Rise and Shout

It's that time of year. Football.  I just love our season tickets and going to all the BYU games. Last night was our first game of the season and we won. That's always a bonus. We have tickets with Ray's parents and his sister Amy and her husband Jim.

The first three games are usually hot and the last three freezing cold. Last night it was pouring rain as we walked into the stadium (blue skies when we left home) but it stopped before the game started. It was about 85 degrees for the evening - just right.

Amy and her friend

Me and Ray

DMV Miracles

Taken separately, the letters D and M and V lead very mundane lives (except perhaps V, which is my nemesis in Words With Friends). But put them together and you can't help thinking of the Department of Motor Vehicles. It's hard to find anyone who has a positive thought about the DMV. Today I would be that person with the positive thought--even more than one positive thought.

Over the last two weeks I've been to the DMV three times on three different errands.

1. My parents moved here to Utah to live in an assisted living place close by me almost two years ago. They previously lived in Washington and their ID/Driver's Licenses expire this year on their birthdays. Neither of them drives, but they still need a legal government ID card to show when they go to the doctor or hospital, or should they travel by airplane ever again (not likely, but it could happen).

My dad's birthday was last week and of course I let all this go too long and I was worried about getting all the information together that they need for the IDs. Sure enough there were a couple of problems--I won't go into detail here. Suffice it to say that I was pretty worried that they wouldn't accept some of the information in the form I had it, but I thought we'd go anyway and give it a try. Then I could also find out what would work, and perhaps how I could go about getting what I needed for them.

I gathered a large pile of papers hoping that we could make something in there work, and picked up my parents. I knew this would be hard on them. They don't wait very well anymore, especially my mom. And I was worried if the examiner said No to anything that my mom might have a fit (she's not great at masking her feelings anymore--as if she were ever very good at it). When we arrived at the DMV I warned my parents: this will definitely be a long wait. Also, there is a good chance they will make us come back again with some different information. And, last of all, I was going to have to do some fast talking and would they please not interrupt, but wait quietly. (It didn't sound so rude when I said it). They agreed.

We went in and there were only three people in the line ahead of us. Whew! But there were about 70 people waiting (I counted) to be helped once they got through the initial line. We got to the front of the line and I explained what I was there to do. They gave us a number. 455. We looked at the board which said which numbers were being helped. 109, 327, 110. I quickly explained that the numbers would not come up in numerical order, but rather in the order you came in. The numbers meant different things to the examiners. (A simplification, but close enough). The look of panic receded a little bit from their faces. We sat down.

Fifteen minutes later we were called to be helped. There was an angel of mercy sitting behind that counter, looking more like a man who was about 55 or 60 years old. We started the process, and sure enough my mom started interrupting. I suggested she and Dad sit down and wait until we called them up when they were needed. She said she was fine--with that stubborn look that all my siblings know. The man behind the counter leaned toward my mom and said, "Your husband looks a little tired. Perhaps if you both sit down it will be easier on him." My mother smiled at him and said, "Okay". They sat down. That man took his forms in hand, took my pile of papers, and said, "I think we will make this work." We went through everything thoroughly, and he was very accommodating. Twenty-five minutes later we were out the door with new IDs in hand. I wanted to cry I was so happy. And thrilled that it only took that long, considering all we did. We don't have to go back! Truly a miracle.

2. Two days later I was back at the DMV on the side where they do licensing. For Ray's birthday I got him personalized plates for his motorcycle. I barely had to wait and was called up. The first two plates we wanted were not available. Just in case anyone needs to know, in Utah you can look online and see if plates are available. These were listed as available, but in reality were not. The girl helping me really busted her tail to see if we couldn't make it work. No dice. But we did get our third choice.  In and out in less than twenty minutes. Miracle #2

3. Today I was getting new tabs for my car. My fault--it was the end of the month and there I was needing to get the tabs. I drove up to the DMV and thought I'd try the drive-through. There were no cars there and I thought they were closed. Nope. Three lanes wide open. In and out in less than five minutes. Miracle #3.

It will be a long time before I criticize the DMV again.

The Best Email Ever

I received this picture via email two days ago, and it sure put a smile on my face.

Translation: Gma I am going to see you in 11 days (I'm not sure what the last two figures are).

It's true. We're off to see Madeleine (the author of the message above who is 4 years old), Diane, and Jonathan next week. 

Oh, and their parents Debby and Randy too. 

Meanwhile I've been busy, busy. Not much time to read, or write on the blog. Hopefully things will slow down and I'll get back in the blog mode. I miss it.

On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family by Lisa See

I have no clue how this book ended up on my Kindle. I do not recall purchasing it, or even having heard of it before. I like what I've read of Lisa See's works, so I decided to give it a try. I've read some pretty easy stuff recently and thought I could tackle a little more serious reading.

When I started the book I did not realize that it is a biography of her family: how they came to America originally, and all the ins and outs of being a Chinese (unwanted, considered low class, etc) in California during that time. I thought it was another one of her novels. The subtitle did not show up on my Kindle. I bet I was a third of the way through the book before I figured out that these were real people, not just made up characters.

As always, her writing is amazing. I was drawn into the book immediately and kept interested the entire time. When I read the last page I was almost surprised to see my usual surroundings instead of a dark, antiques-filled building with a Chinese American family conducting business in Los Angeles.

I was floored today when I looked up more information on the book to find it was her first book. She started out with a bang.

All for You by Lynn Kurland

Lynn's books are a predictable, safe, light read for me. This one, her most recent, was one more in that line. I zipped right through it.

