Loving the Leisure

On July 12th, we crammed our last suitcase in Mom's van and headed out for some much-needed leisure time. Bear, of course, tagged along. The first day we drove to Pendleton, Oregon. This was one of Bear's favorite seats on the way to Pendleton:



Bear's other favorite seat was on the front passenger's lap looking out the window. Or sleeping on Mom's shoulder, like this:




On the drive to Pendleton, we stopped at a rest stop and met another Shih Tzu named Benji. He was an Imperial Shih Tzu, so he was smaller than Bear, and had the black and white coloring. Bear and Benji really hit it off. They were sad when we had to leave the rest stop and continue on our trip. We waved as we passed Benji and headed for the hotel. Right after we checked in to the hotel, Benji's car pulled up! His owners were staying at the same hotel AND they were staying in the room next door. Bear and Benji had a fun time visiting, as did we with Benji's owners. The next morning when Benji's owners got on the road, Benji stood outside the door and he and Bear barked their goodbyes. I really wish I would have gotten a picture of them together. So, if Benji's owners ever happen upon this blog, we hope that Benji is doing well!
On our way into Portland we drove through the Cascades. It was beautiful country. We noticed that there were tree farms on the other side of the road. We remembered how fascinating they were and got these pictures on the way back:





It might be hard to tell in the photos, but these trees were lined up perfectly. They went on for miles and miles. I hope people didn't have to individually plant those!
We didn't know it at the time, but apparently Portland is the pet city of the world! You can take your pets basically anywhere. Our first day we visited the Chinese flower gardens. I don't know where Uncle Jim ended up, but here is (from left to right) Dad, Mom, and Anita in the middle of a HUGE rose garden:



These are some photos of the actual flowers that I got:







Let me just put a plug in for my digital camera here. I used to have a Kodak camera. It was nice, don't get me wrong, but it had one of those "docks", so in order to charge the camera, I had to cart that "dock" everywhere I went. I decided I didn't want to drag that around this trip, so I invested in a Nikon Coolpix L16. Can I say what a great investment that little camera was?! I have really enjoyed it. It takes great pictures, and I didn't even have to change batteries during the trip. Amazing!
We kind of took it easy in Portland because Dad wasn't feeling well, and we were really there to visit Jim and Anita, which was great fun. So, we didn't feel too bad about not seeing many more sights. However, Mom and I did take a day to see Powell's bookstore, which is the largest bookstore on earth! For us bookworms, it was heaven on earth. We only saw two levels of the store, and almost spent our entire vacation wad of money! If given the chance, we probably could have spent two years in that place and still not seen it all. It was the most amazing bookstore I've ever seen. We also stopped at their little "cafe" and had an Italian soda and shared a couple of pastries that were absolutely delicious. We had a great time!
After our visit with Jim and Anita, we headed towards Sea-Tac to see the sights in Seattle. Dad fell ill again with a stomach bug of some kind, so our first trip in we just got our bearings. The following morning, we took off for the big city to see the famous Pike's Market. Here are some photos I caught there:







Part of the reason Pike's Market Place is so famous is because they bring fresh fish in right off the boats and sell them fresh on ice. The place was incredible! There were flower shops, jewelry shops, gift shops, toys, bags, pastries, other food shops, and many, many other things I can't even remember to list. We were fascinated and thoroughly enjoyed our time at Pike's. In fact, I personally thought it was the highlight of the trip (besides time spent with family). The hustle and bustle of that place was like being in a small city. We even went in one store that sold Russian ceramics. Talk about pricey! But the dinnerware and other items were beautiful. We aren't sure how much of Pike's we really saw because at one point we had to go to the restroom and we ended up on the other end and a different level of the market. One of these days, I'm going back because I don't think we even caught 1/4 of what there was to see.
These are some pictures I got of the fresh fish at the market:







There was one fish there, a monk fish, that I wasn't too sure about. The thing was moving. I wasn't sure if it was alive, or if the characters who run the fish market had set it up to scare people. Two little boys stood up there by the monk fish and had their pictures taken by their mom. Right after they moved, that monk fish jumped (I did, too; just a little though). So, I had to get a picture of that fish. Here it is in all its glory:



