Red Velvet Cake

Per Emily's request, here is the recipe I used for the cake http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/red-velvet-cake-i/detail.aspx.

It is the weirdest frosting recipe I have ever seen, but I loved it.  Make sure you cook the flour and milk until it is very thick, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.  Also, don't let the finished frosting get too warm when you are working with it.  The butter will start to separate out and ruin the creamy texture.  I think I got mine into the fridge just in time to save it. It's a little finicky, but give it a try!

For the cake I added a tablespoon more cocoa and used a lot less food coloring.  It was more red than it looks in this picture.  Clearly a red velvet cake when you saw it in real life.  I wasn't going to buy a whole bottle of red food coloring just to use on this cake.  Besides, I don't know if my grocery store even sells anything but the .3 oz bottles that come in 4 packs.

I can't give an exact recipe for the cake balls.  I did it by sight and taste.  Crumble about 1/2 of the cake recipe (cooked and cooled).  Then add 4 oz of cream cheese and enough of the frosting to make them the right consistency (shapeable and moist, but not too gooey).   Roll into balls, freeze, dip in chocolate.

They were both well worth the work, but maybe only for special occasions given the mess it made!

Summer Recap or "The next weekend" Part 2

The next weekend we went “up north” for my baby shower.  My friend Sarah threw a wonderful party!  Cute decorations and great snacks.  I'm sad I didn't remember to take any pictures.  I felt so special with old friends bringing gifts to help me get ready for baby.  I loved seeing everyone!

Eric also put on a chocolate tasting party that weekend.  I miss the food nights we used to have.  I also miss having stores that sell more than Andes Mints and Cadbury bars in their chocolate section. Nothing fancy shmancy here, not even a Ritter Sport or Lindt.

The next week I went with Marty to an air show that his company was sponsoring a booth at. On the way there we stopped in Durango.  If you come to visit, chances are we will take you to Durango. It's a quaint Colorado town with a beautiful river and great restaurants.  Eating good food in Durango is always something of a highlight for me.  Not to mention grocery store that sell Ritter Sport and Lindt (not that I bought any...I just like the options available at large stores).

At the air show I helped sell snow cones, which as far as I'm concerned is not too bad a fate.  I have wanted a snow cone nearly every day since the weather got hot.  Marty complains when I get a snow cone, but he doesn't realize how often I've actually used self control. 

The next weekend Monticello had its pioneer day fair and parade.  I only bring it up because I thought the mini ponies with mini carriages were dang cute!  I'll blame my overreaction on pregnancy.

Miniature pony and cart at parade - I've seen dogs bigger than that!

  

The next week Marty performed in the San Juan pageant.  He played Ammon.  Unfortunately, he didn't get to chop off any robbers' arms on stage.  Though one night his captor almost fell off a cliff (this was outdoors on a real cliff).  Hopefully, it wasn't noticeable when Marty helped him catch his balance. 

The Guys Hiking to Hovenweep Ruins

Four of Marty's college friends came that weekend too.  It was really fun to have them.   Being 8 months pregnant by that point, I didn't go on any of the long hikes (long=more than 1 mile) or kayak the Colorado with them.  I did go to Arches with them and I realized just how pregnant I was.  That is to say, only slightly less pregnant than I am right now at 39 weeks.  

  

  

Hovenweep Ruins

The Guys After Kayaking

For the record's sake, in case I forget years from now, the friends that came were Mike H. (who had to leave early), Eric D., Dan C., and Jason H.

Taking a Break at Base of an Arch

  

The next weekend I spent Thursday and Friday on a business trip with Marty. I'm trying to remember what else we did.  I'm sure it was something fun.  But at this point (in pregnancy and towards the end of summer) fun could have been watching a movie under the ceiling fan. 

The next weekend Sloane, a friend here in Blanding, threw Marty and I a little baby celebration brunch.  She made quiche, blintzes, and cupcakes with Nutella frosting.  She's woman after my own heart.

The next weekend Marty and I had our 5^th anniversary!  We decided to keep the celebration on a small scale so we can go to a nice restaurant next time we are someplace that the restaurants' specialties are not pulled pork and steak.  We did eat out, but just got sandwiches.

