And Yet...

Another year of poor gardening comes to a close. The chile peppers didn't go anywhere. The basil was a bust. Even the tomatoes went down in flames. Who can't grow tomatoes? Apparently us.

And yet... Just when we were ready to completely write off the whole endeavor... hope has been ever so slightly restored.

While the strawberries didn't exactly yield a lot of fruit, they didn't die. And because they are perennials, they might have even established a firm footing with next season in mind.

The pumpkins pulled off a comeback in the nick of time. There won't be many of them and they won't win any prizes. They will however, make Tracy happy whenever she goes out to check on them. This is, for me, almost entirely the point.

And perhaps best of all... Blackberries. In an unexpected turn, the vines I hate have produced something I love. Will there be more? Enough to make a truce? Or better yet a pie? Stay tuned...

Ascent

Tracy and I have taken up hiking!
Okay, not exactly.

We did, however, take the following three steps toward becoming hikers:
1) We bought a map of the hiking trails along the Wasatch Front.
2) We looked at (but didn't buy) hiking shoes at REI.
3) We actually went on a hike. (not our first, but not too far from it)

It's probably also worth noting that if you live in Utah and don't hike, you'll be viewed dimly... not unlike the way you'll be viewed if you say you don't really like dogs... or kids. We don't have anything against hiking... except the incessant climbing part. As it turns out, if you live in a valley, and decide to go somewhere... anywhere you go will be uphill. Drastically so if you live in the valley we do.

We looked at the map and picked out a trail to follow in Big Cottonwood Canyon... the name escapes me. What didn't escape me was the listed distance, difficulty rating and elevation gain. .8 Miles, "Easy" and about 500 feet. This looked promising. We agreed that the key to our hiking success was to start slow and work our way up from there.

Like most, or maybe even all, of our plans... it began to unravel quickly. We couldn't find the trailhead we were looking for, so we took an alternate instead. Lake Blanche, the sign read. One way distance: three miles. Now I'm no good at math, but I was pretty sure 3.0 miles is longer than .80 miles. It was. The sign didn't really say much else. Whatever... We were here. Let's do this!

How did it go? I'll just cover the high points:

• Tracy is in better shape than I am... as apparently is everyone else. As toddlers and old folks made the return trip down, she was patient and waited while I frequently pulled over for a breather on the way up. I did do better than she on the downhill portion of the hike... maybe she does need those shoes afterall.
• We never quite made it to Lake Blanche... Dinner Plans and low blood sugar cut the hike short. We were probably only about halfway in... later research revealed the hike to be a roughly five hour endeavor. Three hours and a half hours up, and hour and a half back. The internet also revealed the elevation gain... 2500 feet. Yikes. If you're unimpressed, keep in mind that the starting elevation for this hike is over 7000 feet. Don't worry, I'll always provide more reasons to be unimpressed.
• Even though we didn't make it all the way up this time around. It was so worthwhile. Time together, doing something difficult and new. It was also a nice reminder of a simple truth. We live in an amazing place with even more amazing places a short drive away.

Rest assured... endless uphill trail to Lake Blanche... We'll be back.

Fly By

Visitors to the front yard a little while back... Yet another reason to love having a camera with a shoe-mounted flash. I can't find the exact name of the first one... almost the length of your hand. The second one feeding in the flowers (shot after dark) is called a White Lined Sphinx Moth. At first we thought it was a Hummingbird. Dorky? Yes... yes it is. Guest photography by Eden.

Svenhardcore

If you're going to buy a Svenhard's Danish Variety Pack (30 Count) from Costco... and I suggest you do. You should and (inevitably will) eat them in roughly this order. The Breakfast Claw is pretty much a guaranteed #1. It is nothing short of multi-textural cinnamon sandwich delight. Positions #2 (Cheese Horn) and #3 (Berry Horn) may vary by individual, depending on your level of fondness for faux fruit filling or simulated cream cheese. Actually, both fillings are probably legit... but I still like them just the same. Raisin-ette at the #4 spot may surprise you... I can't say I wasn't taken aback. If you detest raisins (some do), you'll agree to disagree. Unaffiliated others will, I think, find the Cinnamon Claw to be the lesser of the two. Hyphenation aside, the Raisin-ette is at least trying. To be honest, I think the Breakfast Claw might be to blame. When you see what can be done with cinnamon and frosting in the very same variety pack, it's just so hard to forgive.

