What Carly Wants

The other day, Carly asked us what we might think of spending Christmas in Great Falls. Not much!! With a little prodding, we determined that A. their plans to go to Chicago for Christmas had fallen through and B. that she was missing her family on the north side of the 49th. But Great Falls, come on, surely we could do better.... Of course Spencer made the comment about whatever Carly wants, Carly gets.

A couple of calls and a little bit of a miracle and we have a plan. Christmas and New Years is, understandably, the most sought after weeks in the "time share" game. I called Interval Int.'s Marriott desk and requested Christmas or New Year's in just 55 days. My kind agent seemed to be suffering from a case of the giggles at this audacious request and then kindly indicated that there was no such luck, except, what was this, here comes a week, unbelievable. Once again I showed my gullibility as I requested a day or two to consult with the stakeholders. My host , choking back his laughter, graciously offered to stay on the phone, even for 2 hours if it took that long to get family to agree to spend New Year's in the sun. It took about 10 seconds of which 9 of them were in travel from floor 1 to 3. So we aren't going to Great Falls.

On a similar note, Sam called on Sunday and asked, "Grandpa are you going to Palm Springs?" He then went on to outline a plan that would have me come to his house, pick him up, leave a car at the airport and go to California together. I was able to surmise that his mother had told him of our plans and he wanted in. He may get his wish but it will be in the back of an SUV for 22 hours and, in keeping with the incredible patience I almost always exhibit, there might be some very short pit stops.

It snowed last night... Yuck!

Time to Write

So, I'll blog tonight. This is in celebration of the fact that Carly, Jadi and Kristy have all posted and that's cool. This will be an UPDATE edition.

Raymond House: Going to dig as soon as the site is marked. We are waiting for the building permit to come through but the town advised us today that it is approved, just not typed. I contacted the surveyors and they will mark the site on November 7. The project is challenging to me as I am unsure of the technical aspects of building but more than comfortable with my purchasing abilities. We are taking advantage of the high C$ and are comparing prices in the states vs. canadian. We are excited about our floor plans and hope that we are able to actually take advantage of it.

I am travelling to Raymond at least weekly to monitor progress. It is our intent to assign a framing crew this weekend. The economy is hot and it is difficult to get lots of quotes as there are plenty of jobs available to almost all competent sub-trades.

Golf Season: Just about over for the year. I have an unstated goal to play golf somewhere every month for a year. I don't think this will be the year that I will accomplish that but it would be nice. (Some friends recently told me that the golf course in Shelby MT is open almost all year, so hmm....) In spite of the fact that the ground is white tonight (Thursday), the boys and I are hoping for one more game this Saturday, then all the courses will be put to bed for the winter. SWFM is a very good sport. Golf season gets long for her but she supports me in my habit.


Blogging: The medium blogging has some interesting side lights. How so? A few weeks ago, Gerry was on a plane and recognized the person sitting in front of her. As the flight ended, she said to the individual, "don't I know you?". After a little figuring, they determined that we knew each other many years ago and that I had grown up in the same area as Linda. Interestingly, she said that she reads my blog. Cool!! Today while she was visiting teaching, one of her assignees reported that, she, too reads it and that she has made contact with other lost friends through it. Thank you for taking time to stay in touch.

Well time to post and move on....

Saturday Morning Ruminations

Firstly, I should be out cleaning the garage. Cleaning is hardly the right word as it is still cluttered with much of the stuff we brought home from the office last March. We have managed to create a gap with enough room to park the car but it needs a whole day. (Just not today I guess.) Secondly there is a bunch of engineering work to get out the door but, it too, will wait. Why the procrastination; well the sun is shining, the temperature today will be in the mid teens (C) or high 60's (F) and the golf course closes tomorrow. They claim that they need time to put it to bed for the winter. Anyway, I booked tee times for 8 and it is a 12 noon shotgun start. For those neophytes (not nephites) that means that we all start at the same time but on different holes. She Who Fulfills Me has reported some minor discontent with my golf dalliances but it will all end soon enough. (I'll try to find courses open around the city and province to complete the year. The temperature is too good not to play.)

Some random thoughts:

• Grandchildren are really everything that you hear about. I am one who would definitely not have skipped over the children part but they are special. For those of you with children that have grandparents, thank you for sharing them with us, they are cool.
• Grandchildren are a great deal of fun in "the pack" but they are extra special when they are alone with Grandma and Grandpa (or Kranpa as one of them says). When they are alone with us, there is a tendency to share secrets, cuddle a little more and the proclivity to injury is reduced.

• As I look around our domicile, it is obvious that we need to figure out how to reduce and simplify. After 35 years of generally wedded bliss, we have accumulated way too much stuff. My wife does not think it funny that I have told her that when she dies I am going to call the hearse and a big bin company at the same time. Nor does she think it funny that I have instructed my children that when I die, they should not open the boxes, just dispose of them. They haven't needed the stuff so far, so don't even start.