I was very proud of myself for what I did for Marty at home.  Previously I had declared that dishes are Marty's job until after the baby is born.  I think until our anniversary I had only done one load in three weeks.  As you can guess, that means there has been a bit of a pile up.  On Friday I washed every single dirty dish.  I did that after I had made Marty red velvet cake and red velvet cake balls, which were amazing.  No wonder I've gained so much weight with this baby.  But the point is I did dishes even after I made a mess on top of a mess.

Shh.  Don't tell Marty about my half finished project when he comes home for lunch

 

Finished Products - Cake and Cake balls

 

 

Notice how the cake is not decorated and not perfect?  That's because I put the time into making everything from scratch so it would be delicious, per my personal cake preferences.  I didn't have time to make decorators frosting or add embellishments.  And I'm ok with that.

That actually brings me up to this weekend.  What's in store for this weekend?  Marty kept saying we'd be have our baby the week before the due date, but there's no sign of that.  I'm still putting my money on an inducement September 6^th.  Any other guesses on little Will's arrival date?

Summer Recap or "The next weekend" Part 1

This summer has been a continuous stream of friends visiting or weekend trips.  Is every summer that way and I just forgot? Or perhaps it only seems different because there is more driving involved now.

At the end of April we met up with Alisa and some of her friends in Moab to go hiking then out for dinner.   Beautiful arches and I love having more than 3 restaurants to choose from. 

Summer really started though, a month later when Alisa (my sister) and Eric Dowdle came to visit.  We got lots of site seeing in Blanding style… Natural Bridges, Valley of the Gods, Gooseneck Canyon, and a drive through Monument Valley.

Out Hiking

Gooseneck Canyon

Natural Bridges

And no… Alisa and Eric are not holding hands.

The next weekend (first weekend in June) we headed to CA for the Pulido family reunion.  Man, I love California.  We hit the San Diego Zoo, some amazing restaurants, Balboa Park, the appropriately named Extraordinary Desserts, and a walk on the beach. 

My question is how often does that lion hit somebody?

With the fam at the zoo (my presence is implied as someone has to take the picture).

Martin finds a like-minded friend.

Balboa Park

yum.

Dad Pulido contemplating life, the universe, and everything.

Yoga?

We will down play the fact that several thousand dollars worth of electronics and computers were stolen out of the car while we were in the zoo (the doors were locked), including Marty's snazzy Alienware laptop he got for Christmas. 

Happy-ish ending to that story though, insurance covered replacement costs for the stolen computers.  Marty is enjoying a high resolution game of Dragon Age 2 on a new laptop as we speak. Also, an amusing side note… Marty and I have a policy of keeping internet monitoring software on all our computers.  For several months we got occasional reports of the dirty sites the thief was looking at including the IP the report was sent from.  Too bad the San Diego police don't have as much time as the Blanding police or they might have been able to do something with those IPs.

The next weekend my good friend Kat, who is also expecting a boy (yay!), came to visit.  We had a really relaxed weekend and caught up on each other's lives. 

Kat and I on a nature walk

The next weekend   Leah was supposed to come with her kids, but pushed back her arrival until midweek so she could meet up with Mom.  I don't remember how long they stayed, a while though.  It was so much fun it will get its own post.

My family!  Part of it anyway. 

The next weekend was the fourth of July, which is a HUGE deal here in Blanding.  You can start it off at the mayor's breakfast if you want, complete with politically rousing, very conservative speech.  We opted for a friend's pancake breakfast instead and got the synopsis of the speech from friends during the parade.  

Crowds waiting for the parade.  The whole town plus some had to be out to get this many people.

Seth, Dustin, Sloane, and me staying cool in the shade.

Pedaled all the way to the park where this converted into a root beer float stand.

 

After the parade you can head to the park for carnival type food and sales booths.  There are all sorts of other things to go to if the heat hasn't wiped you out by then. I opted for the air conditioned quilt show and skipped the boxing, rodeo, and who knows what else.  With a BBQ and fireworks, we didn't make it to the annual melodrama until Tuesday.  Turns out the fourth of July actually is a huge deal.  Great time to visit and see small town atmosphere at it's best (hint)! 

I forgot to mention something I found amusing.  In preparation for the big weekend there was an insert sent out in everyone's utility bills reminding them of the laws governing ATV use during the parade and holiday festivities. Yes, it was needed. No, I don't think anyone actually heeded the reminder. 

