I Feel the Earth Move ...

There was apparently an earthquake earlier this evening.  I was just getting off work and didn't feel a thing ... so, I'm dedicating this song to all my friends who felt "the earth move under [their] feet."

Transportation to Church

Here's an Indonesian children's song I recall from time to time:

Pada hari minggu ku turut ayah ke kota

(On Sunday, I follow father to town)

Naik delman istimewa ku duduk di muka

(Riding a special delman, I sit in the front)

Di samping pak kusir yang sedang bekerja

(Next to Mr. Driver who is working)

Mengendali kuda supaya baik jalannya

(Handling the horse to walk well)

Tuk-tik-tak-tik-tuk tik-tak-tik-tuk tik-tak-tik-tuk

(Clip-clop-clip-clop ....)

Tuk-tik-tak-tik-tuk tik-tak suara s'patu kuda 

(Clip-clop-clip-clop ... the sound of horse shoes)

As children, if we were good during the week and got up early enough for church, mom would treat us to a delman ride to church. We'd sing this song and substitute the word "kota" (town) with "gereja" (church).  Dad was the branch president, so he was usually in church hours before we had to be there and seldom rode with us.  I wish there is a picture of my family riding a delman, but there isn't one, so here's one I found on the internet of some random family riding one instead.

On the rare occasion that we did go to church together, the whole family would pile on the family Vespa scooter and make the hour long trek to church.  Again, I don't have a family picture of this, so I had to search online.  We basically look like this family ... Dad driving, me and my brother between his legs and the handlebar, mom sitting side-saddled with my sister straddled between her and dad.  If it rained, we would all be under a giant poncho with only dad's head visible.

Oh the good old days ... these days, you can't go a mile without a seatbelt strapped on in a car that seats seven people and not worry that you'd get fined if you're caught by the cops.

DDD: 2010 "Shake" Your Funky Chicken Tour

Last October, I really wanted to see the fall colors up in the mountains and canyons, so I got Janeen to come with me on a Saturday and put a few miles driving around a few counties on a road trip.  As always, food is an integral part of my road trips, so we stopped at the Spring Chicken Inn in Wanship and then off to Granny's for their famous milkshake in Heber for dessert.  Word got back to our friend, Tracie, who would have loved to join us, so we recreated the road trip (minus the canyons) today and made it part of our Diners, Drive-ins & Dives outing.  Also, some time during the trip, we decided to name ourselves the Dive Divas. I think the name suits us and our mission to find the best DDD foods within driving distance of SLC.

Linner at Spring Chicken Inn + some shopping at the outlet mall in Park City + milkshakes at Granny's in Heber for dessert = "Shake" Your Funky Chicken Tour.

On this first gorgeous day of spring, the restaurant was hopping!  It was apparently the busiest day for them in months! We had to wait for a table and a few more minutes for service and since everything ordered is made fresh, a few more minutes before we got the food.  Thank goodness for the heavily buttered roll and Pepsi to hold me until the food got to the table pipping hot.  I didn't want to deal with the bones in my chicken so I opted for the chicken fried chicken meal with country gravy and my two sides of homemade fries and green beans and carrots (got to get the veges in there).  Really, the only time a fried, sauced, battered chick is A-Okay!

We had to laugh at this sign.  Either they're quite clever at Granny's or a bad speller was in charge of the sign.  I was very happy with my Rocky Road milkshake with brownie bites added in. YUMMY!  Everyone else seem to have the same idea ... when we arrived the parking lot was pretty empty, but by the time we left the line was out the door.

Sukiyaki

Here's another song I've been whistling ... it reminds me of Hawaii ... Kyu Sakamoto's version is definitely the one to listen to. The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears won't fall. The verses of the song describe him doing this through each season of the year. The English lyrics of the version recorded by A Taste of Honey are not a translation of the original Japanese lyrics but a completely different set of lyrics set to the same basic melody.

Yellow Bird

I've had this song stuck in my head for days.  It was a song on a cassette tape that mom and dad used to play when we were in Indonesia.  The video isn't the best, but the Mills Brothers sounded great.  Enjoy!