Two additional notes... I'm not really sure why some of these are called claws and some are called horns. Maybe the shape? Sort off...? I could Google it, but honestly... it would probably take at least three clicks.

Also, as passionate as I am about anything you can buy in a 30-pack from Costco, this was mostly an excuse to mess around with my new studio lights. Thanks Amazon.

Oh Yeah...

Eden is home. Two weeks now. I know. I know... It reflects poorly on me that I can write a 2000 word post on the weeds in my yard and it takes me this long to acknowledge her return from the other side of the planet. I'd feel bad about this, but I've also failed in a lot of other areas lately too... and so this particular failure doesn't feel all that unique. Sigh... Who am I?

Eden had an amazing time and made us all proud and jealous again. I'm trying to get her to send me some of her many pictures so I can post them here. I'm also almost past the desire to throw sanity to the wind and attempt to adopt one of the girls she worked with there. We teared up more than once see photos of and hearing about the beautiful kids who deserve better lives than they're on track to have.

Among the other things I've failed to do:

I forgot to tell you that Evan's weeklong scout ordeal went just fine. At least he briefly admitted as much as he walked in the house, covered in dirt, rambling about how he needed to get to GameStop ASAP. Apparently he and the other scouts had been comparing notes on a game he simply had to have. His favorite part of the canoe trip in the Tetons? The car rides in between campsites.

I also failed to mention that Evan is now 6' 3" and 150 pounds... 7 inches taller and 50% heavier than he was a year ago. Oh yeah, he also started school again. A sophomore. Yikes.

I omitted a mention Hailey's work trip to Las Vegas. The bridal shop she works at paid for a few of the girls to go to some seminars at the Magic Show. No, not Siegfried and Roy, fashion stuff. She was a little nervous, traveling with a bunch of new people, but I think she had a good time.

Lessons Learned - Eden Rabdau

I could write more about the vines in our yard or how I can't handle ordering at drive throughs, but I thought you might get a little more out of this: A new post from Eden, again in her own words. You can read the original post along with others here.

Coming into India I had no clue what to expect. I had no clue if I would find that favorite girl that I would do anything for. If we would feel like we made a difference. If I felt like I helped someone at all. In one week I found that favorite girl I would do anything for. We made a difference. I feel like not only did I help one person, but 25. 

These girls have the most spectacular souls. Souls filled with pure joy. Souls filled with the desire to give and to love.  Souls that I’ve never seen before.

I think sometimes we come into an adventure like this expecting to change these girls lives and to help them so much. Which we do.  But in return they do the same. The girls live the most simple life style, one with no excess, even one without the essentials. It’s honestly one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had. So many of the girls either have a single mom who cannot afford to keep them at home or no parents at all.  25 girls live in a crammed “house” hardly big enough to hold a family of 4. Ceilings sit two inches above my head and mud floors are beneath me, beds made of wood with a dirty rug over the top is what they call home. No one deserves to live like this, especially these girls. 

These girls have taught me a few very important things.

-How to be selfless.

-How to truly love someone for all they are. Flaws and all.

-How to devote your whole heart to service.

-To pay attention to the girls who has just peed herself. Also to not pick her up while playing soccer.

-They’ve taught me to smile and to laugh just because you can.

We were going to say goodbye today but it got postponed until tomorrow so we could celebrate India’s Independence Day with the girls. When Raj told everyone we didn’t have to say goodbye today the girls cheered and hollered. I can’t even begin to imagine what tomorrow will bring.  Either way, India and the people of India have changed me yet again.

Eden Rabdau

Melting

Hailey in the back yard. Photos taken, I believe, by Eden. It's annoying that other people can capture such nice images with my camera. Really dispels the self-perpetuated rumor that I have "special photography powers". Although the fairly adorable subject matter didn't hurt either. I wasn't out there when they were taken, but I'm thinking the idea here was to show her hair before it changed... again... dark this time... girls...

Heartburn

This is a picture of the bacon we had in our BLTs for Evan's birthday dinner. Mike, Hailey's boyfriend, ate three (we ran out of bacon). This post doesn't have anything to do with bacon.