To be continued...

Solution to Decorating Dilemma

As explained in the previous post, there is this dilemma that the cakes with the fanciest decorations are often not very tasty. A beautiful cake that tastes just ok defeats the purpose of a cake.  When I do decorate, I like pre-made decorations or things like strawberries and chocolate shavings.
As I was finishing that post, it popped into my head what I should learn so that my confections are equally delicious and eye catching--

Chocolate sculpting. That is the answer.  Instead of shaping petals out of plastic tasting sugar dough, I need to learn how to do it out of chocolate.  Truffle filled chocolate roses anyone?

In reality, it's not a solution.  I would never use it because it takes way too much time.  I like things that get a lot of bang for your buck.  Chocolate drizzled in diagonal lines instantly makes something fancy and difficult.  And it takes all of 2 minutes (this theory is solidly supported by the reactions to the cake I made for a cookout on Saturday).
It's possible that I'll give it a try sometime just for the heck of it.  That's the sort of thing I do when I get bored, try new crafts. Once I know how, I have the option of making it, even though I never do.

Easter Cake

Flowers Kari Brought Over for Easter from her Garden

Backing up a bit… Here is the Easter cake I made.  A poppy seed cake with fluffy lemon curd filling and whipped cream frosting – delicious.  If it doesn't sound good to you, it ought to.  Liz decorated the cake with flowers I made some time ago.  She did a lovely job.  Royal icing flowers are so convenient to have on hand.

 

WARNING: Rambling, pointless reflections begin now.

When I was learning to decorate cakes and for some time afterward I struggled with my “cake identity and preferences.”  You can spend hours making fondant decorations or frosting flowers and it is striking.  Fondant is particularly popular for its great looks.  People are always very impressed with intricately decorated cakes (I, of course, like to impress people), but fondant and decorator's frosting can taste downright bad.  When so much time and mess is put towards the appearance of the cake, the cake itself often ends up being a plain boxed mix due to time constraints.   It's a huge letdown to put so much effort into something (even if it is beautiful) and have it taste mediocre.

  

After experimentation and deep contemplation of my personal values I decided that taste always come first.  That means I often won't be using my sweet decorating skills.  After spending exorbitant amounts of time learning how to make gum paste lattices, lilies, etc… I had to come to terms with the fact that I won't be using that skill very often.

  

I suppose I can compare it to vests—the type that middle aged ladies make after learning how to do some adorable new kitty cat appliqué.  After learning a cool new skill that is so adorable they're just dying for a place to use it.  I know the feeling.  The enthusiasm makes us forget the purpose of what we're making.  Clothes are there to show off the person, not the person to show off the clothes (according to the book of Lindsay).  Don't get me wrong.  There is nothing necessarily wrong with kitty cat vests.  But be warned that you might look closer to 75 than 55 when wearing it.  Chances are it's not doing much for your figure either.  Parallel to that, the number one purpose of my cakes is to make mouths happy, not hold pretty, only technically edible, flowers.  Once I learned decorating with fondant, gum paste, royal icing, and butter cream, I had to decide that was really what I valued.  I needed to choose and remember the purpose of my cakes.

The Easter cake was a nice blend.  I made a wonderful cake and used the efficiency of pre-made flowers to decorate.  Best of both worlds and royal icing flowers have become my favorite decoration.

You can tell that I let my mind wander to very serious things when life is a little slow.  It's a nice contrast to Martin.  He writes papers that are published by academic journals based on what he contemplates during down time.  I think over cakes and flowers.  If one of us has to ponder things worth writing papers about, please let it be Martin. 

After months of non-activity, a new post.

It's been a while since I posted, a long while.  I suppose one reason is summer is a busier season (especially in Blanding, there is more to do).  In between vacations, exploring the area, visits from friends, and summer cookouts, it's been a good time.  I want to at least summarize those things because at the moment this blog is my only journal.  So I hope to get in a couple catch up posts on this summer's activities before the baby comes.   Speaking of journals, last time I was talking to my dad he asked if I was keeping a journal about my pregnancy experiences.  The answer is no.  So I might do a post with all my pregnancy gripes and the good luck that I've had over all.   He is right when he says that I will want to remember.  It may not be the most entertaining read, but it serves my purpose.  Maybe my mom will like hearing about it.

