Lately.

It's been awhile... so I thought I'd catch you up on a few of the highlights.

Evan got braces. Whew... just in time. I thought we were gonna have to keep that $6000. Well, at least we don't have to pay for college.

We have to pay for college. (More college that is.) Eden and I took a drive up to Logan to look at Utah State on Wednesday. She forbade me from carrying my camera around like a tourist so I don't have any photos of campus. The only shot I got is this one from the drive up Sardine canyon. Wonder why they don't use this one in the brochures. The tour was great. Eden is excited. You don't need both kidneys to live... right?

Evan also had a piece in the student art show at the library.
Tracy had book club that night, but everyone else went.

Cute and colorful mushrooms? A sigh of relief... I was almost certain there'd be a school psychologist waiting by his artwork.

Eden also showed us a photo smile she's been working on. Reviews were mixed.

I took a business trip down to St. George. Long meetings, but with a genuinely nice group of clients. Even though you're still working, sometimes just being out of the office is an improvement. The highlight of the trip for me may have been the ten minutes I stole to shoot pictures of the mist.


Tracy and I have been cooking up a storm lately. Calzone, Kung Pao Shrimp, Stuffed Salmon with Brie... Tracy is a much better cook than I, but seems to have a passion (read sweet tooth) for baking. Today, she's made peanut butter cookies. Last week she made this... A coconut, banana something-or-the-other. I typically don't love cake, but this was sort of like super-banana bread paved with coconut and frosting. One doesn't argue...

I primarily like to cook things that require ingredients and implements we don't have. Introducing... My new Tagine. A tagine is a word that both describes a piece of cookware and the stews that are typically cooked within.

Prior to last week, we had never ever had Moroccan food... a spicy chicken tagine with rosemary, ginger and apricots. Unbelievably good... no joke. The cookbook is on my nightstand. (sorry... again... Scriptures) Unfortunately, the tagine you see here cracked from the heat. One visit to Sur la Table and and an additional $75 later... I have a new Emile Henry version. Once again, I am clearly not a genius.

Evan and I also just finished church basketball. They roped me into coaching, I roped him into playing. Is it a bad sign as a coach that you pray for a blowout in either direction? The last thing I wanted to do was to have to draw up a game losing play with five seconds to go. That said, the kids were great and the time well spent.

Well, that's pretty much it for now.
I still work too much and have too few hobbies.
Hailey is still sewing or un-sewing everything in sight.
Evan is getting used to his new magnetic mouth.
Eden turns eighteen today.
Tracy is patiently waiting for answers.

Caption Contest

Area woman fails to realize home team losing, screen in other direction.
Click to enlarge.

Amateur Hour

Two hours in the warehouse district.
Three photos worth keeping. (maybe)
No regrets.

I wish I knew more about this photography thing... but for now... the effort doesn't feel anything like work. And that, for me, is enough.

I do it myself

Besides being talented, funny and freckle-faced, Hailey is also always in a rush to move up and move on. When she was three she wanted to be five. When she was 14, she wanted to be 19. Come to think of it, she even tried to "get borned" ahead of schedule.

Thus it is today as well. As Hailey rounds the corner toward a degree in fashion design, she has enrolled in a class she probably shouldn't be taking just yet. In fact, the professor tried in vain to talk her out of it. The name of the course escapes me, but suffice it to say that it's the mother of all classes in this particular program. At the conclusion of the term she has to put on an entire show... herself.

Can she do it? Most likely... She's talented and has a real work ethic when she sets her mind to something. Am I worried? A little. As it turns out, there's an almost imperceptible line between pushing yourself and taking on too much too soon. Land on the right side of that line... voilà... personal growth. The other side can be tough to bounce back from. I have faith in you Hailey. I just don't want to see something still developing, something still fragile, get broken.

PS - The sketch above was discarded by Hailey. I had to twice fish it out of the trash. It is posted without permission.

Remedial Reviews

I don't read nearly as much as I ought to these days.
When I'm upright, I'm too easily distracted by flickering screens.
When I lie down, I just fall asleep.

So why should you take reading suggestions from me? You shouldn't. Fortunately, all of the books below were recommended or bought for me by people smarter than myself.

My latest read (yes, I'm 42 and way behind the curve.) and recommendation and favorite of Tracy's. A 20/20 view of human nature. Beautiful without being flowery. Apparently they're called classics for a reason.

