Our (Very) Hot Texas Trip

Kayla was here for a week (see MK's blog for a complete accounting of our week). We walked Chris' dog, Waylon, three times. Kayle LOVES animals and it was a good time-filler in between the many activities we did. Plus, Waylon loved it, too. I enjoyed all but the poop detail. Chris, you think you could train that dog to have more solid BMs? The reason for the VW is that Kayla and Luke play the "slug bug" game when one sees a VW bug.

 

Oops, we're now doing the trip backwards - our last stop was Dallas with Holly, Narith, Jordan, and Olivia. Jordan is writing in her new book. The only quiet moment I can remember. Those girls have lots of energy, to say the least.

Ain't she cute? Olivia just got back from a birthday party.

Melissa and the girls made sugar cookies. Messy as the dickens but Boy, were they good! I certainly ate my share, plus a couple.

More cute cookie making girls.

Jordan did a week long horse riding camp in Wylie. Reminded me of my hill country camp when I was 8. She rides real well for just doing it a week. Impressive!!

Olivia's camp was a dance camp. She did hip hop, Jazz, and tap. O is the one on the left back with arm up.

Now, we're in Round Rock at Lindy's. MK swinging Riley on the deck. 'Bout the only cool place in Central Texas, I think. R loves her "Mimi" and her swing.

Aha, caught Chris in front of the fan enjoying himself. Riley's playing with that designer Starbucks bracelet we got for her.

Melissa and Riley scoping out the extensive toy collection @ 609 Southcreek Dr. MK has the patience of Job with her 1st grandchild.

Off to Bastrop to visit older sister and Jack. New fountain area on the right is quite cool (especially with the mister). Jack did all the work and, as usual, Jan's good artsy eye picked it out and did the design.

Kevin's Woodsedge Community Church sanctuary. Sorry about the quality of the pic. Doesn't look much like the churches we grew up in, does it? Rock/country music, video, and other accoutements not seen in Baptist, LDS, 

 and Church of Christ churches.

As it turned out, Luke was baptised when we were there. Kevin did the honors with Lukey as well as about 7 others. Handled it with his usual grace. Fun for me to see him in his element.

Kevin's and Kerry's home in Spring (on the Spring-Woodlands border). Glad they didn't have to sell. Keep those referrals coming, Kerry!

Two little cuties. We loved having Kayla in SLC and look forward to Jordan next year, then either O or Luke the next two years. Jordan requested that ALL FOUR come to SLC after they all do it individually. Great idea in concept, but we'll have to ponder that one a bit.

It was a fine, but wearing, trip (We probably wore on those we visited, too). Averaged about 100 degrees with humidity close to that. Don't see how I made it in South Texas, Bay City, Stephenville, and San Marcos all those years. MK and I will stay here in low humidity Utah, thank you.

1st Day of Summer on Wyoming Street

Ah, all our perennial work pays off this time of year. MK's choices and design, our many trips to the nursery (and $$$$s), and my constant care yields a showplace (if I do say so myself!). This is the best mid-June display we've ever had. Big rose bush 'bout to pop!

The side view from driveway. The painted daisys are one of MK's favs.

For perspective: When the remodel was finished in October, 2005, I had several yards of topsoil and a soil conditioner hauled in. Monk and his good friend, Peterson (lives with Andy Pace now), helped to spread it. We planted  in the fall (tulips) but mostly selected and planted in the spring.

I took this yesterday - this is the bestest (Utah speak) MK's garden has ever looked, too. The colors don't show very well but there are some beautiful flowers in there. I'll try to do better with my limited photographic skills (?) in the future. Wild geraniums, calalillies, peonies, a rose bush, day lillies, and several more varieties are in there.

For perspective - about 5/20. The bird feeder provides her with endless entertainment and the squirrels (3) are always on the fence. There's a neighbor's black cat that hangs out on the fence, too, but so far he (or she) hasn't chased (or eaten) any of MK's little ones.

The remodel outside. When the verticals are in (being installed as I write), and MK's new and smaller, desk gets here, we'll post several views of the inside.

I should have taken a pic of our new Weber 3 burner grill. Been so long since I've grilled, I had Monk tutor me in proper steak-grilling on Father's Day. In addition, he and Devon gave me all kinds of BBQ stuff, including a dynooomyte set of tools. Now, it's up to me to get some use outta' all this.

