Day Three

Today Tony wants to catch up with an old friend, and I need to get him a pair of church shoes, So we head in to town.

We find Tony's friend right away - and right where we left him.


A boy and his dragon.

Let's climb him again, for old times sake.


Tony feeling nostalgic on the way up.


And the triumphant boy as he conquers the dragon!


Thought we'd had our fill of climbing - but really, that was just silly of me.









And, he's triumphant again!



I'm told these posts are meant to symbolize spinning tools used in the Jute trade, which employed a majority of Dundee workers at the turn of the century (the 19th century that is).
Plenty of information on Dundee's history here.



"Just one more Mom?"


This is Dundee Dan - here again, Wiki knows better than I
Desperate Dan on Wiki

Day Two

The boy wants to go to the beach - so, we go to the beach!

The beach is at Broughty Ferry, a part of Dundee on the north shore of the firth of Tay.
Wikipedia says it better and knows more about it than I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broughty_Ferry

It's just a short distance from my Mom's house and there are lots of fun things to do. Usually we go to the beach first, where Tony likes to hunt Jelly Fish - not so much a hunt as he usually finds them out of the water, so they're dead. He likes to poke at them, but he also likes to collect seashells, dig in the sand, and play with seaweed. All kinds of yucky things that boys like! Then once he's wet with salt water and caked in sand, we go over to the playground nearby. There's a splash pad there where he runs around gets rinsed off.


Tony running down the beach toward the castle.


This was the first time we visited the castle. I'm not sure why we never went there before, but it was nice. Tony never stays still, as you well know.


Tony running out of a circular doorway in the castle courtyard.



Tony finally sitting, on the circular stair inside the castle.

Day One

I've decided to resurrect this blog as a way to keep you all in the loop while I'm away. Sound good?

So, day one. Day one was a blur, I'll be honest. All of the flights went fine - all on time and no issues, but I didn't sleep at all! Consequently Thursday July 2nd was almost a complete wash. We got to the house and had a bowl of soup, then went to sleep!

I feel like I just got shot in the head!

So this story is a little old - but better late than never!

My friends Janae and Melissa asked me if I would like to join them for a gun safety class as part of getting my Concealed Weapons Permit. I decided that since I own a gun, it was probably a good idea to get a permit to carry it.
The class was great - the instructor was entertaining and knowledgeable, we got everything done there and left with an envelope containing everything needed to send off for the permit. I can very highly recommend Dex Taylor and CFP of Utah


But, that's not really what I came here to share today. It was what happened after the class that's blog worthy! We went to the shooting range to try out a couple of the instructors guns - my friends do not own guns, and so they were wanting to try a some things to see what they might want to buy.
We tried several things - my .32 Beretta, a .22, a 9mm and then Dex brought over a HUGE gun!


He said would you like to try this? I said 'sure, what is it?' 'a .500 Magnum' he says. Hmm, never heard of it...
So he shows me the round and it's like as big as my pointer finger, and still I'm thinking 'cool, let's give it a roll'
He gives me a couple of pointers and I take aim.



The percussive blast that followed felt like, I would imagine, being inside a vacuum for a minute. I turned to my friends and said 'wow, that hurt' I meant my ears and my hand. They rushed in and said 'o.k. why don't you just have a seat' I could see and hear their concern, and I could feel something on my forehead. I reached up to brush it away, when I looked at my hand there was blood. Had I just wiped that blood off my forehead? My head did not hurt particularly - not as much as my hand. Everybody was trying to inconspicuously check my pupils for uneven dilation. I could not help but to laugh at myself.


Did I seriously just let that kick back and smack me in the head? Did I really just pistol whip myself? What a horses ass!



It did not do much damage

Just rung my bell real good - I had a headache for about a week after.

Most importantly though, I hit within an inch of the bulls eye!

Leftover Turkey and Potato Soup

This turned out better than I expected!

All measurements are approximate, so just use what you have!

3 cups Mashed Potatoes
1 cup Gravy
1 cup chopped cooked Turkey
2 cups Milk (more or less depending on how dry your potatoes are)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Curry Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 1/2 tsp Parsley

Throw it all in the pot and let it simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes - just till all the spices mingle.

Try it out and let me know what you think.
If you have revision suggestions, please let me know!

Sweet Little Man

This precious baby boy is the newest member of the Jensen clan. He arrived at about midnight October 18th to excited and anxious parents Eric and Erka. Congratulations to you all!
I was lucky enough to get to spend the whole day with him on Saturday. We snuggled so that the nurses wouldn't take him away. He slept, and his Mom slept. It was one of the most rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable days in recent memory!
Thank you Eric and Erka for letting me share such a beautiful time in your child's life and for letting me be there for the two of you.

Jonesin'

It has just come my attention that Postum is a thing of the past - it always was a thing from the past, but now it is a thing OF the past.
It's a terrible, terrible situation!
It's cold tonight here in St. George, and I want to sit and sip a nice full bodied, creamy and slightly sweet beverage before I catch the night train, but alas it's not to be :(
In weaker times such a development would drive me to drink - coffee, I mean! Jeez, what did you think?

What am I supposed to do? I need a treat - I need my supper! Whair's ma supper?!?!

Sad

sad

sad

day...