Evan returns sometime today from a week long scout canoe trip. He and about 15 kids and leaders drove north to the Yellowstone area... Jackson Lake, Island Park, bays, islands... You get the idea.

He didn't really want to go. Actually, it was more complicated than that. He was dead set against going, then he seemed okay about it, then he was very reluctant, later somewhat excited, followed up by denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance and maybe even... enjoyment? It's important to note that we never actually see the enjoyment stage, we're kind of assuming it might happen. But he always waits till we're out of sight to show it. He also tucks it into his pack right before he gets home, depriving us of the parental satisfaction we understandably crave.

He wasn't the only one with mixed emotions about the whole affair. Tracy and I agonized before and after we sent him on his way. It's maybe not what you think: We weren't afraid of the canoeing (life jackets) or bears (he can run faster than at least some kids) or even pervy scout masters (I'd trust these guys with my life). He's just become a little distanced from the scout program and subsequently the people and things that go with it. It's possible that's entirely our fault, but I'd like to hope otherwise. Nevertheless, his attendance on the trip was not a foregone conclusion. A couple of primary reasons: 1) Tracy and I aren't really campers... and so we're reluctant to insist our kids do something for a week we usually won't do for a night. 2) He had been teased by some of the kids on previous trips and was dreading more of the same. We could get past the first reason, the second wasn't so easy.

Not sure about other parents, be we've always received a lot of joy from seeing our kids spend time with other kids in a way that makes them happy and keeps them busy. Not sure why... maybe we take it as a sign that they will eventually, in spite of our parental prowess, adjust okay to others and the outside world. It's like that when we visit family in Pocatello. We pull up, unload the car and they just disappear with their cousins. Riding horses, throwing knives, chasing chickens, texting boys. We see them at meal time but not much more... they seem completely content, completely independent of us. No, it's not just us being lazy parents... I think that's how it's supposed to work. It's never quite clicked that way for Ev with scouting. He has friends, but no close friends. And those closest to being close friends are fickle and and often interested in winning the favor of the older/others.. sometimes at Evan's expense.

We felt good about our reasons to have him go... get him out of the house and into the light, provide more exposure to the splendor of the American west (Tracy's idea...weird, right?), reconnect with scouting and the kids from church, make memories, eat hamburgers and have new stories to tell. And yet we were worried that we were setting him up for a rough week... surrounded by kids his own age, but possibly feeling isolated or worse. Might he overstate the problem, to avoid a lengthy camp out? Maybe. But it still felt a tiny bit like we were throwing him to the lions. Potential exaggeration aside, no parent ever wants a hand in that.

How did it all turn out? We'll find out soon enough. We did get a text from one of the leaders a couple of days ago (Thanks Ben) that said he seemed happy and was doing well. I think it probably, hopefully turned out fine... maybe even great. Will he admit that, knowing it will validate our decision and motivate us to send him back next time? Probably not.

Stay tuned.

Garden Park After Dark

Locking up the building for a week does have its advantages. Couldn't take too many photos though... my building security companion (Evan), who was strictly in it for the money, didn't have too much patience for being artsy.

Azadi

Eden is back in India.

She left about a week ago. We just started hearing from her just in the past couple of days... guess that's the type of delay you get traveling some 44 hours straight. If I've got this right: 2 hours to Chicago, 15 hours to Delhi, 11 hours on a train, 6 hours in a bus. Plus delays. Plus layovers.

She's essentially in the foothills of the Himalayas... near a town called Chamba, in an area called Himachal Pradesh. see it here or here. If you go a few hours west, you'll be in Pakistan.... a few hours east, either China or Tibet. She says it's the most beautiful place she's ever been, that we'd love the people, the curry, the mountains and the stars. I can almost see it.

I'm not sure we initially believed she'd ever go the first the first time. We were a little skeptical when she vowed to go back. Now, before she's even been there a week, she's telling us she'll return... next time for months and not just weeks. I have no doubt.

She said we should go as a family, back to northern India. Should we? Could we? It seems completely implausible and impractical. But still... something so far out of the ordinary... the concept feels magnetic.

I'm sure there will be more photos and posts... You can follow the official blog here. But for now, from India... in her own words, Eden. (and a few from Tracy in between)



Namaste.