Blanding Oddity #11

True story.  Many people leave their cars unlocked.  Certain people leave their cars unlocked and the keys in the ignition.  Only some of these park in their garages.

Blanding Oddity #12

There are some intersections in which neither street has a stop sign or a yield sign. Meaning, there are no signs to indicate which direction has the right of way.  Scared the heck out of me when I realized that, but no one else seems bothered.

The Turkey Narrative

This week I cooked a turkey for the first time.  There was twenty pounds of holiday poultry adventure for Easter dinner.  I started rolling this idea around when I saw that hams and turkeys were a little bit on sale at Clarks' (our only grocery store) to clear out end of season stock.   Last week I committed by officially inviting friends to help us eat the turkey for (a pot-luck style) Easter dinner.  When I finally went to buy the turkey our little super market had no turkeys to be found nor did they have my back up plan of roaster chickens. 

In Blanding, though, if you want anything – to know who cuts hair, an available rental house, where the Indian ruins are – you ask someone (and they may tell you someone else to ask and so on).  What is the point of advertising or publishing maps or putting things on shelves?   I guess every already knows and if not they’ll just ask.  The only well advertised thing I have encountered in Blanding is the Scentsy lady.  I don’t think I will ever buy Scentsy, but I appreciate that I know where I could and when all the sales are.  I didn’t even have to ask. 

Back to the turkey… Marty and I asked the store manager if there was any chance that they would be getting more whole chickens in the next week or if they had any turkeys in the back of the store.  No new frozen birds coming in, but he took us to the back freezer and dug through boxes until he found a non-expired turkey with intact packaging.  This grocery store is not posh or gourmet (they don’t even sale almond paste or calrose rice) but you get better service when people know your name.

I made my own seasoning mix of kosher salt, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, bay leaves, cracked pepper and a pinch of paprika.  After letting it sit overnight to absorb flavors I added lemon zest and rubbed down the turkey to dry brine (salt and put in a bag for several days).   Luckily Kari, a near-by friend, had freezer space and then fridge space for this bird.  I let that sit in her fridge for three days.

In the mean time I made poppy seed cake, lemon curd filling for the cake, sugar cookies to decorate with the kids, frosting (one type for cookies, one for cake) and assembled the cake.  I’ll post about the cake later because it worth a picture!  

Sometime between making frosting and assembling the cake on Saturday I got a call from my sister-in-law telling me that she and my dad-in-law would be able to visit this weekend after all!  They would be getting here about 11pm.  Now, I really wanted them to come, but I had given up because Liz was anxious to get home after finishing her BYU semester and needed to jump right into summer work.  Since it didn’t sound like it was going to work out I forgot about cleaning for house guests and threw myself in to Easter dinner preparations leaving mountains of dishes and smears of frosting in my wake.

Marty’s family is quite polite, so they did call twice on Friday to let us know their plans in advance.  But they called Marty’s phone.  If you don’t already know how effective that is not (most of the time), ask me about his cell phone history next time you see me.

We really loved having family visit and the house was even clean and beautiful by the time Liz and dad Pulido got here, complete with beds made for them (thanks, Kari for the air mattress).  On Sunday, after lunch Marty took Liz and dad for a ride to see some scenery and I got back to turkey prep.  

This is me prepping the turkey with onion goggles.

 
Turkey prep was pretty simple.  The hardest parts were planning ahead and maneuvering a 20 pound bird around.  I stuffed a few veggies in (watch out for those onions!), jump started roasting in a hot oven and reduced temp.  Then let it cook… for a very very long time.  It had to cook so long in fact, that we had to start our meal a half hour later than planned with a soup and salad course while waiting for the turkey to be done.   Oops.  It was my first time after all.  Next time maybe I'll get the timing right.

Finally, the work and wait were worth it.

The turkey was fantastic.  Flavorful and most with many compliments to the chef :-)  Marty carved his first turkey with guidance from his dad.  Will the men be offended if I say it was cute?  The dinner, the friends , and family made for a great Easter.

