You roll out of there, but not without grabbing a Tootsie Pop for "later"...

.....except once you get into the car, you don't wait for "later." You unwrap that sucker right then.

Allow me to indulge myself in a bit of nostalgia as I introduce to you Sayler's Old Country Kitchen.

Look at that menu in the shape of the famous 72-oz. steak. It's the exact same menu that I looked at when I was a young child and dined with my mom and dad and grandparents regularly at Sayler's; really all that's changed are the prices. Did you know that if you can eat that entire 72-oz steak, along with a set number of side dishes, you get your meal free and your name up on the wall? No one I know ever attempted it, but Tom and I always tried to get our dad to do it.

This past weekend, I flew to Portland to visit my family. It was a wonderful, but, as always, I'm left with such bittersweet emotions. I love to be with my family, and I never want to leave. The climate in Portland is perfect; I can breathe there, and the rain does wonders for my overall well-being. At the same time, I always miss my own little family here in Utah, so I also want to come home. Mostly, I wish I could have both. I wish we lived closer.

Sayler's Old Country is a must-do on the agenda when I'm there. We love the food, but the memories we love even more. My mom used to order Tommy and me one, 4-oz. tenderloin steak off the children's menu to share, and for awhile, it was plenty. As we grew, she eventually had to order us each one of our own, and then came the time that I'd eat my whole steak, plus part of my dad's. It was then that I learned to truly appreciate steak. He always had a filet, cooked medium rare, way better than my medium-well tenderloin. Mmmmmm. Well, here's a picture of that filet, topped with a signature onion ring and baked potato on the side. I'm pretty sure I've eaten off that exact metal tray at least once before in my many, many times at Sayler's.

But the thing about Country Kitchen is that a bunch of other stuff is also included in the single price of the meal. The first course is this cool relish tray, along with french bread and melted garlic butter. You can see everything in this picture except the olives hidden underneath, so just imagine the olives.

After the relish tray comes either soup or salad. I get a delicious salad with blue cheese dressing. Along with this course, we always order a plate of onion rings. I won't try to describe them to you; just look right here:

Then comes the main dish and potato, followed by your choice of ice cream, the standard vanilla and chocolate, as well as peppermint, orange sherbet, and (my favorite!) spumoni! And no, Amanda, it does not taste like bubble gum.

It was such a fun night; I can't even tell you how much fun. Let me show you what a group we had:

And since this blog is my sole answer to family history, let me name these fine people in case anyone ever wants to know. From right to left around the table: my niece, Leslie, and her husband, Silas; Eli and Amanda (who met me in Portland for the weekend); my brother, Tom; my niece, Katie; my mom, Claudette; me; my sister-in-law, Jacqueline; Leslie's daughter, Sydney; and Jacqueline's husband, Mike. Whew!

The only Portlanders missing were Carley and Julia and their son, Finn, but we got to see them for breakfast Saturday morning and also dinner that night at their new restaurant, Etc. Eatery. It features local, Pacific Northwest cuisine from Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, including giant Idaho spuds with a variety of toppings.

Time with my family is as precious as it is rare. I miss them. I don't realize how much I miss them until I'm there. Shulamith and I plan to visit again in August, six months from now. Between now and then, my brother might road trip out here sometime this spring, and Jacqueline is going to stop here in late July when she travels from Arizona back to Portland. I really hope both these things happen.

My Portland weekend also included a brief but delightful visit with my friend, Lorrie. We sat outside the ice skating rink at Lloyd Center, the smell of Joe Brown's Carmel Corn permeating our olfactory senses. I can't begin to imagine how many hours I spent there as a child and figure skating student. Early mornings in "patch" practice, creating and repeating figure 8's on the ice, followed by freestyle skating, perfecting jumps and spins.... and always the smell of that Joe Brown's Carmel Corn. Much has been updated at Lloyd Center since those days, but not Joe Brown's; it's still in the exact same location with the exact same treats. Lorrie and I ate Cinnabons and talked nonstop for 2.5 hours, solving world problems, not to mention those in our own little lives. We're smart like that.

There were some flurries of snow when I left Portland, and everyone panicked, stocked up on groceries, and planned to hibernate inside their houses for the duration of the "terrible storm." Honestly, when I heard about it on the news, I almost thought it was a parody. I looked out the window to see a light dusting of snow on the grass and nothing more.  Meanwhile, winter decided to descend on Utah while I was gone, and I flew home last night to nearly a foot of fresh snow with more falling. It was really beautiful as I walked home from the Trax station. I don't love the weather in Utah, but I can't deny this is beautiful.

You roll our of there, but not without grabbing a Tootsie Pop for "later," .....except once you get into the car, you don't wait for "later;" you unwrap that sucker right then. Thanks, Leslie, for the perfect click bait for this blog post. See you in August!