Driving into Ogden Valley. I'll never get tired of it. In the left third of this picture, across the lake and at the base of the mountain is the development where we have our lot. The top of the mountain (and most of the surrounding mountains) are designated protected wildlife habitat.Well, we're back from Eden. Sigh. On the way home we kept trying to come up with reasons we were glad to be coming home and all we could come up with were 1) we'll see the family and 2) we'll see the family and 3) we'll see the family. Truly, coming back to SoCA gets harder and harder.
This was not a particularly restful vacation but I'm not complaining. It was a fun and exciting week with a couple of "flaked out" days thrown in. We left right after school on Thursday, April 5 and drove to Primm (formerly called Stateline) Nevada for the night. We listened to Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick on audio book. (I MUST buy this to read in hardcover. What a fabulous book!) We left Primm early the next morning and were "home" in Eden in the middle of the afternoon. Stopped at Harley and Buck's, the new restaurant in the Eden General Store (fabulous food!) for dinner. It was still cool in the valley (in the low 30s at night, 50s most days up into the 60s on a couple). Spring usually hits this valley in early June so we were prepared. As usual, I, who am afraid to drive in snow, was driving during the only snow we saw the whole week. Just a flurry, though, so I was fine.
We unpacked and relaxed for the rest of Friday, then on Saturday morning our architect arrived with the first rendering of plans for the house we want to build up there. At her request, DH and I had sent her copious answers to a questionairre she had sent us and she captured our lifestyle perfectly! Unfortunately, she captured it in a 4400 square foot house rather than the 2500 square foot house we had asked for. After the three of us returned from the site where we saw how the plans would be oriented on the lot, I spent the rest of that day alternating stitching, working a crossword puzzle and looking at the plans that she left for us to study. We had invited her and her family to dinner that night which was great fun. She has terrific kids, a very nice husband and an entertaining (in a good way) mother.
After a good night's sleep I started messing with the plans and was able to slash a couple of hundred square feet off both floors. DH and I talked it over and decided to proceed with the slightly reduced main floorplan but leave most of the basement unfinished for the time being. Based on what she knows of the area she is estimating the cost will come in somewhere between $100-$150 per square foot. If so, we'll be able to make it (with a few changes in the five-year life plan). DH and Architect seem confident so I'm now just trying to stop fretting and enjoy the experience.
Monday was a completely lazy, cross-stitching day. I'm working on a sampler as a gift and finished the alphabet. Managed to fall asleep in my chair for a long, lovely nap. Worked a cross-word puzzle. Drank Cream O' Weber chocolate milk. Got another good night's sleep.
Tuesday DH had to fly back to SoCA for a Board of Trustees meeting. I dropped him at SL International at 11:00 for his flight, then met with the Architect (who will henceforth be known as the Goddess of Architecture or "GoA") with my revisions to the plan. We had some good conversations about other possible changes and I headed back to Ogden. I spent a lovely hour at my favorite ever shop, Shepherd's Bush. As I chatted with the counter worker (I WISH I had asked her name) she asked if the Firefly Faeries by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum was fun to work on. I responded that it was but that it was difficult for me to work on linen because I don't see well. She directed me to the magnifier that they sell there and I decided to try one. It's the best $20 I've spent in a long time! I got the hang of working with it in about 15 minutes and now am using it even on the easier fabrics! I feel like I'm just flying as I stitch now. I was even able to work on the sampler (which is on 28 evenweave) in the CAR!
After that lovely visit (the ladies at Shepherd's Bush are just wonderful!) I headed back for a quiet evening at the condo. I found How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days on the television and sat and stitched all evening. Had no trouble sleeping through the night, then got ready to go back to SLC to pick up DH. I was supposed to pick him up at about two, so decided to leave early and check out the quilt shop in Ogden (Gardiner's Sew and Quilt), then FINALLY visit the Family History Library in SLC. After Gardiner's I went to the local Michael's to buy a new stitchery frame (the ones I usually use won't support that great magnifier). While I was there, DH called to update me on his flight information. His flight from SoCA to Las Vegas was leaving on time, but he was supposed to then pick up a flight from Chicago to SLC and that flight had been cancelled because of the weather. They had booked him on a 4:00 out of Las Vegas, but encouraged him to try to get a stand-by on a 1:00 when he got to LV. That would get him into SLC about 3:20 Mountain Time. Suited me fine since it gave me an extra hour at the family history library.
I can't believe that it will be five years in August that we've been traveling up there for vacations but I - with a B.A. in history and 25 years experience doing genealogy - have never made it to this library! I found it with no problem. Since I had run a few errands on my way into the city I took a moment before going into the library to call DH to see what was up.
