TSNOTYAW

I had a writing workshop tonight put on by the hosts of a podcast I listen to, 

"The Shit No One Tells You About Writing."

It's a 10-week workshop--an hour presentation with fantastic guests,

30 min. of Q&A and an hour breakout session with small groups.

I LOVED talking to other writers "in person" about writing.

Our guest was the editor of Where the Crawdads Sing and several other 

bestsellers. The only editor to have two books on her list selected by 

Reese Witherspoon's Book Club.

Fun Night. Makes me so happy.

Actually got me thinking about my book again.

And spurred me into searching for more in person writing opportunities.

In other news I dropped off a car full of donations to Savers 

and the electrician came to get our system back online.

We are GETTING THINGS DONE!

I kind of think we're reverse nesting.

Our last little bird is flying the nest and we either are filling our time with distractions

or taking the time to take care of all the business in preparation for a new stage of life.

Its happy and so sad all at the same time.

Oh man, I wrote "so sad" and teared up. Yep, it's getting real around here.

Trevor the Handyman

Our front door has been broken for... years.

A metal piece on the bottom caught the rug to wipe your feet and became bent, 

constantly grabbing at the carpet. We had to yank the door and the rug apart for many months. 

Because that's easier than fixing the door.

Which is tall and heavy and seemingly impossible to pull off its hinges, right?

Like rocket science.

Eventually the metal became so contorted, it stripped a screw and soon was hanging off the door and literally scraping across the tile every time we opened and shut it.

But we put up with it for months--or years. 

Again, because we weren't sure how to fix it or who to call 

and it all just seemed too hard.

(Actually, we did call the door company, but they ignored us.)

Well, in November someone in the ward posted a notice about handyman services.

And then in December our alarm has been beeping incessantly about a disconnected sensor in "back door" (we have like 10), and low battery in the sensor of the mudroom door (we have three and none of them require a battery) and the solution from the the manual was to call the rep.

Guess what? Yeah, the company is out of business.

So with the alarm beeping at 8 a.m every morning through the day until 9 p.m.

(Dan was able to figure out how to change the times because it beeped at 3:00 a.m. for a week),

 and the front door scraping, 

and all the other little jobs that could no longer be ignored,

I called the handyman and Dan hunted down an alarm company.

Today Trevor the handyman showed up. He's actually a handyboy.

Maybe he's 20 years old.

But he was able to do everything on my list from fixing leaky faucets and tightening the handles,

replacing plumbing fixtures for the cuter ones I bought a long time ago but then realized would require patchwork and paint. He reattached broken doorknobs and 

fixed the hinges on the broken trap door in the basement,

figured out a solution for the exposed electrical plates inside my closet 

and even hung some pictures. 

And he fixed the broken front door! 

I don't know how he did it, but single handedly he took it off its hinges, laid it on the ground and screwed everything back in place, adding more screws for good measure, and banged at the lip to reshape it so it wouldn't catch anymore.

And just like that, a whole list of projects is completed!

Man, I can't get enough of how nice it is to have the front door fixed!

(And I sent his number to a group of friends, because everyone needs a Trevor!)

It's 6* outside but the sun is shining and the view from inside is beautiful!

 

Free Agency Part 2

Stake Conference via YouTube at home in my pajamas was delightful.

Our Stake encouraged everyone to come in person so they could get the most out of the meeting,

 but acknowledged that some may have circumstances where they need to watch from home.

I chose to watch from home and yes, am sure I got the most out of it from 

the comfort of my couch.

Courtney wanted a baptism picture to show her Primary class.

How has it been 20 years since she turned 8?!!!!

Free Agency

Welp, I didn't finish my short story in time to submit it to the challenge.
I threw in the towel about noon, and I feel just fine about it!

In fact, I feel great about it.

I enjoyed having a challenge and goal that compelled me take time to write--

an assignment and a deadline made a difference and it was fun doing something creative. 

But I am so over feeling obligated.

It might be just a phase, especially from being in writing classes for so many years,

but I am really embracing "I don't have to."

 You'd think that would also mean skipping out on adult Stake Conference.

But Kristin C. was hosting a panel discussion answering tough questions

about the church and we wanted to support her. 

I honestly like most Saturday night adult Stake Conference sessions. 

There've been a few that I wish I didn't sit through.

My favorite ones are people sharing their personal conversion stories.

We went to dinner with Brands before the meeting and got "Greek" donuts afterward. 