• Getting started on the house project is time consuming and difficult. It is about at the end of my abilities but is a challenge and invites me back. I hope that we will dig the basement in the next 2 weeks, we finally seem to have the proverbial ducks in a row. Something will come up but we'll figure it out. One of the greatest challenges has been keeping priorities reasonably in order.

• Take time to blog, don't just facebook. Your friends want to know what is happening with your lives. Check out Katy Young's Blog (I don't know her married name). Katy is a friend of Kristy's from High School, her family was in the ward a number of years ago and they were all delightful. She is an excellent writer and likely puts many of your thoughts into her blog.
  

• My last thought has to do with faith. I'm so happy that I am blessed to be a man of faith. I believe in an Eternal Father, it is a great comfort for me to so believe. I am grateful that I have faith in the love of an Elder Brother, who perfectly atoned for my wrongs so that I can be reunited with my loved ones for the eternities. I have analyzed my soul and know that I am a better person for my beliefs. My advice to you is the saying from the hippie's age; "Keep The Faith".

Have a great day. ....

The California Desert

Marriott Desert Springs Resort. Yes, it is this nice!!

Palm Springs and Palm Beach only have one thing in common; they both start with the word Palm. When we tell people that we have been in Palm Springs, many people begin to think of Florida. Not!!

Palm Springs and more correctly for us, Palm Desert is 2 hours east of Los Angeles on the I-10 freeway. To say it qualifies as one of our favorite places is a bit of an understatement. For the past 6 years, we have spent our anniversary in the desert, typically at the Marriott Desert Springs Villas . We love it, it is a week of re-charging and renewal, although we are thinking that 2 weeks would be better next time.

Why Palm Desert? I'm glad you asked. The Palm Springs area is easy to get to, it is accessible by plane and is an easy drive. I drove down and Gerry (and friends) flew down. SWFM got on a plane at 7:00 a.m. in Calgary and I picked her up at 12 noon after a short lay over in Phoenix. Westjet flies direct to Palm Springs beginning in November, so it is even easier to get to. As for me, I love to drive.

I left Calgary on Tuesday September 18 and attended meetings in southern Alberta until about 4 and then high tailed it south. Except for an unexpected grilling at the border, which caused a 2 hour delay and a return trip to Raymond to drop off the stuff I was not allowed to take to Carly and Jesse, the trip to Provo was uneventful. Against everyone's (read that spouse's) wish, I drove all night, stopping for a total 2 - 3 hours sleep as eyelids drooped. A few years ago, doing the same thing, I thought myself incredible shifty when I pulled into a car lot, parked my car next to the new cars and slept.

Surprise, surprise, my Provo friends had entered a team in a golf tournament on Wednesday afternoon and they needed a fourth to complete the team. I contributed a little, they all more so, and we won the tournament by about 10 strokes. Carly, Jesse and I hung out, ate at Cafe Rio, Kneaders and shopped at Costco, things that Dads are supposed to do. I did worry about the financial welfare of Kneaders as 3 big BYU lineman came in for the "all you can eat" french toast.
Thursday morning after the "back waxing" (see previous post) it was onward and downward (look on a map and you'll get it). Primm Nevada is right on the border with California and was a stop over on Thursday night. I planned to play the Primm Golf Resort on Friday a.m. but woke to a heavy rain, so headed out. Provo to Palm Desert is about 9 hours at a gallop, so Friday was easy. Made it to Terra Lago golf course in Indio by late morning and played with 3 guys who were warming up for a frat. golf get together. My observation is that they needed lots of warm up as between them they must have lost 2 dozen golf balls.

We didn't have the time share until Sunday so, using my great skills, I had pricelined a room for 2 nights at the Indian Springs Resort Hotel, quite nice. Princes flew into the city of angels and spent the afternoon and morning touring about. They had a brief encounter with Jane Seymour outside a spa in Malibu, went as far south as Balboa Island and Huntington Beach.

Anyway, to make a short story long, we had a great week. We ate (too much), toured about (we've about seen it all by now), sat long hours in the shade by the pool (I'm a little sunburned), played a little golf and enjoyed a great rest. I think Gerry and I will sneak back there in the next couple of months for a week alone. Drew and Joanne Cahoon and Jon Elton came down on Thursday and we had a couple of days of great visits with old friends. (I am afraid the reference to old friends is perhaps too applicable.)

As you can see by the look on Greg's face,
he is about to stuff it right back in the 10
year old's face.

Jon Elton and Greg on the couch at Jon's
Cathedral City digs. He introduced us
to excellent "dirty" mexican. (Ask me)

Me and 3 of my closest friends. I can't remember
the pig's name but that's Greg Prince and Drew Cahoon.

Of course they are babes, Gerry, Sandy Prince
and Joanne Cahoon, our soon to be neighbors.

Alrighty then.....