Thai Star Fruit Chicken Salad

This week bountiful baskets (the food co-op that I get produce from) had a tropical pack.  I got a fresh mint, a coconut, pineapple, star fruit, mangoes, vanilla beans, limes, and lemons.  Loads of deliciousness.  Have I mentioned I love bountiful baskets, especially in Blanding?  Yes, I have.  
Everything that came I will or have already used with hardly any thought, except the star fruit.  Star fruit is actually new to me, so I looked up a few recipes online.  I narrowed it down to a chicken salad or coconut star fruit crepes.  Marty voted for the one less likely to make him fat.
Today I made the Thai star fruit chicken salad.  Fresh basil and cilantro give the salad a delightfully fresh taste.  I particularly liked the zing of the lime sesame dressing.  I give it a rating of very good.  Don't go rushing out to buy a star fruit just to try it (they might be pretty expensive), but it was a very tasty way to use what came my way.  What I love the most is how darn pretty that star fruit is.  It would make any dish look fantastic. That's really why I even wrote this post... because I think star fruit look so stinkin' cool.

P.S.   Grilled pineapple for dessert tonight, vanilla bean flan sometime soon, and I haven't quite decided what to do with the coconut.  Marty made a great coconut rice pudding once.  Maybe I'll get him to make it again.

Martin Did Not Get Asphyxiated

Martin did not get asphyxiated.  Your first thought might be “was he in danger of it?” The answer to that depends on whether you ask him or me.

Last week Marty and a few co-workers flew to a meeting in Colorado in a little Cessna.  Little Cessnas don't have pressurized cabins.  When I flew in a little plane like that oxygen wasn't an issue because our altitude before takeoff was about 25 ft.  In our short flight to Sacramento we did not pass over any major mountain ranges either.  Martin's altitude before takeoff was 6000 ft.  That extra 5075 ft or so make a big difference in how soon you need oxygen.  Additionally, Colorado is known for big mountains.  There were a few big mountains to be passed over during the flight.

Now, don't worry, Martin did not attempt to take the flight without oxygen.  That is, he didn't try it intentionally.  During the trip home he just couldn't tell if his oxygen was on or not.  He thought he flipped the switch far enough.  In between 14,000 - 18,000 ft he started to feel symptoms of hypoxia.  Sleepiness started to set in.  Unfortunately, Martin had woken up at 4:15 am to get to the meeting on time.  He just assumed he was sleepy from lack of sleep.

As a side note, a little Wikipedia research told me at that altitude he had 20-30 minutes of “useful consciousness.”   Internet research is also where I learned that hypoxia is the name of the “pathological condition” that occurred.  I didn't actually know that before.

Fortunately, before Marty's time of useful consciousness expired another passenger noticed Marty starting to doze and suggested that he double check his oxygen was on.  Once the flow of oxygen actually started Marty found it much easier to stay awake.  No damage done.

Marty says it wasn't a big deal.  The plane wasn't going any higher.  If he didn't turn the oxygen on, he would have only passed out until they reached a lower altitude.  Permanent brain damage or death could not have happened.  Of course, that's probably true.  No big deal.  He just didn't turn on his oxygen during a high altitude flight. No big deal.

All I Think About is Food

If I didn't bring dessert almost everywhere I go, I'm sure people would think I'm very boring. Sometimes I wonder how I even have other things to talk about. It seems like cooking is all that I do or at least all that I want to do.

Food is a fun hobby to me. Fun to plan, fun to share, fun to eat. I think I might be becoming obsessed though. Inspired by my sister's grilled cheese blog post, I waited a week until we went to Provo so I could buy a brie wheel at Costco. Yesterday I made muenster, brie, and apple grilled cheese. This sandwich has been bumping around the back of my mind for a week and a half. Is that too long to think about a sandwich? The real thing was as delicious as I thought it would be.

Even when I want to do other things, there are so many things that pull me back to food. First of all, unless I completely stuff myself I get hungry every two hours. How is that soon-to-be-little boy hanging out in my uterus still so small? Also, Marty and I want to spend less on food. The easiest way to do this without actually decreasing quality of life is to eliminate waste. That means I need to plan menus efficiently. More thinking about food. Additionally, doing anything special in Blanding takes planning ahead. If I want to try out that Greek semolina cake anytime in the next 5 weeks, I better have bought semolina flour on my last trip to a city with real stores. I actually do need to plan for a fancy Easter dinner a month in advance.

