January 10 - I got in Avian's car to drive it to work and it felt really sluggish going up the hill. I had just turned the corner onto the parkway when I heard what sounded like a sizzling sound. I pulled over and discovered that the back brake was red hot. Luckily I wasn't far from home and got the car back home without incident. I told Steve what had happened and he called Cam. The caliper had locked and since the brake had heated up to red hot and then cooled so quickly, Cam told us to have it towed to the dealership because the caliper was not brittle and could crack at any time. As if that wasn't enough adventure for one day, the incoming snow storm had every one panicking and they sent all the students home at noon. The snow and ice storm arrived later in the day. Val and I took a nice, long walk in the snow. It was fun.
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| Ice on the windshield the next morning |
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| Walking in the snow with Val. |
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We woke up to an ice-covered world. It was really pretty with the sun shining through the branches.
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| Each blade of grass was entombed in ice. |
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| The vine and leaves were all ice-covered as well. |
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| Ms. Mervine was cleaning out her files and found these certificates and pins for Avian from the 8th grade Scholastic competition. |
Janaury 15 - Avian had their first nude model in art class. They said it was a shock to walk into class and see a naked man. After an adjustment period, they said it was a good challenge for them because they were standing at an easel drawing a live model, which is not something they have done before. The model also changed poses every 10 minutes so they had to sketch quickly to get as much detail down as possible.
That afternoon I went to my new dermatologist. It was very different and I will have to give it a few more visits to see if I like him or not. As always happens to me at the dermatologist, he found something suspicious and I left with a little less skin.
That evening, Val had a friend over who is having a hard time at home because her parents are having difficulty accepting that their male born child identifies as a female. The one big takeaway I got from this discussion is that we need to be kinder to each other.
January 18 - Steve was supposed to go on a guy's outing to Klingspor (think huge woodworking store) with a friend. Steve got to his friend's house and he didn't answer. Steve called his wife, who was out of town, and asked if his friend decided to go with them. She said no and told him how to get into the house. His friend had taken some medicine for the pain from a recent surgery and had fallen asleep. they talked a bit and then Steve headed home.
I spent the day helping a friend get the new house she bought ready to move in. We scraped the popcorn ceiling off and built a wall. I'd say it was a good day!
January 20th - Trump was inaugurated. It was very interesting. He talked A LOT, which was not uncommon, and there were A LOT of irregularities in his speech, also not uncommon. He wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Canada is apparently becoming a state. He wants the Panama Canal back under US control. HMMMMM. We will see what sticks. The only thing for sure is that things are going to get really messy before they get better. It was so sad to watch President and Dr. Biden leave the capitol. It was like watching dignity and sanity flying away.
January 21 - Val had an interview with CMS for a position as a Teacher's Assistant in an extensions classroom (kids with high needs). She got to meet some of the kids she would be working with and fell in love with some of them. She said they were really sweet. It snowed again and tomorrow has been deemed a remote learning day.
January 22 - Steve and I both worked in the morning and then headed for the airport. Our flight left on time and we were in Salt Lake City by 8 p.m. and to Mom's house by 9:30. It felt so good to give her a hug in person. It was really weird being there without the kids, but a weird I could get used to.
January 23 - We woke up and had breakfast with Mom before heading out to Alpine to visit with Jim and Mel. We got to meet Meg, Connor's wife before she headed out for the day. Cara and Christian were there as well. It was Melonie's birthday weekend and they were all meeting in St. George the following day for some family fun to celebrate.
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| Steve, Mel, Me, Jim |
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Christian, Steve, Me, Cara
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We went back to Mom's house to pick her up for lunch at Millie's Burgers and then headed to meet Kathy at Decades in downtown Salt Lake. Decades is a store with vintage clothing. Steve took the kids there when they were in town for Dad's funeral and they had a lot of fun so he wanted to take me there as well. We had a blast finding different clothing items that reminded us of growing up.
We chilled at Mom's house for a bit before heading out again to visit Dad's grave and then have dinner with Rick and EllaRene at Longhorn Steakhouse.
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| Such a peaceful view from my dad's grave. |
Avian sent pictures of the rare snow occurrence in Savannah. There were little snowmen all over the place. They said that Forsythe Park was covered with them. It was a fun day in Savannah.
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| There were some pretty creative snowmen in the park. |
January 24 - We got to have breakfast with Mark and Laura. They chose to go to The Original Pancake House. Mark and Laura talked me into the apple pancakes which were like a large Dutch baby with apple pie filling on top. It was divine!! We had a really good visit and talked for a couple or hours until Mark had to get back to work.
We then drove up to Ginger's condo and visited with her for a bit. I have never been to her condo overlooking Immigration Canyon before. She has a spectacular view of the canyon and valley.