Fun to be with friends. 

And the sun on Mt. Olympus was so beautiful tonight. One of my most favorite sites.

Movies and Art

Date night getting pedicures,

eating turkey chili at home and watching 

The Fabelmans.

We loved The Fabelmans. 

Based on Steven Spielberg's life as a child and high school senior, 

showing his love for making movies and his family.

Watch the special features afterward. 

**Let's remember two of my Steven Spielberg experiences:

 the time I stood next to him while he was filming 

his children at a Carlthorp Halloween parade. 

And the time at a back-to-school bbq I left my plate on the lunch table to help my kids at the playground, and when I came back they were sitting next to me so I got to sit down right across from him and Kate.

Of course I didn't make any interesting conversation or even say more than hello.

But I've always wondered how strange it must have seemed for me to plop down to what seemed like an abandoned half-eaten plate of food, pick up a piece of bbq chicken and dig in.**

Dan and I are considering making a push to see all the Best Picture nominated shows.

Remember when you had to go to theaters to watch movies?

Now most of them are available in the comfort of our own home.

It's still so weird to me that we don't go out to the movies much anymore.

Wow, Covid. You've made us lazy.

... or healthy, if you consider all the movie theater popcorn we're not eating.

We also went to A Gallery to check out a sculpture from 

an artist, Adam Rees, that I've had my eye on for years.

His animal sculptures decorated with cane made from polymer clay are gorgeous, 

but I didn't have a great place to put something fragile.

Welp, turns out they're not as fragile as I originally thought.

While we were strolling A Gallery last week I asked Greg (who helped us with a lot of art when we moved in to Haven, so thus the first name basis), if they had any of Adam's work. He hadn't seen anything from him in a while but wanted some and determined to follow up with him.

A day later he called to say they had two pieces.

The process of making canes in such intricate detail is mind blowing! 

Check this out!

Adam Rees--Making Cane, Part 3

Kershaw in the Wild

With a fresh dusting of snow each morning, the roads are too slick for walking

and it never warms up enough to melt the ice. 

I haven't been out hiking either so Kershaw isn't getting any exercise.

I can ride the Peloton, but Kershaw doesn't have that luxury, 

so we signed him up with a dog walker and he got two hikes this week

with a pack of six or seven dogs. He had a blast!

In other news, I FINALLY, took the time to get my new computer up and running.
I call it new, but I've had it for A YEAR AND A HALF,

SITTING ON THE CHARGING STATION WAITING for me to use it!

Because, BECAUSE, I was always in the middle of a writing project 

and what if my most updated version didn't transfer?

And don't you hate it when the computer doesn't remember your passwords and logins to all the sites you use and that would way complicate my life and I just don't have time for that right now.

It sat in the new box unopened for months waiting until I had time to transfer the files from my old computer to the new one. Sat there, for maybe a year until one day I decided it was time. 

I was making the leap.

Unfortunately, the cloud transfer didn't work. After a full 24 hours, it stopped transferring.

I tried a second time a few days later, still no luck. 

After a week or so got Dan involved who helped me a third time, we got some files transferred but didn't take the whole system, so nope, the problem wasn't me, it was technology. 

And then I got scared. Like I don't have time to recreate my whole computer life!

He suggested I make a Time Machine backup, download it to a portable drive and then upload it on the new computer. Everything about that sounded as hard as making a Time Machine from scratch. 

Including, finding my portable drive. Where'd I ever put that thing?

So my computer languished at the charging station for another six months or so until a few days ago when I was cleaning out all the cupboards and drawers in the charging station and I found the portable charger.

K, so what do I need to do with this thing again?

With Dan at my side (but let me see if I can figure out how to do it myself), it took less than two hours to get the new (18 months old) computer up and running and all my passwords and logins transferred, no extraneous problems with the exception of one e-mail password but I was able to figure it out a few days later when I had time to really think through it.

And that is somewhat the story of a lot of my life. 

Putting things off, waiting until just the perfect time 

(for good reasons! I just want to ENJOY the process and really savor it!)

thinking something is going to be harder than it is and in the end, worrying about nothing.

Keep It Comin'

The last few days we've had unexpected dustings of snow when we wake up each morning.

We are having a REAL winter for the first time in a long time and I'm loving it.

It's cold and icy most days so I haven't been able to ride outside or even walk,

but isn't that how winter is supposed to be?

Friends Dining In & Racing

Last night we had friends over for dinner. 