As if there weren't enough real reasons to think about food, I keep looking for excuses to be pulled back to cooking. I had some old bananas. Can't let those go to waste! So instead of doing dishes I made chocolate shaving and banana cupcakes topped with homemade chocolate frosting. It does not make sense to use $4-5 worth of ingredients so $1.50 of bananas doesn’t go to waste. What do two people need with 24 cupcakes anyway? Man, they were good cupcakes.

To prevent Marty and myself from turning into complete blimps, I am pretty good about getting desserts out of the house. I like to take things to friends and send extras to work with Marty. I sent 14 of the 24 cupcakes to the office with Marty. That means we ate how many at home? Darn. Does it make it better if it wasn't all in one day and do I have to count the little cake from the left over batter?

I do other things beyond cooking...sorta. I was asked to do a mini-class at a relief society luncheon. The demonstration was on making artisan bread (5 minutes a day recipe-I love it), so that probably doesn't count. Gardening is a hobby other than cooking. I like the satisfaction of seeing things grow after my hard work. I like the outdoor labor. What I like most of all about gardening is the taste of home grown tomatoes and having fresh herbs at my fingertips. So I'm back to the food obsession in short order.

Food is a very big hobby to me. But in reality I do other things and think about other things too (at least a little bit). I won't ruin the theme of this post by expounding on the other hobbies or defending myself too much. What is really going on, I hope, is that I am enjoying my life being simple until this baby comes. I can do what I feel like. If I want to make three different types of soup this week to experiment with homemade noodles, heck, why not? If I want to learn something or collect recipes, now is when I should do it. These next few months will be the only time in the next 20 years I will have that kind of freedom.

I wouldn't mind talking all about my ideas for Easter dinner. But instead, I think I'll go have some left over zucchini lasagna while I decide what to make for lunch. If you lived closer, I would make you something delicious. Food is more fun when it is shared.

Blanding Oddity #27

I picked up my dry cleaning, some mouse traps, and sewing supplies at the same store.

I was busy while I was away

This month, I took a much anticipated birthday trip to CA to visit my parents.  This means that I had to drive to Provo/SLC so I could fly to San Jose. SLC (5 hours away) is the closest major airport to my house. Really.  But you should still come visit!  It's not that long of a trip.
If you have talked to me recently or read my blog, you know that Blanding is not a place to shop.  As soon as I got to the bay area I took advantage of the specialty stores and non-specialty stores in the area.  Thai Silks, the Lace Museum, Domus (kitchen wares), Williams-Sonoma, 3 different Ross stores, 2 Motherhood Maternity stores, Kohl's, Converse, Clarks outlet, Burlington, Kitchen Gadget outlet, Joanne's, Fabric's R Us, and various other stores and outlets. Don't worry, there was a lot of window shopping.  But I wish I could have bought things at every store :-)
One of my major tasks while in CA was to use the birthday money my mom-in-law sent me to buy maternity clothes for the next six months.  My jeans were getting awfully uncomfortable.  Turns out that Ross was the best place to buy maternity clothes.  Had a better selection that the other places I tried and you cannot beat the prices.  I've heard that despite the $40-$60 price tags at motherhood, the quality is not really better. Independent of that, there wasn't that much there that I was really digging.  My birthday money went much further at Ross.  Now I am sitting on my couch happily wearing stretch panel pants with several more pairs in my dresser.
I went to CA with one large suit case (not fully packed), an empty duffel, and a carry on.  I came back with 2 large suit cases (weighing in at 49.5 and 50 pounds), a full duffel (as a carry on), and my very full carry on.  A lot of the stuff was hand-me-downs from my mom (which I love).  I needed new potholders anyway and who doesn't need a tart pan with a removable bottom?  Not to mention the stack of craft and cookbooks that I couldn't let be sent to DI.  The books and a small, but particularly dense, appliance brought me to my weight limit very fast. It was quite the challenge to for me and my parents to get the weight distributed around and keep my carry ons light enough for me to handle.  In the end, I didn't even have to leave very many of the books.  I decided that I really don't need a smocking book until I have a smocking machine anyway.
This shopping with a few other activities took up most of my scheduled trip, with hardly touching the craft and sewing projects I had planned.  Tragic.  That is, it was tragic until I extended my trip an extra week!  I'll have to do another post on all the wonderful things that my mom and I did.  Is it weird that I have so many hobbies in common with my 50 something year old mother?
Other highlights of my CA trip:
- Hiking and pick nick lunch in Big Basin with mom, dad, Nate, and Julia
- Dinner with the above mentioned family
- Seafood lunch with dad and Nate (fresh crab!)
- Visiting with Marie Pitts, Ellie Wilhelmsen, and other friends
- Playing "old lady" volleyball
- Seeing trees in blossom
Mom and dad, is there anything I forgot that just has to be mentioned?

