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.

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!