He had landed in LV and was waiting at the gate for a stand-by seat, but he was #5 on the list and there was a situation. A young woman (about the age of our DS2) was trying to get to SLC because her mother had suddenly become gravely ill (heart attack? stroke? we'll never know.) She was #6 on the stand-by list. DH had already told the counter attendant to move her into his slot if necessary. As they all waited the young woman got a phone call. It was obvious from her reaction that something horrible had happened and they all learned later that her mother had died while she waited for the flight. We'll never know what all the counter attendant had to do or how many other passengers cooperated to make it happen, but the grieving young woman did get onto the flight. DH did not. His flight would now not get in until 6:30 that night.
This was NOT a hardship for me. I haven't had unfettered time to do genealogy in years and had a fabulous time. I was only sorry that I hadn't thought to bring some notes up with me. As it was, all I could do was sit there and try to remember who I needed information on. I managed to find some new data on my mystery ancestor, Thomas Jefferson Brown, but nothing to tell me whether he died in Arkansas in 1854 or was murdered in New Orleans in 1839. [I just found a site that sells access to newspaper archives so I may try that angle.] At the appropriate time I packed up my stuff and headed out to the airport. DH came in right on time and we headed back to the valley. We tried to stop at the General Store for dinner (I hadn't had anything to eat since my Mormon Muffin that morning) but it was after 8:00 pm and they were closed. Fortunately, Eats of Eden was still open so we stopped there for the best burger I've had in a long time (maybe because I was so hungry?)
Thursday was another marvelously lazy day of stitching, stitching and stitching. We did manage to go to the General Store (sorry, Harley and Buck's) where we tried their French Onion soup (a little too beef brothy for me) and then split the biggest, most delicious rib eye steak I've ever had. Between the fatty steak and the house-building adventure, I didn't sleep all that well, but still managed to wake up rested for Friday.
On Friday we met again with GoA to see the revised floor plans and the proposed elevations. She had some drawn in some large support beams and I asked how she envisioned those beams. "We have access to reclaimed trestlewood," was her response. After our meeting, she took us to the local green building center and to a display room for contractors. Now THAT was an eye-opener. DH fell in love with an all stainless-steel refrigerator with several temperature zones (drawers, etc.) Later we did some online homework and learned it was a Sub-Zero unit costing about $8,000 and certainly NOT Energy Star rated. We'll keep looking.
After we droppd GoA back at her office we headed over to the Tracy Aviary. What a delightful place! The tulips were in bloom and were stunning (we can't grow tulips in SoCA without a LOT of work). GoA had done some work in restoring an old mill on the property and had asked us to check it out. There they were! The "reclaimed trestlewood" pillars. Now I have to find out if those are what she had in mind for our house because, if so, we will insist that all visitors hug a pillar on their way in. These things are gorgeous! We also loved the clay plaster wall treatment, but she had told us that when you want to fill in a nailhole, all you do is spray the stuff with water and smear it around. But now I wonder, how do you clean off the fingerprints? If it's that easy to move around with water, won't you just wash it right off if you try to scrub off some fingerprints?
By the time we ended our walk around the aviary we were ready to return to our little home away from home for our last afternoon and evening. I did a little more stitching, then started the "breakdown" process of moving out of the condo. Throwing out uneaten food, moving stuff back into the locking owner's closets, washing dishtowels and so on.
Yesterday (Saturday) morning we finally drove out at about 6:30 am. We to Orem for breakfast at the IHOP, then stopped several hours later in Mesquite, NV, for lunch. We got home at about 7:30 our time. It was good to see the kids although, as usual, there was a crisis. DS1 had a flat tire on his car and so was using mine. The worst part of having your grown children living with you is that you still freak out when they have a problem even though it's now THEIR problem, not yours, to solve.
So, now it's Sunday and I'm trying to gear up to return to work tomorrow. Only nine more weeks (44 days but who's counting?) of school. It's hard to believe how quickly this year has flown by, especially since the days at work seem to drag. I've always considered myself lucky to teach eighth grade. Because of their year-end graduations activities we are "done" teaching eighth grade a few days early so I figure I have under 40 teaching days left.
Things are pretty much the same chaos here as ever. I'll be tackling laundry today and hope to dig out my office enough to get back to work tomorrow. I see out the window that my rose "Cecil Brunner' decided to start blooming while I was gone and that my goldfinch feeder is empty. Guess I'll go pick a few blossoms (they smell so good!) and fill the feeder. Sounds like a good way to procrastinate for a while.
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