It's beginning to look a lot like

CHRISTMAS!

Caroline and I decorated my new tree.


I've actually had this for two years, but this is the first time it's been used. We opted for a Silver and Red theme this year. There are a lot more ornaments on the window-side of the tree. (I think Caroline really enjoyed standing on the window sill/seat to hang them)


Thanksgiving games.



Sumo Legs

Smiley JonathanHe was trying to walk across the table on his hands. Silly boy.
Thanksgiving Day, 2009

Random Acts

Random acts of... well, RANDOMNESS.

I was just finishing with work, speaking with my replacement staff member about our weird new phone system. A person came to the front desk and handed the student worker a piece of paper and said, "Give this to Linda." So when I got done speaking with Tammy, the student came over and gave a paper to me with the message as delivered. Only, it was a sheet of paper with three recipes typed on it. Why? Who would just come in the library and randomly hand me three un-requested recipes? One was for Zucchini cassarole, one for whole wheat fudge brownies, and the other was for some rolls or something. Was it a hint? A gesture of kindness? A mistake? Delivered to the wrong "Linda at the Library?" Who WAS this unknown deliverer of food instructions????

And, no, that's not what we had for dinner tonight. It was chicken noodle soup and home-made biscuits. But the Zucchini cassarole DOES sound interesting and I have one huge one in my fridge right now.

Cedar City Birthday Ball

Every year on or around November 11, Cedar City has a Birthday Celebration. Yes, it is also Veterans Day and we celebrate that, too. But Birthday Parties are WAAAYY more fun! This year we celebrated the birthday on Saturday, November 7, 2009.

For the past 9 years, Mike has headed up one aspect of that celebration, and that is the Birthday Ball, which we have come to call the Birthday PARTY since "Ball" is a little intimidating. It is a fun event that I have managed to be absent from for the majority of the nine years he's done this. And for good reason. It's a lot of hard work AND it is also the weekend that us gals gather for All Girl's Weekend. So Mike has to do it without me. He has lots of friends and supporters, but basically he is a committee of one. It's been fun to see the improvements he's made over the years.

The highlight of this dance (which is basically what it is) is the live band AND homemade Dutch Oven Cobbler with ice cream. That last one is where most of the hard work is required. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is my photo essay ; 0) . Enjoy.

This is Mike. He's the star of the show. He cooked (with a little help from his friends) 34 dutch oven fruit cobblers, fed it to about 300-plus folks and hosted a very fun soiree in the SUU Ballroom.

This is sort of what it takes to make around 34 cobblers. That's a lot of fruit and a LOT of cakes. That does not include the oil, the eggs, the foil, the 44 gallon tote with paper goods, or the charcoal to cook them. Or the gallons of ice cream to serve WITH the warm cobbler.



Yes, Mike has a food-handlers permit. I scrubbed my kitchen, we used excellent hygiene, AND we recycled all the cans and paper boxes. I'm rinsing out cans here. That was a lotta cans.
Here's Mike's friend, Larry. He's dumping cans of fruit filling into the foil-lined dutch oven.
Nick had to be elsewhere, but he sent a bunch of his friends over to help cook. See the big stack of dutch ovens?

Shoveling hot coals around. I don't think I'll say anything more about that.
Just a little bit of child labor going on. Oh no! We forgot her pony-tail!
When they've been assembled and cooked, then they are loaded into the back of the truck for transport to the college campus.

Here's a nice shot of the dance band. They play REAL music--Big Band, 1940's era dancing music that is fun to listen to. And to dance to.

There was a floor show and part of the entertainment was a few numbers by the SUU Ballroom Dance Company. This was one of the numbers. I was actually gone for some of this entertainment, as I was out getting more ice cream or on some other errand.
And the highlight--The BUNNY HOP! Featuring Nick (in black shirt with tie) and his Grandma Liebhardt (in red sweater). Priceless. That was MY highlight, anyway. Thanks, Gail, for snapping this one!