Day Newsletter for February 2014

February 28, 2014

NEWS FROM THE DAYS:

I just remembered some discussion about what we would call the newsletter – can’t remember a final decision, so I’m going with News From The Days. February started off with a haircut and Cal Wardrup’s funeral. Not that they go together, but there they were on the calendar for the 1st.

Next came a Super Bowl party at Stephs. Lots of great food and treats – not so close of a game. We babysat Jack and Sofie again overnight while Katie/Bill enjoyed a late night out. They have been taking him to skiing lessons at Brighton the last month or so, and he does pretty good. They picked them up that Sunday morning, and Bill dressed Jack all up in skiing garb from head to toe. Katie has had some back problems during her pregnancy, but somehow manages to get by. She’s due May 1st I believe, and it’s going to be another girl.

Linda and I left mid month for a week vacation at our St. George condo, and stopped by Orem on the way down to sign another year’s lease for Danny (with no increase in rent). We thoroughly enjoyed our time away in sunny St. George – the weather at times was 73 and 74 degrees. Warm enough for golf and even swimming! We also learned how to post pictures on facebook from a guy at the AT&T phone store. We were not naked in the hot tub – it just looked like it. I wouldn’t have minded being naked in the hot tub, but there were other people enjoying the swimming area as well. In fact, I had to ask a lady walking by to show me how to take a “selfie” on my iphone, as I didn’t know how. We enjoyed the relaxing time away in our condo, eating out, seeing a couple of movies, and just relaxing. We then drove to Wendover for another 3 nights before returning home. We got some “free” things to entice us there – one free night, two free tickets to see Leann Rimes in concert & free food coupons. We receive these offers because we frequent Wendover a few times per year, and I’m sure donate more money than they return in “free” offers.
We saw “Much Ado About Nothing” the last week of the month at the U of U Pioneer Theatre – Linda had to explain some of the plot to me, as I sometimes miss important plot developments?????

Linda attended Jack & Sofie’s Grandparents day lunch at the U of U Jewish Center where they have daycare. Jack and Sofie aren’t Jewish, but like hummus and crackers for snacks. And they have probably the best day care program in the city.

We missed Sarah’s 8th birthday party while we were in St. George, but are attending her baptism tomorrow morning. We also took her out to dinner with the family when we got back from St. George as a late birthday celebration. And that’s the news.

Love, Tom & Linda

Day Family News for January 2014

Feb. 2, 2014

Day Newsletter for January 2014

A friend, Phil Hansen, turned 70, and his children hosted a big birthday bash for him. I took my keyboard and led the party goers in song, substituting the lyrics I wrote for him. Two musically inclined family members volunteered to help lead the singing, as it is hard for me to play the keyboards and sing at the same time. We enjoyed the party, despite the fact that we’re all getting close to 70 ourselves.

Linda and I saw a great movie about Disney, “Saving Mr. Banks”. We also attended a great play at the U of U, “A Few Good Men”. We had two extra tickets and Wiggins and Jackie joined us for a bite before, and then a very good play.

One weekend, Bill & Katie’s Jack and Sofie spent an overnighter with us while mom and dad went to Wendover with friends. It’s always a treat to have grandchildren sleep over. Later in the month, Stephanie asked us to do a sleepover at her house for three nights while she went to St. George for a work related conference. So we packed out bags, and enjoyed staying in Syracuse and watching Jessica (age 11), Sarah (age 7) and Taylor (age 5). With Linda being retired, it makes it possible to help out in situations like this. I just commuted to work from Syracuse, and Linda was available to take the kids to school and pick them up.

Jackie celebrated another birthday and invited everyone over to their home for dinner. They make great fixins for everyone, and we all enjoyed a great time.
Linda’s knee has been much better, although she has had a two week episode of vertigo off and on. She enjoyed doing the Macy thing during the holidays, but turned down their offer to continue working part time after.

Attended Cal Wardrop’s funeral yesterday – a nice tribute from his kids and family. It was held at the Wasatch Lawn, the same place we had Dad’s funeral at. There’s a cemetery by our home I go walking thru, and I’ve thought about purchasing lots in advance for the inevitable by this nice little stream area. Kind of like what D & A did – advance arrangements. It’s the money, though. And do you do side by side, or the double stack thing? Body whole, or ashes? Decisions, decisions.

Linda’s been doing crocheting, and making quilts. She’s found the old sewing machine doesn’t work as good as it should, it may need a tune-up. Our Tobi steamer quit working, and after I finally threw it in the garbage canisters outside, Linda suggested I google a replacement part. She is wise, as I found one on e-bay for $20, retrieved the good parts from the garbage, and the new part arrived - we have a new steamer for $20 instead of a couple of hundred on a new steamer.

Linda gave me her old Reader, an e-reader device, as she uses her Kindle now. After much agony and finally been saved by Stephanie, we learned how to load e-books on it, and I have entered the digital age in reading. As I finished all the books I received for my birthday a few months ago, I needed some new ones to read. I just finished e-reading The Invisible Man, a John Grisham novel (The Confession), and am now on “20 Thousand Leagues Under The Sea”. I am still having a tough time learning to hold the Reader comfortably, as it’s just not the same as a paperback or hardback book, but I’m learning and trying to adjust. Perhaps the hardest part is not using my Obama bookmark (I throw this in to irritate Karin) on a regular book, and punching a “button” for a bookmark digitally instead. A hint Karin gave me(about reading books) is writing a quick note about the characters as they come up in a book so you remember the context of who’s who the next time you pick up the book. I don’t find a place for digital notes on my e-reader, although I’m willing to bet more recent advances (perhaps Kindle) have such a feature. Perhaps Obama could sign an executive order to have the people who designed the ObamaCare website to work on this.

Speaking of politics, I was pleased that Utah is leading the way to have the gay rights marriage issue pushed to the Supreme Court so that it can be declared legal across the land. I was helping a customer who happened to be a federal judge from California at work last week, and when I asked him about this issue, his response was that “The minute people start marching publically over an issue, the debate is settled. It’s just a matter of time at that point”. The times, they are a changing, as the song goes.

And that’s the news from the Days for another month. Tom & Linda