How are you guys? India life is great. For the most part. A few things that suck hard core are 1. Humidity. I've never hated being sticky more in my LIFE! 2. (name withheld). Her and this girl (name withheld) are being absolutely horrible. They are so exclusive. I'm rooming with them and it absolutely sucks. They are just buddy buddy the whole time, I feel like I'm third wheeling it hard core. I spend as little time with them as possible. Besides them everyone else is awesome. The group works really well together and we are constantly laughing. Have to say I haven't laughed this much/this hard in months. It's been a blast. Today I spent a lot of time with this little girl names Ashu. She is 6 years old and we are pretty sure she has fetal alcohol syndrome and probably some sort of learning disability. She definitely isn't all there. But she is hilarious. She always is just talking to herself and laughing. She has a really deep and raspy voice that is adorable. She was constantly clinging to me today. At one point I was holding her and she kept on trying to lick my face but I got it so whenever she would try she would end up licking my shirt instead. She would just literally climb up my body until she was in my arms. She is a crazy little girl that's for sure. She also doesn't speak Hindi. She speaks Chambian so no one can really communicate with her. There is one translator that sorta understands her. She also has scabies covering her entire body. We are going to try to take her into the doctor while we are here to get some medication for the bites. She only knows one phrase in English, "VHAT IS VOUR NAME?" it is SOOO funny. I'll try to attach the video, either way I'll put a picture of her on here. Video didnt work. but the photo is here.. Today has been a REALLY long and tiring day. I'm ready for bed. This morning we left the NHPC at 6 to go over to this metal basket and ride it across the river. It was more like a really fast scary river. It was a blast. I'm already planning my next trip back here. I want to come back right when I graduate and live in either Kullu or Chamba. But I want to stay for at least 4-5 months next time. These two week trips are great, but not nearly enough time. I gotta head off to bed though, Can hardly keep my eyes open.

Goodnight! Love you guys. MISS YOU!
Eden

Ps. The shopping in Chamba absolutely SUCKS. Nothing. Hopefully there
is something good in New Dehli.


On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 10:37 AM, Rabdau wrote:

Sounds like you are having lots of fun. That little girl is so cute, it's too bad about her circumstances. She hangs onto you because she is starved for love. She's lucky to have this time with you, she'll remember it forever. Too bad about the shopping. No pressure tho, just have fun doing it. You're not going to bring home bed bugs are you? Yuck! Keep doing great work! We love you and miss you so much!

Love Mom
Sent from my iPhone

noo noo noo! i wont bring home any bed bugs. even though our beds are hard as ROCK. ashu is adorable. im excited to continue working with her, hopefully we can improve her english. shopping, well we will see how the rest of shopping goes. it's always rainy here in chamba. maybe it's just because it's monsoon season but we've only had two days of sunshine the rest have been torrential downpours, pretty cool to see though. the clouds just nestle right into the mountains. ive never seen anything like it. we think out mountains are cool in utah. no, THESE are cool mountains. i think we may need to
take a family humanitarian trip to chamba. you would loooove it. and dad would take so many pictures and eat soo much food. tell hailey that the sheet she helped me made has saved my life from cockroaches 3 inches long from a spider that was no lie as big as my hand. ill show you my picture when i get home. it's also saved me from picking up some sort of std on the train. i gotta run though, the day is about to start. love you guys!

Genetics

Photos from Evan's birthday, courtesy of Casey's new camera. I love my Canon, but it definitely can't do this. Also, doesn't Hailey look British?

Lazy Sunday

We were going to go on a hike. We didn't. Next time?
Tracy made macaroons (I told you she baked something every week).
I overslept and photographed things around or above the yard.
Eden stressed about fundraising for India.
Hailey dropped by for dinner.
Evan read comics online and watched Battle Los Angeles.
Not the best day, not the worst.

Overrun

Have you ever seen the movie Aliens vs Predators?

I have, at least twice. It was on again the other night. Tracy, Evan and I were all sucked in even though the movie was at least half over. Don't get me wrong, I'm not really recommending the film, it's only awesome at best (kidding). I'm just trying help you understand how the plot is exactly like the situation happening, right this minute, on every side of our house.

