Potluck for Seventy and a Joyful Wedding

Family Time in Utah (Dec 6-10)

Left Duck Creek (and warm weather) Wednesday morning and drove a couple hours to the Elks Club in St. George (UT). Dinner in – leftover roast beef w/ mashed taters, gravy & peas. Good!  Thursday brought a long trek to SLC, where we’re “camped” with relatives until Monday. Friday I was busy with baking and other food prep for the family potluck that night. Amy’s temple wedding & reception were Saturday (after which we juggled tux bags, wedding & bridesmaid dresses, shoes, and table decorations – making sure all the rental goods got in the right car for return). Three family vehicles headed back to Seattle early Sunday morning. Hectic weekend, but wonderful to have so much family together. 

Some natural features defy human domination.

➤These cliffs border one side of the Elks RV area. (There’s a golf course on another side, so it’s really a pretty nice location.) The more I looked at them (and now at the pic), the more animal-like faces I see. How many can you find? (Try for at least 4.😊) 

Ignore the reflection... look at the scale of those mountains.
(OK, I know they're not the Alps or Himalayas, but still...)

➤STATHAM FAMILY POTLUCK - Jere estimated about 70 people, including 26 grandkids (and only 8 were mine). 

Jere provided brisket & a lovely home...

...with seating for all the adults!

Chris, happy in the kitchen.

Erica & George, happy
for everyone.

Me, happy w/ family

➤Family & close friends gathered at the Payson Temple for Amy & Jonathan’s wedding Saturday afternoon. Later we partied at Aspen Landing. 

Late afternoon sun...
everyone's a redhead but me.

All smiles leaving the temple.

Pretty... and tasty.

Truth or Lie? Learning more about the wedding party.

BlogThoughts... 1. Greg & I will be married 27 years the end of this month. Early on, he became an integral part of the "Statham family" (all the in-laws & cousins from my previous marriage). Throughout the 90s, we made several SEA-to-SLC drives for Statham family campouts and/or reunions. Some of the younger grandchildren don't quite get how we fit in, but all their parents love us. Ironically (and truly unfortunately), health issues kept Amy's Statham-Dad from making the trip down for this event.  
2. It seems that the one thing I've consistently passed on to my children is "3 marriages" - certainly not what I would have consciously chosen, but each of the final mates (and I'm including Linda, even though no formal proposal has been made) has indeed proven to be a perfect choice. (And, yes, I know lots of other factors also play a role.) Still, it is wonderful to see Amy, Warren & Erica so deeply committed and genuinely happy in their relationships. 


Parting Shots...  

Three-year-old Kazerie, who doesn't
care at all how I fit into the family,
is my new best friend.

Greg, Linda & Warren (We love Linda 😃)

And a peek inside the Payson Temple...

 Dedicated in 2015, Payson
is the 149th temple worldwide. (15 in Utah)

Kneeling across from each other, the bride and
groom see infinite images of themselves in
opposite mirrors. These represent our belief in
eternal marriage. 

Seahawks, Shopping, & One Last Stroll

Last of Duck Creek (Dec 3-5)

Nothing very exciting these few days.  A bit cooler, but sunny every morning, and I’m still managing 7 miles of steps a day. Life is good. We’ll be home in 10 days, and we’ve both been kind of excited about that even though we know we have a ton of work ahead. This week, though, we’re realizing how much freedom we’ve had this past year and just how big the change will be. For the first time, I finally see one advantage to being a full-timer.  

Small but significant high points…

Cameron Cat

➤Seahawks trouncing the Eagles.

➤Scoring 5 Squishmallow plush toys before Walgreens ran out. (Apparently they’re a hot item this year.)

➤Wrapping Amy & Jonathan's wedding gift, then finding the perfect card and affixing it to the gift. Done!

➤Taking another stroll through the Wetlands Park. (Lowlight: arriving too late at the local Bird Viewing Preserve and missing that opportunity. It closes at 2pm, but neither of us had noticed that little detail.)

Amber Waves

I think the burn remains are cool!
(They remind me of flamenco dancers.)

Peaceful Pond

Everything looks good
against a deep blue sky.

PartingShot...

Last Flight

Beginning to Look (but not feel) a Lot like Christmas

Duck Creek, Week 4 (Nov 26 - Dec 2)

Sunday most of us trooped over to St. George to hear one of Bob’s grandsons speak about his mission in Eastern WA. His talk focused on the power of love to change lives. In January he’ll enter the U of Utah (SLC) to pursue a career in architecture. Back in Leeds before 1pm, we each heated up our favorite leftovers for lunch. Fortunately there was also leftover pumpkin pie, so I whipped up a little more cream for a sweet ending to our stay. Then Greg & I were on the road back to Vegas. (The RV park is really closer to Henderson, but officially in Vegas. There are still casinos everywhere, just no glitz.) Other highlights this week…

➤Finishing my 90-day read-through of the Book of Mormon 2 days early. (Now I'm taking on the New Testament - much easier.)

➤Learning that las vegas is Spanish for fertile valleys (and then puzzling over the settlers' choice).

➤Walking the campground at night w/ 30-50mph wind gusts. 