A bonus: This is Les' and Mary's house after untold # of dollars went into it. Adam Kirkham and his wife, Leslie, are still at it. Great job - I don't believe they would have taken it on if they'd have known the extent of the problems. But, it's a great addition to the street.



Ah, Summer!!

But, first, those two very cute, athletic, helpful(?), and smart girls who live in Allen. Lucky for us we're planning a swing through Texas this summer to see everyone. Hope to see Jordan's Rodeo as she finishes her horse camp and Olivia's recital as she completes the dance camp. Kayla will be with us for a week (The 9 yr old "Koerner" thing) before we fly her back to Hou.

 

 We thought we were going to miss our tulips once again due to the France trip, but got home just in time (late spring - hard winter). This is the 1st week in May.

 Ditto.

 About the 15th of May. As we sit out in the backyard, we have a hard time remembering what the house looked like before the remodel in '05.

 Melissa's office corner. Starting Wednesday (6/1), we're going to have those two doors removed (can't see 'em in the pic) and replaced with windows identical to these. Plus, vertical blinds, new carpet, remove wallpaper and paint. Will be, essentially, a new office for her. In that she spends 24/7 there, por que no??

I was just kidding about summer. We still have winter here on Memorial Day. Several inches in the mountains and Snowbird is staying open 'till July 4th. This is the wettest spring in recorded history and the floods are starting all over Utah. This is my favorite time - when the tulips are still out and the early perennials are starting to show. All that work (and MK's designs) pays off!

OUR FRANCE TRIP

We had a wonderful 10 days in France on a MBA "Global Business" trip. I will skip the pics of Paris since most of you have either been there or have seen numerous pics of Paris (Truth be known, I forgot to take any in Paris).This 1st shot is from a 2.5 hr boat trip off Marseille as we sailed toward Cassis. This is one of the many inlets one can sail into or vacation in (see hotels/small houses in the background). The water is clear and greenish-blue, as you can see. Where's my snorkel when I need it?    

Know her?

 This distant island on the left was where The Count of Monte Cristo was partially filmed. It looks like a small Alcatraz and is an abandoned prison.

 Ah, our last day in Aix-en-Provence, a beautiful little city in the South of France. Melissa and the other prof had each small team find and buy specific foods at the market and tell us about the food. Then, we dug in sitting on our hotel's grounds!! No, the woman in front is not saying grace (or praying to Mecca) - she's just cutting her selections of cheeses. Notice the ruins behind us - dates back to the Romans.

 Here's the fish market portion of the larger market. There were three markets going all within a few blocks of one another in central Aix. Every town/city has their own market and market days.

 'Nother view.

 Cezanne (born in Aix) painted many of his paintings in Aix and his home is a national treasure. This is his park in the center of Aix. Interestingly, we had a special treat while in Aix. When I was with EIMCO here in SLC, we had a French subsidiary that made underground drills. It was based in Lyon and Secoma's US President was Bernard Saltiel. He and his wife, Xenia, own a B & B not far from Aix and they met us for dinner. Bernard was raised in Aix and knew everythng about the city. Google La Royante to see their B & B.

 Before Aix, we spent a couple of days in Lyon, the 2nd largest city in France. The original of this statue was melted down to make cannons during the French Revolution, The same sculptor then re-did it after the Revolution was over only to "forget" the stirrups. He was so humiliated, he committed suicide.

 This is a Roman theater, still used for summer productions. Massive structure. 44 BC!! Stood the test of time, wouldn't you say?

There are two hills in Lyon which define the city. This is the Praying Hill due to a large church sitting atop the hill overlooking the city (behind me). There are two rivers in Lyon and the downtown area is built around these rivers. Makes for some beautiful walking. The 2nd hill, off to the left, was the "Working Hill." So called because the working class lived there and walked downhill to town to work in the mills, mostly textiles.

 On our walking tour, we came across a closed street, labelled the Champs-Elysees of Lyon. Fountain in the foreground and walking street to the left. Most French towns have these small merry-go-rounds in central places.

 One of the two rivers - could just as easy be a shot of the Seine in Paris, n'est-ce pas?

