Holiday Dinner

Matt Barry

Provo High School Choir does the most remarkable holiday event.

Andrew Apgood and Joshua Rhodes

The ballroom at the Academy Square is arranged with several round tables, each decorated with a holiday centerpiece and eight place settings in beautiful china.
A wonderful meal is served while the choir entertains their guests with numerous Christmas songs. Some solos, small ensembles, some with the entire choir surrounding the hall. It's an occasion not to be missed.
Pictured with Claire are her "brothers"
wonderful friends that take great care of her. I love them all!

Laura Mitchell and Thomas

The mastermind behind it all! She's worked with her husband to give these students an experience they'll treasure forever! Thank You!

Clogging

A couple of back stage pictures at the
Christmas Clogging Classic. Abbie clogs with
Rocky Mountain Express
and loves it!
This year they danced to a song from
Willie Wonka and are dressed as Oompa Loompas.

We're expecting!

I cannot tell you how excited I am to add Elizabeth to our family! One week before the glorious wedding. Yahoo!
Just in case I missed your email address ... My friend Jody, is giving an online shower. Visit the website at weddingshowerlizsteve.blogspot.com
I'm going to be a mother-in-law!!

Love Hate Relationship

This is a multi-part saga...skip or follow along as you desire.

Since Thanksgiving I have been SO miserable!! Allergies galore! I've been racking my brain....what have I changed? Have I eaten anything different? Two doctors, allergy eye drops, wicked mean cortisone cream, eyes swollen, I'm exhausted as my body tried to combat, sleeping for hours, all with too little relief!

Walnuts: For most of you this probably is a rather benign food item maybe causing a canker or two. As you know, for me it is cause for alarm. I avoid all tree nuts with diligence that is only equal to that of following the Prophet. I am the poster child for extreme allergies...do they have a poster adult???

I love wood! I love walnut, cherry, mahogany, maple! I'm not such a fan of oak...
I have the most beautiful walnut table! My brother in law made it, just for me, one of a kind. Making me custom furniture isn't his day job, but he has access to all the wood and equipment. He's made me a lot of beautiful furniture...but that's another story. For the last several years (I'm not going to count!) we've used our wonderful blue folding chairs mingled with bar stools to sit at the table. Note: The table is not a standard height, thus you sit on a bar stool and are too tall or a folding chair and feel like a three year old. The wood for the chairs was sent to our friend in Tonga. (He made much of the furniture for the Tongan Temple, he has an amazing talent.) When he was finished with the chairs he sent them via airplane to Utah with mutual friends. It was then Lane's job to assemble what Kishore had made and make the seats. Quite a job!!! Lane makes beautiful legs and arms, and is incredibly good with his hands but this was a new adventure! He did a lot of research, talked to people who make chairs (few and far between!!!)
To make a long story a little shorter...Lane decided that he was going to finish the chairs Thanksgiving weekend. I was elated!

Lane worked for two days solid and the result is beautiful! Wow, so worth waiting for!
They'll be back from the finisher next week. You're welcome to come ooohhh and aaahhh if you'd like.

Now for some walnut education. (Out of necessity, we just learned this...) The leaves of a walnut tree are so poisonous that they must be raked immediately as they fall or they will kill the grass. Green Walnut is not as toxic as Black Walnut. (I don't know what we have...probably black.) Walnuts often open while still on the tree thus dropping only the nut. Quinone is released into the air and is highly toxic. It is present in all parts, the leaves, the roots, and the wood. When landscaping or gardening you must be very careful as to the proximity you plant as even the toxins in the air will inhibit growth. There are some plants less affected. Anyway, so as Lane has been working his little heart out sanding and prepping our chairs the quinone has been released into the air in our garage, porch and driveway.

Now, remember who is highly allergic to tree nuts?!?!? It was 3:00 a m about five days ago when he sat up in bed and said, "I know what you're allergic to!" Sure enough as he did some research it became very clear.

I am so allergic to nuts that if I walk into your house and you've been chopping nuts, I will react. I don't have to actually ingest the nut. It never even crossed our minds that the chairs would be a problem. He's worked on other woods without incident...but not nut woods. So, being the amazing man that he is, he has totally sterilized the garage and everything in it. Hopefully soon the toxins will have worked their way through my system and I'll feel better!

And yes, the chairs will be fine once they are varnished. The table has been. What an education this has been! Now you know....and so do I.

What have you done?

Just for fun. My friend, Emily, had this on her blog...
Copy and paste into you blog, then highlight the things that you have done!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more money to charity than you can afford

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightening storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child - not legally

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunset or sunrise

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace or your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - I'm easily satisfied, warm home, car that runs, food in the fridge, running water, etc. I've lived the rich life, it's no different

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone's life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seem the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Visited Italy

So, is this a strange list? I've only done 1/3 of these things....and many of them I'm confident I'll never do. What have you done? Do tell, if you're in the mood.

A loss of pets...

Todd ran away....I hope someone is enjoying him! And a few days ago, kisses got a little too big for his britches and high centered himself trying to squeeze through the wholes in his cage...and died. We are so sad! The cage looks so terribly empty. The truth is, I haven't had the heart to tell Lucy, Hannah, Isaac and Elias :-(

Six quirks

I've been tagged to divulge six (just six?) quirky things about me. Actually I think the word "quirk" describes me....here goes.

1. I will NOT fold cold laundry! Yes, I will warm it up if I didn't catch it finishing in the dryer.

2. I still iron, old fashioned, I know. We love cotton and I love the crisp look :-)

3. I have the most scrambled family tree!

4. I'm not a media person. I have no idea what's on TV, cable or otherwise. I have no idea what the latest movie is, nor do I care. I don't have a radio, cd player or such in my car and rarely listen at home either. It just isn't a part of my world. The only time you'll see the TV on at our house is during General Conference. (I will watch a good old movie while I iron, or snuggle with one of girls, sometimes.)

5. I like closed cupboard and closet doors, more than like actually, it's an issue.

6. I detest crumbs in the butter, jam in the peanut butter, peanut butter in the jam, mustard in the mayo or any other cross contamination.

Now you know, though I'm confident that none of this surprises anyone. Thanks, Sharri. Now I'm supposed to tag....silly but fun. I had no idea Sharri was such a Latin gal!

Jill S.
Klin
Kate S.
Deby J.
Julie L.
Stephanie M.