Summer Time And The Livin' Is Easy...

I have had these Nike boots since before Tina was born, so at least 27 years, and they have finally broke down. They have served me incredibly well.

The "chains" up to Angels Landing in Zion's Nat'l Park

A peek over the edge on the route to Angels Landing while hanging on to the chains

View into Bryce's Canyon

Hiking in Bryce's Canyon

Are We Having Fun Yet?

It was the Albert Pearson line turn to host the event
The Levi Pearson Family Reunion- my brother Dicks' grandkids- Emma, Davis, Thane and daugther-in-law Natalie



My Sister's daughter Kristin Dirkmaat

My sister Marian's kids Casey and Kimberly (from OR)

Amy's graduation photo- one of many Shelly took for her

An informal photo of our last chick getting ready to fly the coop

A Tea Party and Wintry Day Dinner

Today (April 15th) brings a return to winter- this is the view from my kitchen window.

As fate would have it, I got an email from a friend wanting me to participate in a receipe exchange-so I decided to post about tonights dinner.

Today is also "Tax Day". This year, there has been a movement afoot for a national Tea Party in
commemoration and duplication of the day the colonist went on a british ship and threw the ship's load of tea in Boston harbor as protest of the British taxation. With the huge government bailout, a reinactment is to take place tonight across the county. Anyway, my thinking goes like this: Tonights super is a humble, in expensive dinner, in reflexion of the "poor" feeling of the populists but also filling and nutritous and well suited to the weather. And as fate would have it, the mormon missionaries called about 3:30 and their dinner appointment canceled and asked if we could feed them- piece of cake with this meal.


Ham and bean soup-
made from the bone from Easter dinner. I boiled the bone and soaked the beans last night so today it would be easy to put together. Onions, carrots, red and green peppers were sauted in a fry pan with olive oil (I like the soup better if the veggies aren't just boiled, and as the broth had been refrigerated overnight, the fat rose to the top of the stock and was easy to spoon out). I decided to shake in a dash of liquid smoke, squirt of katsup, and diced up a little more leftover ham. I usually made ham soup with split peas, but since I had some white beans in easy reach, made them do. Very nutritous and full of calcuim, low in fat and warm for a wintery day.


I threw in a batch of whole wheat bread to the bread maker, the made some bread pudding with some getting-stale-but-still-good bread.

Bread Pudding:

4 cups bread torn or cubed in fairly large chunks

2 c. milk

1/4 c. butter

3 eggs

1/2-2/3 c. sugar- white/brown or mixture

2 tea. cinnamon

1/4 tea. nutmeg

1 tea. vanilla

1/2 c. raisins

Grease casserole dish and loosely toss in cubed bread. Sprinkle with

raisins if desired.

Microwave milk and butter until butter is melted and let cool.

Whisk eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Slowly

mix in cooled milk/butter mixture and

Pour egg/milk mixure over raisins and bread.

Bake 350 for 40-50 mins.

Can serve for dessert or is great for breakfast, too!

I like to make a lemon sauce if I have a lemon.

All that's left when I get home is to open a bag of salad and set the table.

And soon, the snow will be gone, the sun will shine and we will recall again the blessings of living in a free land~ ENJOY!

Easter Joy

Shelly and Benj came home for the holiday weekend- lucky us!

Saturday was chilly and rainy. That evening there was general moaning that I wanted to decorate eggs, but once we got going, we not only died the dozen I hard boiled, but a dozen and a half of raw eggs! We enjoyed chatting and spending this time together. Later we played http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne_(board_game.

On a more spiritual note, the link below is part of the testimony which was given by Bruce R. McConkie just prior to his death and the song lyrics he wrote expressing such. I remember this talk and being touched by it, and have a special place in my heart for the song.

http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUI_wBEx-I0

Hope YOUR Easter was special!

Spring Break

Watching Jake play lacrosse

Here we are visiting the Michigan Tribe over spring break. We also got to see Marty, Suzanne and Courtney, but somehow we didn't end up getting a picture together with them. Thanks to Debra for being the camera gal, or we wouldn't have had any photos to remember the trip by!

My brother Dick was a part of the team that designed some of the features of this art monument/water feature in Millennium Park.

http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/crown_fountain.html

Gospel means good news

Hey! Everyone probably has already heard, but I got my mission call two weeks ago! I am called to serve in Taiwan, Taichung mission, Mandarin speaking and report May 27th 2009.

Yes!

This weekend my "pardner's", Shelly, Cami and Benjamin, came home for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. They came Friday evening and the girls and I went to a show that night after pizza from the Blind Onion. Saturday we went to some poetry sessions- my favorite was "Why did the cowboy cross the road". Benj missed out since he needed to get some work done on his thesis, but went out with the girls for the Sat. night show which featured Ian Tyson and western themed music while I stayed home. When they got back, we listened to the CD they bought for me while Shelly made some yummy chocolate chip cookies. A very pleasant weekend!

Click on the link below to get a feel for what Cowboy Poetry is all about. There is a link which allows you to download a video as well.

http://www.westernfolklife.org/site1/index.php/25th-Gathering.html

Courtney Swims With the Dolphins

Here are some photos aunt Suzanne sent from their trip to FL over Christmas when Courtney got to swim with the dolphins....Isn't that great they had the opportunity to do this?