Well, that was our "fun trip" after we left Gay Paree. The business visits (8) were outstanding, thanks to Melissa, the other prof, and our tour guide who is our MBA director and is from Lyon. To wit:

• Met with the Western European CEO of GE Medical Services and his wife. They had just moved to Paris from Salt Lake. Gave us the ex-pat perspective and differences in the French business culture, as well as what it's like for the spouse with two kids.
• Alstom, the world's leader in designing and manufacturing bullet trains. We rode several  we went down and back up France and they are damn fast!! Very impressive business and they went all out for us.
• Gore, the namesake of our business school. Their European headquarters are in Paris and we got to hear a recently retired French exec who started Gore's European operations. Gore was able to implement their unusual management structure into the French system, even tho it's not a "fit" at all. For those of you interested in management, leadership, culture, and performance, it was very interesting.
• Lyon Transit System. Transit is BIG in European cities and they get the best and brightest from the best schools. The president of the system gave us 2 hours and we got some excellent insights into the politics of business in France. We were set up for this visit by the transit execs from Utah's UTA.
• Bugey Nuclear Power Plant. Nuke energy supplies 96% of the electricity to France. Quite an operation we toured. No, we didn't come back glowing (at least not from the plant!).
• L'Occitane, a manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of scents, body wash, shampoo, etc. Google them for the outlet near you.
• Beaujolais Dupeuble, a family owned winery has been in the family since 1512. Talk about aged wine!! One of the owners gave us a two hr tour of the vineyards and the processes. The best part was the sampling, replete with bread, cheese, and sausage. Those French know how to give tours. And, yes, we bought some wine. I even picked up a bottle yesterday at our liquor store.
• Chateau Virant, growers of olives and grapes. They make some of the best olive oil in the buisiness. Good wines too. Again, a family business and one of the owners toured us around and put a spread out for us similar to the prior winery.  

Spring Has Arrived!

Well, here we are on April 3rd! A wet, heavy snow pushing our branches down, similar to the November, 2010 pics in an earlier blog.

Luckily, I got 2 yds of the forest bark spread Saturday before the snow came. The tulip foliage is about 6" but you can't see due to snow. With the moisture and fertilizer, once we get some warm weather, this yard and garden will take off. However, once again we're going to miss the high point of the tulips - France calls! Tough duty, but someone  --

With 130% of normal year snowpack, there's some concerns we're going to have a runoff year similar to the floods of '83. That year, we had a river running thru downtown SLC (water had to go somewhere and State Street is close to the old riverbeds from the 1800s).

November Snow and Our Adopted Part Time Cat, Oscar

Our first

 Our first snow of the year was a small one, but a harbinger of things to come.

 And, on November 26th and 29th, it did come. This is our view from the bedroom - nice huh? I don't see any need to shovel the deck - the snow's  too pretty to remove, anyway, don't you agree?

From our front steps. No, Kevin, this isn't equal to the snow you brought with you those two times, but not bad (without a pipeline to you know who). Some background: Many years ago, Kevin and friends came to Utah twice to ski. The 1st time they arrived 1/15, we'd had almost no snow in Dec and 1/2 Jan, then all hell broke loose. We got more snow in the last two weeks of Jan than in any full January, EVER. Now, if that's not divine intervention, I don't know what is!! To top this, next time they came, we got the largest one day snowfall ever recorded. Snowed so much both times, K and friends couldn't even get up the canyons to enjoy the bounty. Serves 'em right!!

 Oops, notice the frozen hummingbird feeder - forgot to bring it in. Also, see the evergreen that I've knocked snow off of? It was laying on the ground after the 11/26 snow. I got a neighbor to help me chain it up to the fence. Hope it survives - it's part of our privacy line of trees. MK and Steven planted these rocket junipers along the fence when they first moved in about 20 yrs ago.

 Ah, here's one reason MK spends as much time in her office as she does. Summer or winter, a great view. Cute little "snow caps" on the bird feeders, yes?

 Our sometimes guest: Oscar. Monk and Devon travel a bunch and we get to adopt  him for several days at a time. I keep him downstairs with me and let him roam the full basement. He's a good companion while I play pool or work at my desk. We'd like him upstairs, but then there's Janie and Melon.
He's saying: Whatcha' takin' a picture of me for, huh??? He sleeps in his carrier. Our cats hate theirs 'cause it means a trip to the vet. Oscar seems to love his tho. We've applied several times for a permanent adoption, but no success yet. We'll keep trying - O is the sweetest cat!!