Let Off With a Warning

On Saturday, Marty was running (back) to the grocery store to pick up a few forgotten things for my birthday party. On his way Marty noticed that the driver of a city cop car was his co-worker's husband. The co-worker's husband had been on sick leave for quite a while, so Marty thought "I'm glad to see Cory is well enough to be working again." Marty continued on to the grocery store.

Later that evening, Marty got a text from his co-worker that read "Cory says if you don't wave next time you see him around town, he's going to pull you over and give you a ticket."  No wonder this town is so friendly when bad manners can get you ticketed. But I guess warnings come via personal text message because of course the cops have that phone number.

Things could be way worse...

My friend, Alina, posted note today about her recent move. Her comments make me think that this small town isn't as big of an adjustment as I thought. And I thought it was fun to hear from her.


Alina got married a while back, but her husband lived in Pakistan and had several years of school left. They decided to get married anyway and live apart. You can guess how fun that was. It stunk, in case you thought otherwise. So she moved to Pakistan in November to be with him.

A month ago she moved to a city called Lahore. That is pronounced just like you think it would be and, yes, it does sound like THAT word. There is a whole line of jokes and inappropriate comments that can be made about that, but I won't go there. She was happy for the move because Lahore is a bigger more liberal city. The girl that grew up in Santa Clara, CA and use to shop at Banana Republic doesn't have to wear a full burqa in public anymore.

Alina has lived in Pakistan before, but not as an adult with her own household. I liked her comments on some of the challenges. She hopes to get a car soon because the traffic is really dangerous for a motorcycle and the rickshaws can give you a headache. I don't think I ever actually seen a rickshaw, let alone have it be regular transportation. Once you get to the bazaar you were headed off to, you better have a lot of energy left because bargaining is required for every purchase. Doesn't sound like there is anyplace with price tags and a cash register, which could be fun. Also, she really misses dustpans and vacuums. Pakistan is a dusty place. You would think someone would make a dustpan.

As far as food, I assume she likes the food since she grew up with much of it. Eating at her house was always delicious. But, she didn't grow up with the specific set of bacteria that come with the meat and veggies she cooks with. The way she wrote about it, it is just expected to have a few trips to the hospital until your digestive track adjusts. That sounds very uncomfortable. Despite that, she is still cooking and trying to collect recipes. When she asks for a recipe, people give the quantities with their hands... this much oil, this much water, this many onions (holds up fingers), a pinch of masala... That's really funny to me.  Was that handful of water equivalent to a half cup?
Well... I'm headed off to a friend's for dinner. We are having the fondue left overs from the luncheon we put on earlier today. Our men folk are happy the women left some for them to have. Good times here in Blanding!

What's in a name?

A lot.  That's what's in a name.  Now that this isn't a craft blog, I need a new name.  Any ideas?

