DDD: Freebird Tour 2010

This past Memorial Day, our DDD Group took a road trip to Brigham City to go to the Bear River Bird Refuge. The last time either Tracie and I went there was a good six years ago or so. We had a ton of fun spotting some pretty awesome fowls. In this bird-friendly excursion, we had hoped to look at some pretty birds, then eat a cow at Maddox. Unfortunately, Maddox was closed, so in keeping with the fowl theme, we at at Roosters in Ogden (where we ordered fowl-friendly pizza, fish and chips and fish tacos) and topped it off with dessert at Farr's ice cream parlor.

On a side note, for some weird reason, Tracie was just captivated by the door knobs of the ladies room at Roosters.

Persistence

Remember the birds' nest outside my door that got knocked down last week? It's back up and I finally got a picture of it with the birds in it. You can tell that there were still some remnant of old nest as it is lighter in color. The darker part is made of fresh mud. Persistent little birds! Despite the mess they make right below on the staircase, I'm kind of rooting for them.  I wonder if there are any eggs in the nest.

How Great Thou Art ...

I can't believe that I shared this picture with facebook a week ago and had not made the time to blog about it. I had actually been thinking about the Koolau mountain range for a while and last week I surfed the internet and found a picture that depicted the mountains as I will always remember them. When Julie taught her lesson on The Creation a couple of months and asked me to help out, I brought a bunch of pictures of nature I had taken throughout my travels and also shared a story about these mountains. I love the water falls that form and cascade down the crevacis of the mountains after a good rain storm. I remember riding the bus into town one day and as I came out of Wilson Tunnel, this vista appeared.  The words of a hymn I love came to mind:

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur

And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

While the Rocky Mountains that sorround me here in Utah are beautiful, it's a different type of beauty and majesty. I love the Koolau mountain range ... these are the mountains I grew up watching ... I miss those water falls! God is GREAT!

This Memorial Day, remember ...

GOD BLESS THEM ALL!

Spring Squashed

Every spring, birds will come and build a nest on the eaves right outside of my front door.  I came home last night to see that the bird who built this nest is pretty much done building it. The bird was even sitting in the nest.  I rushed inside, grabbed the camera, but alas, the bird had flown away ...

The only down side to have nature so close to my front door is the mess the bird creates on the stairs right below it.

I thought about calling maintenance and having them knock down the nest. Even though my idea of communing with nature is staying at a luxury cabin with all the amenities, somehow knocking down an innocent bird's nest seemed cruel. I decided to wait a few weeks before I do anything about it.  I had mixed emotions when I came home tonight and found that someone else had probably reported the bird's nest and knocked it down. Poor bird ...

Sushi Night!!!

It's Brenda's last weekend in Utah before moving back "Back East" ... so, we decided to have one last gathering and Adventurous Brenda consented to sushi! Vili really likes Simply Sushi where it's an all you can eat sushi for $20 per person.  Allright! Let's give it a try.

Oh ... my ... goodness ... 19 rolls between the five of us ... I felt like I was about to burst at the seams! It was a good thing we laughed so much (I like to think that we burned some calories that way). We had to also walk it off after dinner ... Temple Square was gorgeous at dusk and having Anya and Vili serenade us with a song about temples at the shadows of the Salt Lake Temple was pretty awesome too.

 

Snakey ...

Might as well get this ring on sale for the right price of about $7 to wear when I bust the snake move in belly dancing class. Ha ha ha ...

Things I learned from Mom ...

In honor of Mother's Day I thought I'd pass along contents on an email a friend sent me this weekend.

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE -- "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning." 
2. My mother taught me RELIGION -- "You better pray that will come out of the carpet." 
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL -- "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!" 
4. My mother taught me LOGIC -- " Because I said so, that's why." 
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC -- "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me." 
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT -- "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident." 
7. My mother taught me IRONY -- "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about." 
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS -- "Shut your mouth and eat your supper." 
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM -- "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!" 
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA -- "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone." 
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER -- "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it." 
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY -- "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!" 
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE -- "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out." 
14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION -- "Stop acting like your father!" 
15. My mother taught me about ENVY -- "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do." 
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION -- "Just wait until we get home." 
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING -- "You are going to get it when you get home!" 
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE -- "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way." 
19. My mother taught me ESP -- "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?" 
20. My mother taught me HUMOR -- "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me." 
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT -- "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up." 
22. My mother taught me GENETICS -- "You're just like your father." 
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS -- "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?" 
24. My mother taught me WISDOM . "When you get to be my age, you'll understand." 
25. My mother taught about JUSTICE "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like YOU!!!"

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.