Pretty ugly, huh? Well, luckily it wasn't the last thing we saw. We drove back home the way we drove in, so we were determined this time to stop at Multnomah Falls in Oregon before we left the state. We attempted to stop on the way in, but there were too many people there and no place to park, even with Dad's handicapped sticker! We must have needed to see the falls because this time we drove right in and got a parking place. I first saw these falls on a high school A Capella tour when we actually hiked up to the bridge. These are amazing falls because they literally come right out of the mountain. Here are some photos I got:







Those pictures don't do the place justice! If you're ever planning a trip to Oregon, plan to visit Multnomah Falls, and, if you can, take the hike that leads up to the bridge. It's beautiful country! There's no doubt there's a God, because no human could have created something like this.
On our way back from getting pictures of the falls, Bear found a couple of friends. One was a little girl. She hugged Bear and kissed him and petted him until his hair was almost flat. She told her mom she wanted to take Bear home. When her mom said no, she started to cry. Bear went right up to her and licked her face. The little girl's mom said she might have to look into getting a dog. I hope she didn't make a promise she couldn't keep!
The other friend Bear met was a professional photographer who had just returned from shooting exotic birds in Argentina (or something like that). He and his wife were visiting the falls and then returning home to pack for another photo shoot at another exotic location. The photographer said Bear was the cutest dog he'd ever seen and asked if he could get a few photos. Mom agreed, so Bear had a little photo shoot. The photographer asked for our address so he could send a photo of Bear. Mom gave it to him highly doubting that we'd ever see the photo. Several weeks after we arrived home, a box arrived in the mail, and sure enough it was Bear's professional photo! Needless to say, it was a lot better than these photos that I was able to get after a LOT of coaxing:







As you can tell, Bear is not spoiled even a little!
The trip was absolute fun! But, it was so nice to be home and spend July 24th with the family. Perhaps the best part of vacation is coming home to find everything still in its place.
Dad had a terrible fall down some stairs shortly after we returned home and his life was in question for a time. Mom has taken the roll as caregiver very seriously and does a fabulous job taking care of Dad. We are blessed that Dad has made some improvements since that fall, and hope he will continue to maintain or improve his health. We were so glad to have the opportunity to take this trip because it will probably be Dad's last. We will always have pictures and memories of the fun time we had together.

Posting Paranoia

People need to stop harassing me. I post what I want, when I want. And nobody can stop me!
Actually, it's nice to be reminded (even if it's to the point of annoying) that people would like to read something new on my blog. So, I figured I'd give in just a little and post today. Here's the thing. There's really nothing to post!
I went on a trip to the Pacific Northwest with my parents. The pictures are still on my home computer. They have not been posted, even though everyone has heard about the trip. I'll get around to it someday. Promise.
In the meantime, Linda got me hooked on Yearbook Yourself and we've laughed hysterically over several people's pictures. Some of which were mine. (Check out Linda's blog to view her and her hubbies pics.) I've laughed so hard over some that my face now has new wrinkles and my sides hurt to the point that I can't raise my arms any more to put deodorant on. (Sorry about the smell.)
So, here is my picture. There is one from 1950 and one from 1952.





This is the one that should make my mommy proud. See, she had a cut like this at one time. (I've seen the photos Mom, so don't try to deny it.) I thought it was pretty cool that I could create a photo of myself that looked just like her. It made me happy! I hope it makes her happy, too. Of course, looks aren't everything, but I still think she's hot! And smart, and kind, and good, and compassionate, and lots of other good things that I should probably tell her more often. Here is the picture of me (aka Maureen) from 1958.



As I said before, people need to stop harassing me!

Wingin' it in Wyoming

Better late than never is the way the saying goes, right? Well, this ought to be even better since it's so late getting posted! The Miller Family took a trip over Memorial Day weekend to stay at a beautiful cabin in Wyoming. The best part - we all came home alive! (In other words, nobody brought weapons of war with them or used their so-called psychological tools on other family members. We actually got along and had a good time. Some things will never cease to amaze and intrigue me.)
Our nice cabin was located in Afton, Wyoming in Star Valley. This is what the area looked like around the cabin.