Tour de Utah - Stage 5 - August 2012

One of the great things about where we live is that every year the Tour de Utah bike race goes right by our house. All week we've seen signs along the street:  "Bike Race 8-11-2012 Expect Delays". Saturday morning I opened the window so I could hear when the peloton was approaching and I wouldn't miss all the excitement.

The car with the loudspeakers came first, announcing how far behind the riders were. Then we saw the helicopter that flies right over the group. Then the cars and motorcycles leading the way. There were police cars blocking all the streets along the way so no one would pull out onto the route. Bells ring, everyone shouts encouragement, and it's all over in a flash and all you see is the support vehicles disappearing over the hill. It's exciting!

This is stage five of the race. It starts in Park City, then goes over a couple of mountains and ends up past our house and on up Little Cottonwood Canyon. I think it's about 101 miles. It used to be the final stage of the race. This year they've added another stage which sounds even harder.

I grabbed my camera and tried to get a few good shots. Some are better than others.

This is the route (the light blue line):  

  

 

Boise - August 2012

We had a glorious time in Boise last week. 

Jeanie (Debby's mother-in-law) called me a few weeks ago and invited me and Ray to come to Boise for a few days. They were going to McCall for a family vacation, and Debby and family would be there a few days early, staying at Bob and Jeanie's before they all left. Ray couldn't come, but I jumped at the chance. Then she invited Audrey and Beth to come too. 

This was just too good to be true. Oh, how we miss Debra and her family. Debra and family arrived in Boise on Wednesday afternoon. We took off from here early Friday morning and were in Boise by noon. What a great reunion! Me, my girls, half of my grandchildren, and the most fun people to stay with in the world.

Bob and Jeanie always make us feel right at home. I couldn't believe how generous Jeanie was to invite us right when she was getting ready to leave for a week. We tried to be helpful, but I know we were an imposition--not that she'd ever admit it.

We relaxed. We sat in their lovely backyard and watched the kids play. We girls went to lunch on Saturday, and Jeanie, Audrey and I made a quick trip to a local quilt shop. I had to indulge, and bought some fun future projects. Then we relaxed and watched the kids some more.

Sunday we left after lunch. I tried to put on a happy face, but was completely unsuccessful. It was hard to leave.

It was like Sisters Weekend all over again with the added bonus of Jeanie being with us. My only regret is we never got a group picture with Jeanie in it. I guess that means we'll have to do it again sometime so we can rectify that!

Here are a LOT of pictures with a little bit of explanation in some of the captions:

Jonathan--so big I can hardly believe it. This happy face shows how we all felt being together again.

Andrew and Beth. Debby was a little sad that Andrew doesn't remember her.

Somehow this seems to be Diane's expression in pictures. It is not how she is in actuality. She was so fun!

Audrey

Jeanie, our hero

Debra!

Jonathan in the johnny-jump-up, a favorite family gadget

Beth helping with the art project.  Diane, Madeleine, Beth

Madeleine, Beth

Madeleine. 

Audrey cutting Diane's hair

Diane

This is so blurry, but you can see Madeleine being silly with Andrew. You can't see the giant smile on his face.

 

Andrew

Madeleine explaining her artwork to me

 

Beth, Diane, Audrey, Debra. Next time we'll have Jeanie in there with us.

The Bourne Legacy

In the summer we usually see a lot of action movies. We'll head out to a matinee and enjoy the air-conditioned theater and an exciting (hopefully) film. Ray and Ray have gone to a few movies this summer, but I haven't seen a movie since The Hunger Games in April. I was long overdue for a movie of any sort.

We hit the matinee today to see The Bourne Legacy. I liked it. It was a teeny bit confusing at the beginning, but I knew it would sort itself out as we went along, in true Bourne fashion. And it did. There were some great chase scenes--both on foot and on motorcycles.

Was it as good as the ones with Matt Damon? Probably not. But I still liked it, and they left plenty of room for sequels with the ending.

Now to find a nice romantic comedy.

Moose Sighting

Most evenings we go for a ride on the motorcycle after dinner. It's a great way to cool off in this heat. We usually ride up either Little Cottonwood Canyon or Big Cottonwood Canyon, or sometimes both. Tonight we went up Little Cottonwood Canyon and just as we were coming back down we had to slow way down and let a moose finish crossing the road in front of us. Yes a moose. We're always on the lookout for deer, but have never even thought we'd see a moose. 

I didn't have my camera with me. Bummer. So I poached this picture off of Google Images. That's what it looked like - no antlers. It was as big as a horse. From now on I'll make sure I take my camera with us. Of course if I'm prepared that means we most likely won't see anything exciting. It was pretty exciting tonight.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

A romantic historical novel.

Simply put: a novel within a novel. Takes place in Scotland, present day and early 18th century. I liked the premise.

Completely diverting.

Just what I needed.

I'll be exploring her other books.

July Report

This means it's August already and the year is slipping by quickly.

1. First things first: I'm doing okay with this. Some days and weeks are better than others. Although I know the value of exercise I'm having a hard time making myself do it. Once I start I'm okay. It's just the getting started. Part of the problem is an irregular summer schedule and if I allow myself to sleep in at all, exercise seems to go out the window.
2. One shelf/drawer per day: I've got to get back on track with this one. I am still doing it, just not every day. I can't believe how great it feels to do it and get rid of more clutter. This should be a perpetual goal for me.
3. 30-30-30: I can't believe how much more productive I am when I do this.
4. Skype/webcam: Facetime can't be beat.
5. Digital photo system/labeling photos: I am in the midst of my online course, and loving it! It is the answer for photo retrieval and storage. I can't wait to finish the course and get to labeling all my photos.

One excellent thing about July: I have read and read and read, and it feels great. It was worth sacrificing a few other goals to have taken care of the need to read in my life.