It was a weeknight, required only minimal shopping and prep (Dan) and zero stress (Me) 

and was actually really fun!

Pete is the guys' race coach and he and his wife Wendy and Corey & Dayna came over to discuss race strategy and work on the sim for a bit in preparation for a race in a couple of weeks. 

Pete is a race engineer, a race car driver, and is currently engineering race cars, restoring vintage cars and coaching Dan, Corey and Nick. He's also a fantastic chef. 

When he found out Dan was making dinners, he shared a lot of info on homemade pizza and pasta and bought Dan the books that helped him fine-tune the best pizza and pasta. Now they're growing their own San Marzano tomatoes and making their own sausage. So we've got a lot to learn from him and a log way to go to perfect the craft like him.

Dan made the pizza dough last night and Pete and Nick took over the making tonight

while the rest of us enjoyed all their creations:

1) Pepperoni and hot honey

2) smoked mozzerella, tomato & basil

3) pancetta, tomato & basil

4) sausage and mushroom

All the Feels

I had a lot of little projects today and one big project.

The big project was starting a short story challenge through NYCMidnight.

Last Friday at midnight we were assigned a genre, subject and main character. 

I've got until Saturday at midnight to write a 2500 word mystery

featuring an undercover cop and the subject "wind-borne."

All day I've brainstormed anything that could be wind-borne, intentional ways to kill someone, unintentional ways to kill someone, potential suspects and motives for murder.

That was the easy part -- kind of like Scattergories or Double Ditto. 

I've compiled a who, what and why. Tomorrow will work on other key players, clues and red herrings.

I also organized the drawers in the charging station motivated by my friend Whitney. 

She was Marty's third-grade teacher and keeps such a fun blog at Polka-Dotty Place. 

While I sorted and trashed I made doctor appointments with a couple of orthos to look at Nick's knee.

It's still pretty painful from getting injured at his rugby tournament. 

The "hold" music was Jon Schmidt's All of Me and as soon as it started playing my heart picked up a beat, my chest got warm, my throat tight and soon I was weeping.

Courtney used to play All of Me on the piano back when she was in high school and now she's been gone for ten years and soon Nick is graduating and heading to college and all my kids are grown up.

How did this happen so soon?

As the song came to an end, I'd recover. And then it began again and I'd start crying all over again!

THREE times!

This is going to be an emotional year. I'm crying over everything already.

I emptied drawers and removed the labels and threw away all the notes and things to remember

because Pagosa is finished and Clara has passed away and these drawers can be used for something else now.

What new projects will fill this drawer in 2023?

Sorting it All Out

Life has been busy for a month--

super fun surrounded by lots of people I love and having lots of fun--

but phew! After Primary singing time was over today, I was ready to relax!

And by relax, I mean organize every needful thing--

primary song picture books from several years, Reminders and Notes on my phone,

my calendar, e-mails and get caught up on information for a class I'm starting in a week and a writing "experience" I'm submitting to on Saturday. 

It was a good day for organizing.

But a really sad day for Cowboys fans.

These are the hopeful fans before the game got started.

In other news,

Marty, Lizzie and Emi went home yesterday. We will miss them!

We're so glad we're already planning our next trip together next month.

And this buck was chomping right outside the gym window this afternoon.

Once he saw us taking pictures, he ambled away, but he bedded down just past the trampoline.

We see the does often in the yard (especially when we leave the back gate open).

But rarely see bucks this close, so it was a fun surprise.

 

Making a Frathouse a Home

Over Christmas break during every free hour, Christopher and his roommate worked spackling, patching hundreds of holes and adding a fresh coat of paint to his new room at the frat house. 

They also replaced the old carpet with brand new artificial turf.

It's been a while since Dan and Chris worked together patching holes in the walls at Wander Lane,

but he had some basic knowledge somewhere in his brain,

and one of his friends was pretty confident and was willing to supervise so they made 

their new space (only two guys instead of four) downright homey.

Friday Funday

Finally satisfied our craving for Ruth's Diner this morning.

We've been hankering for mile-high biscuits ever since we couldn't get in over Christmas break.

And for dinner we went to Itto's. 

And now Lizzie and Marty can go back to Denver fulfilled.

Wait... did they go to Nielsens and Cafe Rio this trip?

Look at Emi using the dragon towel Aunt Meesh made Marty when he was a baby!

This afternoon they wanted to play a game and were willing to play my new Christmas game, 

Ransom Notes. It's got an Apples to Apples vibe with the edginess of Cards Against Humanity.