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| The view of the canyon from the front door of Ginger's building. |
Next we drove to see Sean and the family. It was only Sean and Oslo home for the afternoon. Brynn had taken the other two skiing for the day. Neither Steve nor I had met Oslo yet so we had a grand time play with him and getting full tour of the house. Soon Oslo grew tired of us taking all his dad's attention away from him. It was fun to see Sean and talk for a bit.
Next we stopped in to see Aunt Annie. She was recovering from knee surgery and it was a fun diversion for her to have company.
We were also able to stop at Dianna's house and spend some time with her. She took us for a ride in her new car, which gets incredible gas mileage. She has only filled it up once since buying it back in October. It was a really comfy ride.
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| Dianna is so much fun! |
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| For the record, we only took pictures when someone else reminded us to. I was having too much fun to remember to take them. |
Before heading out to pick up Sharron, we then drove down Nantucket Drive past my old house. The neighborhood felt a lot smaller than I remember it from my childhood. It felt like a universe growing up. We had dinner with Sharron at Sizzler and really enjoyed talking and catching up with everything she has been doing. By the time we got back to Mom's, we were exhausted.
While we were out running all over Salt Lake, Val called and said that she had gotten called back for another interview. She was very excited. Avian also sent pictures of her latest art project. They are really enjoying their human drawing class.
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| Avian's most recent art project. |
January 25 - Steve and I worked on a puzzle with Mom in the morning and then headed out from breakfast with Jenny and Chris at Virg's. We had a really good talk. It felt so good to reconnect with Jenny and Chris. After breakfast, we went out in the van and talked for another hour before they had to get going.
We headed up to North Salt Lake to watch Summer play volleyball. Derran was the team coach. Summer is pretty good, which is no surprise seeing what good players both her parents are.
We went to REI to get a new buckle for Steve's bag. It had broken on the airplane and he needed a new one. We were so close his old house on Canyon Rim that we took a driving tour of the old neighborhood. It was exactly the same. We also visited Wood Crafters (Steve was going through withdrawals). It started snowing while we were out and about and the mountains looked really pretty with a fresh layer of snow.
We chilled at Mom's for a tiny bit before going to Randy and Katrina's house to pick them up for dinner. They took us to Los Cucos, their favorite Mexican restaurant as their Christmas gift to us. It was perfect. Great food and excellent company.
After dinner, we stopped by Derran and Sarah's house for a visit. It was really starting to snow so we didn't stay too long so we wouldn't get stuck. Their house is really nice and I got a tour of the barn as well. It was good to see Sarah again. I haven't seen her in far too long.
January 26 - We woke up bright and early and headed out with Mom to pick up Shaun and Kathy and then head to Amanda's house in Malad. When we had gotten together in DC in June we had promised to come out and see their property in Malad. It was absolutely beautiful. The view is stunning and the house is going to be perfect for them. The foundation and some of the walls were going up while we were there. The kids did some sledding while we were there. They even got Sam to go down the hill. We were all a little cold and hungry at this point so we drove to a local diner and had breakfast together. I loved getting to spend the morning with Amanda. Being with her and her family reminds me that there is good in the world.
We took Mom back home so we could all nap after this adventure in preparation for dinner that night. We went back over the Shaun and Kathy's house and had Papa Murphy's pizza with Mom, Shaun, Kathy, David, Jalisa, Adalyn and Isabelle. We laughed and talked until it was time to get Mom home and to bed. Jalisa sent us with the yummiest apple cobbler I have ever tasted. This was a wonderful way to wrap up our visit to Utah.
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| The Taylorsville Temple, on the site where our old Stake Center stood. |
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| The temple from the freeway on our way to Shaun and Kathy's house. |
January 27 - We were up early so we could get to the airport in time to turn in our rental car and get through security. It was hard to say goodbye to Mom. This trip was the best one we have had in a long time.
We got to the airport and turned in our van. It was a Pacifica with heated seats, which was a life saver with the cold weather. We were surprised to find out we had driven 600 miles in 4 days. It was an adventure with lots of great memories. We got through security with very little trouble and had time to get a Jamba Juice before they started boarding the plane. I watched Minions 4 on the way home and the flight went by quickly. Back at home, Tiffany brought us some treats. Steve went to the grocery store while I visited with Tiffany. We took showers and went straight to bed. Steve was not feeling well and a good night's sleep in his own bed was just what he needed.
January 29 - I had gotten a call while we were in Utah that the biopsy on the chunk of my arm came back as suspicious and they needed to remove the rest of it. I went in and let them take a bigger chunk out of my arm. I am not a fan, but what else can you do. Steve was still felling MEH, but improving slightly.
January 31 - We fed the Elders and had a good time getting to know them a little better. It is amazing that we made it through the 3,280 days of January. It was a fun-filled month, but it did feel very long.
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