A recent Christmas gift from Tracy and the kids. Illustrations you instantly love.
If reincarnation were the real deal... I'd want to come back as Charley Harper.

Todd, a close friend (and employer of mine) gave me this one... among many others. Science of all kinds made accessible and entertaining. In an effort to give Calvin and Hobbes a rest, I read the chapter on geology to Evan a couple of nights ago. He's hooked now too.

A gift from Ken, my brother-in-law and culinary soulmate. If you can only have one cookbook, start here. Don't let the Betty Crockeresque title and aesthetic fool you, this book is up-to-date, down-to-earth and brilliantly useful. If you have this one already, get his International cookbook next.

Another recommendation from Ken. Possibly my favorite book. A surprising look at water and how it behaves in the American desert. I hate this cover though... the one I have is different. Apparently the publisher thought it needed a dramatic and misleading subhead to spice things up.

Coincidentally

I woke up from a sound sleep at 4:45am to the painful realization that I'm behind on almost everything I was planning to do... in my life. The house needs work. Work needs work. I need work.

I'm even beginning to think errands equal accomplishments.

In unrelated news... I made real progress (barely left the house) this weekend turning out some sweet (no one cares) new paint schemes (not real paint) for one of the worlds largest automotive (not real cars) communities. Needless to say, Tracy is really proud (appalled).

2010 Starts.... Now.

A few photos from our New Year's Day lunch.

Hailey was with her boyfriend, but otherwise everyone was there... our adopted kids included. It's becoming a tradition. The food is always lowbrow, but the people are funny and it feels like a good way to usher in the new year.

A side note: Yes, I'm wearing a scarf indoors. Tracy got me one for Christmas and showed me how to tie it the right way. Yes, there is a right way. Anyhoo... it's pretty bad-ass.

Uncle

One week into this new year and I'm already tired.

I once thought that a new year was a completely clean slate. A fresh start without any inherited momentum. Now I might think otherwise. Maybe it's because we're surrounded by forces that insist we don't miss a beat as we transition from one calendar to the next. Did we all secretly agree that none of this, whatever it is, can wait another minute? You may take days off, but it seems to help less than it did before... probably because December's end-of-year urgency never really dies now... It just parks itself... and lies in wait on the other side.

I recently heard someone on the radio poke fun at our seeming inability to keep New Year's resolutions. Too cynical, I thought. I've always liked the notion. Not that I always keep them, or even make them. I just like the idea of second chances.

I guess that's where I'm hung up now.
When old things never stop, new things never start.

Ink

The holidays are over and everyone knows it.

New Year's Day

Merry Birthday. Happy Christmas.

In case you hadn't noticed, things around our place are a bit of a mess. This holds especially true around the holidays... something we've come to blame on Hailey. It all started twenty years ago when she was selfishly born on Christmas day, stealing the holiday thunder away from Jesus and his commercial sidekick Santa Claus.

Because she neither saved us from our sins nor delivers things from The Apple Store, Hailey's celebration is the one that gets moved. She is a good sport about it though... even though we all know she's been robbed.

It's hard to believe she's twenty. I know she feels ready to move out and move on... But to be honest, the urgency just isn't there for me. Yet...

A few things from the Christmas/Birthday weekend:

Hailey opened her presents on Christmas Eve.
Everyone did their best to focus on the task at hand.




Christmas Dinner: Prime Rib. Creamy Carrot Soup.
Five hours to make. Five minutes to eat.


Tracy brandishing her gift from Evan... A homemade holiday RPG.

A new Christmas tradition... Pokemon Stadium on the N64.

This picture isn't holiday related, it just confirms how smart I am.

It was nice to have everyone here.
I suspect those moments will soon become a rarity.

Thanks Canon.

Okay, so I bought this new camera... and if our car doesn't break down or the basement flood in the next 90 days, (All hail Costco's return policy) I'm going to keep it. So now more than ever, I take pictures...

In the kitchen.
The light is decent and there's always someone around.




At the Christmas tree lot...
I shoot the trees that won't fit in the living room.

And the ones that will.



At choir performances...
from a distance... in the dark.
Something impossible before now.




Clearly, the photos aren't all good, but the upsides to owning a better camera are becoming obvious. The downside to owning a better camera? No one wants me around anymore. Meh... I can live with that.