And we laughed hysterically! Highly recommend.

Sheree stopped by between errands in Salt Lake

and we're so glad we got to see her!

And she got a little taste of how fun being a Grandma will be!

(Elise and Ethan's baby is due late July!)

After dinner, Dan and I went to the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll.

(Art Galleries opened late on the third Friday of each month.)

We're on the hunt for art for New York.

Found some things we love!

Nick had MORP tonight with Luci R., Will's little sister. She's a good friend and he had a great time.

The theme was duos so they were Stockton and Malone.

Dinner at In 'n Out, Nickelcade, the dance, WaffleHouse for late night snack and

hot tubbing at our house until 1:00. 

The Little Mermaid

Five years ago when Rachel spent time in Salt Lake, she bought this bouncer for baby Reese.

It's been folded up in the guest closet until now when this cute little munchkin loves being able to sit up and see what's going on. Her feet don't quite hit the ground and she isn't too interested in the toys yet,

but she loved being bounced and sitting up!

We went to Bandit Restaurant and The Little Mermaid musical with Aunt Marge tonight.

It's been over three years since we had our evenings out at Hale Theater together

and we're so glad we can enjoy outings and the shows with Aunt Marge again!

Baby Skills

New Emi skills this week--

holding a toy and putting it in her mouth! 

She was NOT happy to see us when she arrived a week ago. 

Cried the with the saddest face whenever we tried to hold her.

But 24 hours later she warmed right up and is happy to talk to everyone!

Nothing

 Dan asked what I had planned for the day.
I said "Nothing." 

Which really means, "Nothing that would be interesting for me to tell you about."

(I actually had a long list of things to do, beginning with making a list of things to do. Laundry, exercise, grocery shop, tidy, replenish soap and TP in all the bathrooms, make a writing plan, play with Emi, catch up on e-mails, to-do's for Belnord, plan for singing time etc.)

 
But those things aren't great conversation starters. Which was the case for so much of the mothering years. It's fun to talk about what the kids did that day, but hard to find something interesting to share about household chores -- When I refilled the soap, I also wiped away the gunky ring of dark buildup around the lid. Not sure if anyone will notice, but I feel better about it.

And yet, you get so desperate to tell someone about your day. 

It's not very scintillating stuff, but  it's all you have.

Maybe the better way to answer would be,

"I have nothing out of the ordinary on the calendar, but I'm sure to have lots of thoughts to share by the end of the day and I'd love to share them with someone."

Because even through the often mundane (yet satisfying, if you're an organizer like me!) 
tasks of doing laundry and dishes, putting away the groceries, checking out HomeGoods, playing patty-cake and airplane and singing to and teaching the baby to rollover, 

you have lots and lots and lots of thoughts that would be nice to talk about.

What I did today (in addition to refilling bathroom soaps and the fridge 

and playing with my granddaughter):

I thought about how glad I was I to not feel stressed about reviewing submissions for feedback for my class and doing homework I didn't feel had value and I could just enjoy playing with Emi and getting home stuff done.

Since I don't have a class with assignments, I spent time making writing goals so I can continue progressing and making time for something that brings me joy.

I determined to eat more fruits and vegetables throughout the day.

I listened to a podcast in the car interviewing a memoir author and thought about how her experience of sharing her memoir journey could be equally appropriate on All In because it was inspiring and even spiritual when you think about writing in the context of God guiding us to finding ways to enjoy our talents, find fulfillment and even make a difference.

I came to the realization that I'd really like to have friends who write. Friends I can spend time with in person and share our common interest. Someone to talk to about the process--concerns, successes and they would understand without a big, long explanatory backstory.

Moguls, Powder and Ironwood Recap

This morning Lizzie's ski instructor called to say he had an opening so she got another half-day lesson.

Kudos to Lizzie who was in pajamas taking care of a baby at 8:15 a.m. and immediately agreed to go!

And to Dan who watched Emi in the morning. (He was super glad to have a break after yesterday.)

Lizzie's instructor had her on blues all day! And she loved it!

Marty and I skied together over on Empire and Lady Morgan.

The chutes weren't open (which Marty hoped to ski, NOT me -- 

but I hoped to video him to show Lizzie.)

But I skied the face through the moguls many times with Marty's encouragement

("just take one turn and stop, then another")

and I learned when there's fresh powder, the moguls are slower and softer and great for practicing on!