This was an old shed by the side of the cabin. I think this is where they stored all the firewood since we had a wood burning stove in the family room of the cabin.

On the way up we saw several herd (not sure if that's the correct terminology) of Antelope. My sister Lisa caught these in photo. She actually sent me all the photos we have of the trip since I stupidly forgot my camera. (Thanks Lisa!)

On Saturday the family (except me and Mom and Dad) went to Jackson Hole. They apparently had a very good time. One of the things they did was unknowingly buy sweatshirts that looked alike. On Sunday, we headed to Yellowstone. On the way, we stopped for lunch and Lisa took some pics of the "Brown Sweatshirt Gang". They decided to be cool and pick Bailey up for the picture, but as you can see, that quickly turned ugly.



Since that obviously didn't work, they decided to just strike a pose instead. As usual, Erika, Dexter, and Chelsea had the "gangsta" look down, but Allyson and Bailey struggled a little more to "fit in" with the "gangsta" crowd. Notice the snow level in the back of the photo. It was almost as tall as Allyson, and she's no shorty!


And this, perhaps, is my favorite photo taken that day. Here are Mom and Dad after lunch waiting for their kindred idiots to finish taking crazy photos and move along with the day. At least there was a nice place for them to sit and watch their kindred idiots. They sure are patient!

We got to Yellowstone and stopped in to see Old Faithful spew forth in her glory. I don't think this picture is of Old Faithful, but it's some other geyser coughing up steam. Mom and I sat in the car while the others went in. It was nice, and we almost fell asleep. Too bad everyone came back . . .

Our vehicle and its passengers started home because we were tired and worn out (and because I didn't want to hit a deer in the dark on the way back). On our way home, we went back past Jenny Lake and got some really neat pictures. These are some of what Lisa caught on camera. Mind you, most of these were taken while I drove, so it's a miracle they turned out as well as they did. If you look you can see that the water on Jenny Lake was not water yet; it was still snow covered and partially frozen. Very cool! (No pun intended)





These next few are as we got closer to home. It was starting to get darker by the minute, so you can see the sun setting behind the mountains. In the first picture, Lisa caught an "orb". (Her honey Mark told her that she caught a picture of a spirit.) I don't know how true that is, but the "orb" looks really cool!




On our way out of Yellowstone, Lisa tried to take out a herd of elk. People were on the sides of the road watching them, trying to get pictures. Lisa grabbed her camera, jumped from the van, and started trudging over to them. She (and Chelsea's husband Jake) nearly stormed the elk from the mountainside, and then Lisa stops before getting back in the van to pick up a rock that she thinks looks cool. It's amazing that we didn't have targets on our backs as we left the place. These were the only animals we saw the ENTIRE time we were in Yellowstone, and our family members were the ones to make them split. Here they are before Lisa scattered them.


These are some other nice photos Lisa caught of the surrounding area near the cabin. It really was a nice, calming place to be. It didn't feel like we were that high up in the mountains, and the cabin was like a comfortable, large log home, so we had it good! The scenery was so beautiful though. There was a lot of greenery, and in one pic you can see how the rain has just lifted from the mountains.



Well, we headed home on Monday and intended to follow each other, but I made a wrong turn (or rather, I DIDN'T turn), so the others went back the way we came (the fast way), and I drove our van with Ron and Andrea following behind in their car through Bear River and the Logan area. That was a gorgeous drive! We went through all these tiny towns, and then came right up on Bear Lake where homes were built almost up to the water. The canyon was a beautiful drive with a river running right by the side of the road. Several people were there kayaking and canoeing. We stopped at the Logan Temple and got some pictures of Andrea and her family (but I don't have any of those). Then, we called the others to see where they were and decided to meet in Salt Lake at Guadalahonky's for dinner. I'd never been there, but have to say the food was pretty good! Here are a few pics from dinner.