The MASSIVE Shopping Trip

Yesterday I went shopping.  That means that I woke up at 6 am so I could leave by 7 am drive for 2 1/2 hours and then spend the day stocking up on things.  My neighbor Keri drove and took all the seats out of her minivan in preparation for our expedition.
We did not actually leave at 7 am because I forgot to empty the lint tray in by dryer and all my pants were still wet when Keri got here.  So I invited Keri in for some hot cocoa and by the time we were done sipping, my pants were dry.  Phew. I really didn't want to wear a skirt.  I only shave my legs once every 2 weeks in the winter time.
We stopped at a variety of stores including, Big Lots, Joanne's, Hobby Lobby, Tuesday Morning, Ross, a furniture store, Sears, the Hallmark store, Ashley's Furniture, Lowe's, Target, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, and Safeway.  In case you lost count that was 14 stores.  It was a long day.  By the end the whole minivan was piled from floor to half way up the windows.  Most surprising thing about our shopping trip may have been that I didn't actually buy anything at Hobby Lobby.
I say that the minivan was filled half way up the windows for dramatic effect.  While it is still entirely true, I'm leaving out a detail.  Keri was looking at dining room sets and she found one.  That made the minivan fill up quite quickly.  In fact, it was mostly full before we even start grocery shopping.
Keri's table was quite the find.  I'm pretty excited for her.  She had very specific requirements for her table.  It had to seat at least 6, be solid wood with no veneer, and still be within her price range.  On top of that it still had to be cute and fit in her minivan.  At Sam's Club she found a table that was all of those things.  It was a lovely counter height, cherry finish table with 8 chairs. While we shopped, she had almost decided to buy it.
As Keri wandered from the juice isle to the freezer section, she saw a set of boxes for the table she wanted.  The top box was ripped open.  When she asked the associate about it, she was told that specific set was discounted by $200 because of box damage and potential damage to the table.  We checked the pieces in the dented boxes for damage and could not find any.  Score!  She got $200 off the table that she was about to buy anyway.  
That was the big highlight of the trip.  None of my purchases were nearly that exciting.  I got a bunch of little stuff like seeds, Tylenol, almonds, etc...  Most of what I bought falls into the "don't have it here" or the "way too expensive here" categories.  My favorite example is goat cheese, in Blanding $4 for 3 oz, at Sam's Club $6 for 16 oz.
Keri and I weren't the only Blanding residents that spent their holiday shopping 2 1/2 hours from home.  We saw 3 families from Blanding.  Keri says that's actually fewer than she normally sees.  When she comes on a Saturday she usually sees 4-5. Strange.

Small Town Continued...

Here are some of the things about our small town that have amused me recently (still feels a little unnatural to say "our" small town):

• The grocery store does not sale calrose and jasmine rice. This is the first grocery store I have ever shopped at that doesn't have calrose. I didn't think I was picky about rice, but I guess I am. The options at the grocery store are long, short, and brown. I'm not that picky, really. If someone else is cooking, I'm thrilled about whatever type of rice they serve me. When I'm cooking I like calrose or jasmine as my regulars. I use other types as recipes require, but I'll have to plan ahead so I can pick it up on vacation. Costco size containers have a whole new appeal. I don't want to run out.
• We live on the "snob hill" of the town. Half the doctors live around the corner in "expensive" $300,000 houses. "Snob hill" is something different here. Expensive is something different here.
• Shumways and Blacks make up half the town. It makes it hard to keep track of who is in which family. To make it more confusing Blacks marry Shumways and visa versa. "So, you're cousins on both sides?" I might need you to explain that again.
• I still get a kick out of the fact that the one stop light in the whole county is 20 minutes away. Truth be told, it isn't needed. I think the county planners just wanted to add a stop light.
• New health insurance and new town means we need new doctors. After asking around I scheduled a physical with a doctor that had only the most positive recommendations. He lives around the corner and I teach his daughter in Sunday school. His family brought me Christmas cookies. Question of the day... do I address him as Curtis or Dr. Black?
• My family doctor will also be my OB-GYN because there aren't any here. The nearest one is Cortez, CO. But that's OK. My family doctor has probably done more pap smears and delivered more babies that most OB-GYNs his age.

Small Town

On November 29th my husband and I moved to a small town of 4000 people in the middle of the desert. Marty had graduated, got a job, so we moved. I considered this moving to "real life" with Marty being the primary bread winner. For the first time I was going to live to someplace unfamiliar, with no family but Marty, where I didn't know anybody. I would most likely be facing that no matter where we moved. Moving to Blanding meant that on top of that, the nearest Wal-Mart is 90 minutes. The nearest international airport is 5 hours. Just a reminder, I grew up within 20 minutes of at least 4 malls. I probably would have been more comfortable in NYC than I was here. But in NYC I would not be living in an adorable 3 bedroom brick rambler! There are advantages to a small town.

That move was a whole 2 1/2 months ago! I'm adjusting and I rather like our situation here. However, almost everyday I'm reminded how small this town is. There are all sorts of little things I find odd and entertaining. I know a lot of people won't share my amusement because that is their normal, different senses of humor, etc.... But that's one of the great things about a blog, you don't have to read it. And, let's be honest, who am I writing for anyway? I do hope that at least my mom reads my posts even if I am writing for myself :-)