The important thing to know about the movie... at least as it pertains to this post... is this: In the film, there is a war between the Aliens (insect-like things that have a smaller mouths inside their regular mouths and acid for blood) and the Predators.. (crab-faced humanoids with dreadlocks and a lot of fancy wristwatches). Both species are far more powerful than the humans and would ordinarily just eat the humans, but now they are fighting each other. The people in the film have only one thing to do... pick a side and try to offer something in the way of support. Was that two things?

In at least eight places in our yard, we are growing at least four types of vines. We didn't plant any of them. They were just there. Or maybe they saw us move in and then did the same. Actually, that scenario seems more likely. Have you ever dealt with an incessantly creeping vine? How about four? Unlike you and me, they don't go to Red Iguana or play Call of Duty. They never sell Free People blouses or watch The Voice. They don't go to Bear Lake or jog in the park. They don't tweet. They don't LOL. They never watch AVP. They just grow. All day. All night. Anywhere. Everywhere. Their power lies in that singular focus. Lacking that focus in any respect, we are pretty much screwed.

Like the people in the movie, all we can hope to do is pick a side and try to offer something in the way of support. The combatants are listed below...

Our Ally...

Is Vinca Minor really an ally? I guess it depends on your perspective. Some people would probably just tear it out... But with so many enemies, we had to choose a friend. Periwinkle, as it is also endearingly called, has no thorns, grows nice purple flowers and is doing a really respectable job covering the areas we're too lazy to landscape. We help Vinca wherever we can.

The Axis of Evil...

English Ivy sounds charming... right? I initially thought it was... right up until the moment I saw what it's doing to our fence out by the back door. The words "death grip" come to mind as it has somehow woven itself through almost every slat in a ten foot section. Maybe it could just become our fence? It already has a good start. I'm at least open to the idea. Meh... I suspect it has other plans.

The common name for this botanical nightmare is Wild Raspberry. Who knew that "Wild" actually meant "Not a single"? As in it won't grow a single raspberry. What it does grow, however, is thorns. Just cutting enough to snap this photo required a minor transfusion. My dislike for this plant simply cannot be overstated.

Wild Grape... Another fruitless contradiction. This isn't the most painful to handle or the hardest to cut, but I think it might be the most sinister. Why? It grows under the Vinca... up the apricot tree... along the fence and through the sidewalk... It's probably choked grandmother by now. The delicate tendrils you see in the picture are always grabbing for more. And yet... Unlike the English Ivy or Wild Raspberry, it pulls out as easy as pie. I was pleased by the notion until I thought it over. "Plants like this don't give up that easily. What's the strategy here?" I eventually came to clarity. Even if you pull up a twenty foot strand, the vine quietly whispers... "Take all you want friend, there's more where that came from."

Stay tuned... I may post an update some time down the road. I think we're going to escalate the conflict as neighborhood cleanup day draws nearer. But if you don't hear from us, send help. Also, have them bring some of this.

Lastly... this is a blog post, not a botany lesson. If any names or labels are wrong, what say we blame these guys?

All in OneDay

A couple of photos I grabbed the other night at OneDay... a fundraising event Eden helped organize for YMAD. Did I mention she's going back to India again in about a week and a half? There were booths, bands and food carts and more... a really ambitious undertaking overall. We didn't stay too long though, just enough time to spend a hundred dollars on admission and several amazing coconut/dark chocolate gelato bars. I didn't get a photo, but they tasted something like this...

I also dropped by the silent auction on our way out to bid on a matching set of Technics turntables. Do I know how to DJ? Do I know how to scratch? Neither. I just knew I would be a different man with a sweet set of turntables eventually stored in my basement. I didn't get them though. I didn't even bid. Apparently there were others more financially committed to the dream than I. They looked something like this...

While mulling my loss, I did however, get to spend a few minutes listening to these guys... The Joshua Payne Orchestra. I only shot two of the trio... sorry drummer guy. They were doing an instrumental version of Radiohead's "Creep"... a longtime favorite of mine. Not sure what it was, but I just loved it. Joshua Payne himself, the guitarist, is super fun to watch. They play shows (instrumental covers) around Salt Lake quite a bit I guess... sometimes as a nine piece. You can also see a video they made doing Harder Better Faster by Daft Punk. They emailed me the link when I sent them these photos. Guess I'm in pretty tight with the band now. Wonder if they'd play for the Crawfish Boil I will someday get organized enough to have?