(And before long, I was able to get several turns in before stopping.)

I'd told Lizzie about the ski school parades on the last day of class where the parents could cheer on their children, and she called around 11:00, just after Marty and I got back to the condo so she could show Marty how much she'd improved.

After lunch, Dan and Marty skied the chutes, then Marty came in and I went out with Dan for the rest of the day. We stayed on Silver Strike and Northside where even the blues were full of moguls from all the snow of the last two days. And I took the mogul run under the Silver Strike lift. In a blizzard.

Go me!

When we got home, we hurried to pack up and get back down to Salt Lake so we could watch the Cowboys game at home with Chris. Go Boys!

Nick returns from his rugby tournament tonight. Unfortunately he hurt his knee/quad

in the first 10 minutes of the second game when he got tackled. He had to miss the last game.

He says its still pretty swollen but not hurting as much today.

It's been pouring rain and flooding in California so their games were wet and the beaches were cold, 

and he was hurt, but he had a great time, anyway.

Ironwood in Deer Valley Recap

This year when we chose to stay in a townhouse on Ironwood, we thought it would be fun to have more room, but worried about staying near Northside where the lift lines are often really long.

The place was great and walking across the street to the path to the lift was really no farther than walking outside the condo to the run. (There would be several houses on the street that the walk would feel cumbersome.) We loved the big comfy couches in the living room with plenty of space for everyone. 

That's usually the top thing I look for on any trip -- comfy living spaces for everyone to gather.

The lines on Northside weren't long at all and we only would need to be in them twice a day anyway, so we didn't think that would be an issue that would stop us from staying there. However, we missed seeing the action from a condo with lift views. 

Also, Chris and friends had a bunkroom and spent the night, but not to ski, so we determined in the future we don't need to have space for all the friends since they go skiing a lot on every other weekend anyway and a condo sleepover for accessible skiing isn't a draw anymore.

Next year, we may go back East or to Denver and meet the kids individually for a skiing on a weekend that works best for them. If they want to come to Deer Valley, we'll probably go back to a 3 bedroom (or 4 if that's available) on Silver Strike. The extra space wasn't super necessary with our group for now. 

Sundays in Deer Valley

I love Sundays on ski weekend where you can sit cozy in the condo, eat snacks, play games,
watch the blizzard and have a break from skiing.
I do miss having a view of the lift and watching the skiers at this location.

Although because it was Michael's last day, he and Dan skied in the morning and hit it so hard and the powder was so deep, they were exhausted by lunch and Dan was as exhausted as is he'd run a half marathon. Then he drove Michael to the airport while the rest of us took turns holding Emi, playing with her and napping.

Never enough photos of the Mom and baby!

Practicing rolling over

Taking Emi so her parents could rest. We all snuck in a nap!

Ok, we faked this one. But only because Lizzie woke up just when I was about to take the pic.
They were both fast asleep, then Emi woke up and was just chillin' while her mom caught a few extra z's.

Chris and ten friends came up after dinner to hang out, hot tub and watch a movie in the basement.

The rest of us watched the movie "Instant Family," which I LOVE but Marty and Lizzie
had never seen and they loved equally as much. (Mark Wahlberg, come on. What's not to love?!)

This is the balcony outside our bedroom with at last four feet of snow piled up!
It snowed another foot just today!

Skiing & Games

Great ski morning with Dan on Sultan.

Marty and Michael hit the slopes with Chris and friends.

Lizzie and Emi had the home shift.

I don't LOVE skiing, but I always love when I'm up here.

The mountains and snow are so beautiful. Being outside on a winter day is inspiring.

Deer Valley is familiar and I do love skiing here.

It's also fun meeting new people from all over the country on the lifts.

I REALLY love waking up and simply walking across the street to ski,

coming home for lunch and going out for a few runs after lunch... or not.

Having the choice makes all the difference.

At noon Dan stayed home with Emi and Lizzie and I skied together.

She looked great and is also learning to like skiing!

When we got home, we swapped Dan to take over baby duty and he left to ski with the boys.

All around great weather, lines weren't bad and everyone had a fun day.

Chris hung around for a little bit after skiing then went back home and is coming back tomorrow night with an even bigger group of friends.

After dinner, we couldn't decide on a movie, so we taught Michael 31 instead, 

using Jenga sticks for bargaining chips.

We miss you Courtney, but so glad Michael joined us!

Nick is having fun at his rugby tournament!