Duck Creek, decked out for Christmas. (Note the wind-whipped flags.)

➤Four new tires for the M3 (also new bushings – more expensive than the tires), and a rebuild of the MH starter. Good news is that Greg found really great mechanics for the bushing and starter jobs.

Baku Convention Center Park
(The figure 8 to the left is the ice rink.)

➤A short visit to Lake Las Vegas (Resort), a visually appealing but virtually empty collection of hotels, casino, boutique shops & restaurants, golf course, and pricey homes centered on a 320-acre man-made lake. The most interesting thing we saw was the installation of synthetic ice panels to create a rink (opens tomorrow, Dec 1). I never knew there was such a thing, but today’s research tells me synthetic ice shows up everywhere from garage-size hockey practice areas to the 2130m² rink that opened this summer in Baku (capital of Azerbaijan). Here's a couple more shots from the resort.

The Lake: hotel to the left, homes in the distance, marina to the right, shops & restaurants behind us.

More space "available" than open.

Installing sheets of Glice (brand name).

♫ Crashing choir rehearsal at Green Valley United Methodist church (and getting quite a workout – tricky music to sightread!) 

➤Getting flu and P-13 shots. 

➤A leisurely walk around the lake at Cornerstone Park. Once a quarry, the pit eventually filled with rainwater (now enhanced with seasonal runoff). Aside from marsh reeds, there’s not much color, but the park offers lots of amenities and is very popular.

31-acre Lake

Welcome color brightens the neutral landscape.

BlogThought... Sometimes I feel guilty because we really haven't done much of anything this last month. Then again, we're going to be plenty busy when we get home so short-term laziness is probably okay. We are also realizing that, even though we'd never want to live in Nevada, Seattle weather is going to be a tough adjustment. It's a joy to wake up to sun every morning. 

PartingShots.... 

Rudolph started as a log. This is my favorite
display in the park. At night, snowflakes
dance across the black "sky."

Dodge Dart... I didn't they made
these anymore, but Fiat jazzed
it up when they bought Chrysler.

(Sorry, I never get tired of these sunsets.)

Much to be Grateful For

Duck Creek, Week 3 (Nov 19-25)

This week began with Stake Conference. As a choir member I’m guaranteed a front seat – but that seat is behind the podium, so we only see the speakers’ backs. Still, the talks were good. Afterwards, driving back into the campground, I noticed a rig with a WA license parked in the check-in lane. Later I knocked on the door and found out the couple was from Camano Island and used to live on Finn Hill. Small world.  We shared several travel experiences and plan to get together after Thanksgiving. 

Finally, as I’ve previously mentioned, this RV park is near the airport. Normally I don’t pay any attention, but tonight it was one low ‘n loud helicopter after another. I felt like we were sleeping in a MASH tent.  Other highlights this week include...

➤Old westerns. We’ve had lots of down time, and Greg’s fallback activity is the GRIT channel. Recurrent images of a young John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart – all in black & white, of course.

➤Upping my daily walks from 6+ to 7+ miles. (The first week it was only 5+.) It’s just so easy here.

Really??

➤Enjoying bleu cheese burgers as we watched the Seahawks/Falcons game. Yes, we lost (and had far too many penalties), but you still gotta love these guys. And Pete Carroll, for sure.

➤Visiting Clark County Wetlands Park, which includes the Las Vegas Wash, a 12-mile channel that feeds most of Las Vegas Valley’s excess water (mostly treated wastewater) into lake Mead. We haven’t felt a drop of rain for weeks, but when it does fall it falls hard – hence the need for the wash.

Normal Flow (street runoff and/or treated wastewater)

High weir & bridge.

Low weir. (Weirs are like tiny dams that just slow the flow.)

Lots of ducks in the marshes. (Lots of other wildlife
is displayed in the Visitors Center but midday isn't
the best time to see these critters.)

Posing Turtle
(the greenery is reflected)

A little fall color.

Silhouettes...
(Have you noticed I love these?)

➤Cirque du Soleil's "O"... which was simply O-mazing. Ninety minutes of nonstop entertainment -- acrobatics, sych'd swimming, 60' dives with more twists and somersaults than you can count, flame throwers, and 2 fantastic clowns. (No photos allowed, so I've stolen 2 from the Internet.)

This fellow, like many Cirque performers, is a former Olympic athlete. His facial expressions and body language were superb. His partner (unfortunately not shown) was much taller, less expressive (intentionally, I believe - this is the emotional character). Loved 'em!

The "stage" (4 or so platforms) can be anywhere from fully above the water to 17' feet below.
(Watching the mechanics can be almost as interesting as the performers.)

➤Friday drive to Leeds. Back through Snow Canyon, then a quick stop to check out the Elks Club in St. George. 

Virgin River Gorge

One more pretty tree.

➤Saturday Thanksgiving with extended family. Of course that included a morning hike. I also took a much-needed walk between dinner and dessert. Everything was delicious - turkey, sides, and definitely the sour lemon pie from a local bakery (not Veyo, which we visited in October - I think this one is even better). 

Just one more great vista.

Adult Table (5 kids scattered)

    November Gold

Parting Shot...  

Vegas glitz, from Bellagio rooftop parking area.