Camp

As you may have read in an earlier post, Evan recently attended a scout leadership training camp in the Uintas. It was a week long deal... I picked him up last Saturday.

To be honest, the whole thing was a little odd. I'm on my way back from a few hours at the office on a Sunday afternoon when Tracy calls me with the news. Apparently, one of the scouts designated to attend had been diagnosed with swine flu. Somewhat logically, they called Evan (he is a technically a scout) as a potential replacement. Illogically (he prefers the indoors), he agreed.

Did he know what he was getting into? Did we? No on both accounts. As a kid, your judgment is sketchy at best. And as parents, especially during the summer, you jump on opportunities to keep your people busy.

By the next morning at six he was off.
He was a little apprehensive. We felt guilty.

A week at scout leadership camp...
Knowing barely a soul...
Learning the patrol method... (whatever that is.)

If you're asking how this ends... If you're wondering if we were all worried for nothing... you aren't stopping by often enough.

Exhibit A: The weather


Exhibit B: The weirdos.

Exhibit C: The nervous smile that says "I think they're still watching Dad. Please take the photo quickly and let's get in the car."

Was it all bad? Probably not. As I drove him home, he slept in the back, hard earned patches clutched in hand. Has he asked to see the sign-up forms for next year? Not yet.

Testify.

Today's question: Is it possible to simultaneously curse the scriptures while going back for seconds on the fruits of their gospel? Read on...

There are few foods I revere more than pie.

So when I ran across "The Pie and Pastry Bible" a couple of years back, I knew I had found the answers to many of life's important questions. However, if it's true that nothing worthwhile is easy, baking from this book may be the most worthwhile thing you ever do.



Four things you should know about the book and the recipes contained therein... warnings if you will, to accompany the endorsement:

1. Each pie will take somewhere between 6 and 79 hours to make. While the results can be glorious, if time truly is money, you don't want to go anywhere near the ROI on this. Clearly, a home-made pie is better than store bought pie... but is it better than 2 store bought pies, 3 hours on the couch, a hamburger, a magazine subscription, a new cd and a second hamburger?
   
   
2. Everything involved needs to be refrigerated beforehand... the flour, the butter, the crust, the dish, the filling, the filling in the crust and probably even the book itself. In fact, if you think you might want to make a pie from the "bible", save yourself some time and drop your air conditioning to it's lowest setting two days in advance. That way, by the time you need it, everything in your house will sufficiently chilled.


3. You will have to read and re-read the recipe to gain actual comprehension. This wasn't called the Pie and Pastry Bible on a lark... Isaiah is more like it. No subheads, numbered steps or user-friendly line breaks, just page after page of running text. Hey kids... It's called information design, look into it.
   
   
4. The finished product has been somehow, invariably, worth the trouble. See below.
   

Acting in Concert

This post could also be aptly titled:
Another reason to never hire me as the event photographer.

Eden is going to northwestern India in November to provide humanitarian service with a group called YMAD. You can read about it here. In an effort to raise the funds sufficient to get there and provide said assistance, she and a few friends organized an outdoor benefit concert.

Everyone volunteered to help out.

Hailey would take tickets...
Tracy would sell drinks...
And Evan would act disinterested...


I designed the poster...

God designed the weather...

So, options were discussed...

Calls were made...

And an alternate location was eventually secured...
(and by secured, I mean locked)

Eventually, the show went on...

The crowd went wild...

The end.

Addendum - While attendance turned out to be modest, the music was good and the event well done. A few hundred more dollars aimed at a good thing. A tip of the hat to Eden and Mark. It also never actually rained. (Sorry Lord) And last but not least... We're sorry Eden for going to get a Frosty precisely when you played. You deserve a much better set of parents.

New Neighbors

The 90th Minute

Evan's soccer season ended recently.
He's out there somewhere...
While I lack photographic proof, he not only played, he scored, twice.

This is Farzad (and his son Farshad).
He's from Iran and still looking for work here as a welder.
I only see him during soccer season, but we always sit together.

This guy has a flat-top haircut, and he's not even in the military.
We never sit together.

This guy could probably use a haircut.

Absentia

It's still raining here... no summer in sight.

Evan was all but kidnapped for some sort of scout camp in the Uintahs. 12 hours notice for a weeklong outing has left us light on details. Gratefully, his captors did call today to absolve us of some guilt. Apparently he's a good kid and is having fun. He returns on Saturday afternoon...

Tracy headed south today for St. George with the Young Women's Group from our church. It's called Girls Camp, but there's really no "camp" about it. They're staying at a six bedroom third home that's likely much nicer than our first. She'll return on Saturday as well. I don't know that she was completely bought in to the whole concept, but I think she'll have a good time.

After dinner at Emigration Market with Hailey and Eden, we unpacked our newly yoinked Yudu machine to take it for a spin. So what is it? It's a new-to-market, all in one silkscreen system from one of our clients. So how does it work? It doesn't. Not tonight anyway... The instructions were either light on details, or we were light on focus. Next time, we will definitely peel the plastic cover from the emulsion before exposure. Seems like a pretty slick set-up though...We just need some practice. Stay tuned.

June-tarded

Every one of the past fifteen days has looked something like this.
Utah is a desert, right?

Rockstar

It's been a few weeks now, but we recently attended Eden's end-of-season lacrosse banquet. (our third) There's always food, a slightly too-long video and there are always awards. The awards fall into two categories... Those given to the players by the players and those given by the coach. The former are fun and invariably inside jokes... the girls get them, the parents don't but clap anyway. The latter are given by the coach. While not deadly serious, they are typically based on actual lacrosse. Chad went through every player, one by one, until he finally got to Eden. MVP. (and she's only a junior) Apparently, we have a real jock in the family. And contrary to what Tracy told Eden later, I didn't get emotional. I'm not like that.

Sunday Dinner

I'm not sure when the tradition took hold, but lately... almost without exception, Tracy bakes herself silly on Sunday afternoons. Why would someone bypass a well deserved nap or a movie on the couch? See for yourself.

Stalemate

Inside cat.

Outside bird.

We've had the cat for over three years. Her name was apparently Cinnabear when we adopted her. And while that name appealed to no one here, we never really agreed on a replacement. Meowzilla or Meowzer is about as close as we've come. Clever name or no, we all like her plenty.

The bird has been around for just under a week and is already called Bob. According to both bird books and Google, he isn't supposed to be in Utah at all.

Optimism

Hoping to maintain the appearance that we're still trying, Tracy and I recently strung together several productive hours in the back yard. The result? No silly, not a baby... A real, live garden.

We put one in last year as well, but it was a bust. We planted on the late side and the weather was just weird. Nothing quite turned out. No matter...

Amongst the flora we threw down:
Peas in a Pot (not the actual name, pictured top)
Basil (2 plants... Pesto, we know where you live)
Tomatoes (3 varieties including golden pear)
Pumpkins (a tradition... nay, a requirement at our house, 3 plants)
Mucho Nachos (actual name... i kid you not, pictured bottom)





We didn't plant this prickly piece of crap, but it's growing anyway. Across the the basketball court, right toward the house. It may take some time, but the outcome is clear. Unless I cut it back (I won't) this vine will eventually find it's way into our bedroom and choke me while I sleep.


Stay tuned. The results of this garden business will be documented.