Notice that Alex actually looked happy in this last one? That means the trip had at least SOME success! I must admit that I'm glad we took the trip, even though I sure stressed out beforehand thinking that we would not survive it as a family unit. We sure made some fun memories and learned a lot about keeping our mouths shut about the unimportant things. Maybe this means the Miller Clan is growing up. Gosh, that would sure make Mom and Dad proud!

Deranged Devotee

This week has been a great upset for me. For the first time ever, I have become an American Idol addict and live for Tuesday and Wednesday nights so I can watch the show. Mom and I have thoroughly enjoyed this season as we've watched both Brooke White and David Archuleta (our two favorites) win some and lose some. However, I must say that my disappointment in last night's show was FAR worse than I thought it would be. We've had a feeling all week that Brooke would be the one voted off this week. But, we also held on to the fact that Jason Castro stinks so horribly that surely the rest of the people in America would realize this and vote the "dread"ed fellow off. They didn't! And to our utter shock and disappointment, Brooke was unfairly sent home. Now, I'm not saying she's perfect, or that she never made any mistakes. We hit the floor with her during Andrew Lloyd Weber week when she lost her lyrics. But she came back, she persevered, and she did so well with two very difficult Neil Diamond songs. She even went so far as to write the lyrics on the palm of her hand! When Ryan announced it was Brooke that was leaving, we got teary. Dad even commented (having only watched this one episode of the entire show in his life) that Brooke seemed to have made the most lasting impact on the other contestants. We referred to her as the "mother" of the group. And I think in many ways she was. Wise beyond her years, and an old soul who showed true feelings and emotion every time she stood on that stage.
So, this post is for you Brooke! You deserved another week. Jason should have been voted off four (or more) weeks ago. He's not going to make it to the final two, and he knows it. You are a beautiful soul! Thanks, too, for always dressing stylishly AND modestly. It was nice not to have to worry about whether we'd see anything inappropriate (like a tattoo or loads of cleavage). There won't be another Brooke in our lifetime! And to whoever wins the American Idol popularity contest (since it should be David Archuleta, but the judges are making sure it will be David Cook) know that Brooke will live on, move on, and be just as big a star in her own right as you.
For the record, Brooke does have an "independent" album out called "Songs From The Attic" and it's absolutely wonderful! True Brooke all the way through. You can buy it on her website at www.brookewhite.com. All of Brooke's TRUE fans should check it out. It's worth listening to, and it won't be the last one we hear!

The Arched Ice Enemy

Utah has had quite the winter this year! Mounds of snow are piled up in every direction, on every street, and throughout every neighborhood. I have loved every minute of it, as I love the snow we get every year. Amazingly, it had been a good winter in the falling department. No falls to my credit UNTIL this past Monday.
Like every Monday, I was in a blazing rush to get out of the house and get to work on time. I was carrying my purse, my makeup bag (have to put the face on, right?), and my 52 (count 'em) ounce water jug - full of water. At the top of the stairs leading out of the basement door, there is a patch of ice about 3 inches thick with an arched center. Stupidly, I decide I can step over the mass and move on with my day.
I step over the mound of ice with my left foot, and reach towards Mom's van (parked very nearby). Stupidly, I remove my right foot without the left foot feeling secure, and you guessed it! Down on my fanny I went. The perfectly arched center of that mound met my tail bone like a ton of bricks, and the right side of my head smacked the foundation of the house. Ooh! (That's where they'd put the "pow!" or "kablooey!" in a comic book.)
To make matters worse, the ice patch was spread so far out that I had to roll over into the snow to get up. Mind you, this wouldn't have been so bad, except that we've had an exceptionally wet winter. The snow was at least 8 inches deep. So, my fanny is on fire, my head is hallucinating, and now my skirt is soaked. It seems vain to mention it now, but I was worried about my awesome mug! The sturdy thing didn't even split! It did, however, lose the water I had just filled it up with.
For a couple of days, I thought I might have a concussion. There was this incredible headache that would not go away. Things are better now though. The stiffness in my back and legs has gone away, and my head feels somewhat normal.
Let it just be said that I love winter and the beautiful Utah snow we get - even now! However, I can do without the evil arch enemy of ice!