the air and singing along. Joyful! Here are a couple of pics:

I'm at the back of the venue shortly after Michael Franti came on

Now I'm on the west side of the stage. You can see everyone is standing up and moving around

Michael is the "tall" guy with the red guitar strap on his shoulder. He's out in the crowd

I've been to several shows at Red Butte Garden and I haven't ever seen the whole crowd - even the folks in the donor pavilion - stand up for the whole show. Infectious music from a good performer.

(The third item is completely unrelated to the first two items. I just have to tell the story and share the photo.)

3. The Shrine. Last week as I was driving to work, I spotted a dead raccoon on the side of the road. I thought, "Oh wow. A dead raccoon." The next day, the raccoon had a silver, star-shaped Mylar balloon tied to one of his stiff little legs. I thought, "Oh wow. That's f'd up. I hope the person who tied that balloon on the leg was wearing gloves." On Monday, I noticed a little shrine on the side of the road. There was a small cross and some flowers. I thought, "Oh wow. It's sad that someone died there." This morning as I drove by the shrine, I noticed a photo on the cross. As I looked a little closer at the photo, I saw that it was a photo of a raccoon. I burst out laughing and pulled over because, well, I cracked me up and became blog fodder.

RIP little raccoon. And thank you, Salt Lake person(s), for bringing a little humor into my commute.

~~~~~~

PS...I still haven't picked out a book, but I have finished a few. Check out the 2018 Reading List page to see what I've been reading. :)

#2031 Hamilton in SLC

T and I went to see Hamilton today at the Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City. It was phenomenal and I loved every minute of it, even when I was silently weeping.

A little background: T heard about this show back in 2016 or so. A guy who was in a rap group he liked, Daveed Diggs, was in the musical on Broadway. T bought the soundtrack and listened to it. I remember him telling me about it, that it was a history story told in rap about Alexander Hamilton. I was skeptical because it sounds pretty crazy, right? I have never been an early-adopter of anything.

I began to hear more and more about this musical; how it was changing Broadway and how it was nearly impossible to get tickets. I listen to The Dan Patrick Show, a sports radio talk show that is on every morning. One day Dan was talking about how he had gone to see Hamilton on Broadway. Sometime after that, the Hamilton Mixtape came out and Twitter just about blew up. Of course T already had the Hamilton Mixtape, so I homeshared it with him and listened to it sort of obsessively. I didn't expect to be able to ever see the musical performed live, so I didn't really listen much to the cast recording of the soundtrack.

But then, in 2017, I got an email from Broadway at the Eccles saying that the travelling show of Hamilton would be coming to Salt Lake in April 2018. I asked MT to try to get tickets for me as a Christmas gift, and he said he looked into it but wasn't able to find any. I found out that the tickets to the general public went on sale in February, and I decided that I would take a chance at getting a ticket or two if I could.

On that fateful day in February, I got in the virtual waiting room promptly at 9AM. Tickets went on sale at 10AM. Being in the virtual waiting room didn't guarantee that I would get a ticket, but it guaranteed me a place in the virtual line. Finally, at close to noon, I actually had a chance to purchase tickets. I'd made a list of dates that I would like to go, then I started clicking to try to get two seats together. I finally got what I wanted on my third or fourth try. I truly believe I may have got the last pair of seats together in the whole run. Tickets sold out completely within about ten minutes after I purchased mine.

When we got to the theater this afternoon, I was all about getting my photo taken in front of the Hamilton backdrop and buying a t-shirt (I was greedy and got two). We made our way up to our seats. They were on the top row of the box section, on the second level of the theater, and just barely left of center stage. Pretty good seats. The place was packed, sold out, and there was a definite buzz in the air. When Aaron Burr comes out with the first line "How does a bastard orphan son of a whore and a Scotsman..." it apparent that the audience was all in. When Hamilton makes his first appearance, seriously, the audience kinda lost their shit. There was cheers and applause. It must be a normal thing because the actor and the orchestra paused before continuing. It was kind of magical. There was thunderous applause after nearly every number.

The thing about the show, too, is that there is no dialogue, per se. It is all sung and/or rapped. The show is beautifully choreographed. The stage doesn't change. It's simple and effective. The focus is completely on the words. The performers were all terrific with amazing voices. The costumes are lovely.

As I was watching, I found myself more and more struck by the talent of the mastermind behind it all, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The dude is amazingly talented. I can't even wrap my mind around how his mind came up with all the words and the music and all of it. AND he played Alexander Hamilton in the original Broadway show. I follow him on Twitter. He seems like an awesome person, too. I've got a little crush, I think :)

In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Hamilton this afternoon. The theater is gorgeous. The show lived up to every one of my expectations. I was telling T that Lin-Manuel is going to be performing in Hamilton in Puerto Rico in January. How cool would it be to see Lin-Manuel himself in the musical and in Puerto Rico? (His parents are Puerto Rican.) Most likely that will not happen, but I can dream!

#satisfied