A rough few days for sure, but "Halfway" lifted spirits!

It's been a rough few days. There's no way around the fact that the recent SCOTUS decision rocked my world. I've wavered, minute by minute, between anger and disbelief. How could this happen in 2022? How could this court take such a giant step backward and dishonor and disrespect women so blatantly? What does this mean for the women and girls in my family and in my circle of friends? All the feelings.

Still, we tried not to let it ruin Halfway Christmas on Sunday, and though the topic definitely came up, we had a nice celebration. As always, I set up my little Charlie Brown tree and played my favorite Christmas music in the background. We each opened one small gift from whomever drew our name. Jane got a pizza toy to chew on; teething is not for wimps. Theodore got a silver Lamborghini, and Swen got a bright red one. Kennedy got a LOL Mystery Doll, and Seth got a Steam gift card. Amanda got Pop Tarts and a 3-wick candle from Bath & Body Works. Eli got Mtn Dew socks and some actual Mtn Dew to drink. Shulamith got a plant, and Gerald got a Little Caesar's gift card. Mathew and Isaiah don't participate in Halfway Christmas (What is their deal, anyway?), so they got nothing.  :-(

And then there's my gift, carefully wrapped in bath tissue. Hooray! Gerald drew my name, so everyone assumed he'd ask Shulamith what to get me, and all would be well. And as the story goes, he did. But then he didn't wait for her answer. Instead, he ordered me this little mini vacuum designed to vacuum up crumbs on my desk. "She hates crumbs!" he explained to Shulamith. Well, yes, I do hate crumbs, but I also don't really produce any when I eat. What I hate is sweeping up other people's crumbs! So my hope is that Gerald will use my gift to clean up his own crumbs, and if he does that, mine will be the absolute best gift of all. I'll keep you posted.

Because we didn't get to celebrate Seth's birthday last week, we extended Halfway Christmas to include it. I cherish my kids' birthdays because they remind me of how much I love being a mother; celebrating with them makes my heart happy. I'm so grateful Seth was born and that Heavenly Father sent him straight to me!

Look at my baby. already 22! I can't figure out how that's even possible, but alas....

It was a rough few days, but "Halfway" lifted spirits.

I ordered four days of rain; the gods obeyed!

Anyone who knows me knows I love rain. I even wrote about it once here. And here. And here. I really think it could rain every single day and I'd never tire of it. So every time I go to Oregon, I order rain. I usually get it, at least one of my days there, but this time, I was careful to be specific about my request. 

I ordered four days of rain; the gods obeyed!

I arrived at the rainy Portland Airport Friday afternoon. I got to walk in the rain to the light rail station and then again when I transferred to a different train and again when I arrived at Clackamas Town Center. People think it's embarrassing when I dance in the rain and twirl around with my arms extended, so I tried not to do that too much, but ooooh, I felt so happy.

It was my first time back in my hometown of Portland since before COVID. And it was raining!! I chose last weekend, specifically so I could attend a reunion of my former Rainbow assembly, Kellogg #92. Rainbow Girls is a bit hard to explain to those who aren't familiar with it, but here's a post from our 2016 reunion where I make a stab at it. While super fun, neither of our former reunions in 2016 and 2018 compared to the one Nancy Rae planned for this past weekend. Wow! First, she decorated a table with the colors of the rainbow, on which she laid out all sorts of rainbow memorabilia, including Rainbow Bibles, Worthy Advisor gavels, scrapbooks filled with pictures, and even the actual minutes from our meetings way back when. Then she hung up pictures of all the Worthy Advisors in order from the very beginning of Kellogg #92. Can you find me???

It was a delightful afternoon filled with rain, and also so much laughter and so many memories. From Mrs. Frack serving us dessert in cat food cans to the Order of the Pillows at Grand Assembly, we reminisced of a simpler time, the story of our adolescence, the foundation of lifelong friendship. Eli texted me at one point while I was there: "Do you even remember these people?" Oh yes, Eli. I do, indeed. We grew up together. We spent parts of every single week throughout our teen years doing stuff for Rainbow. The connection is hard to explain, but we are sisters in every way except blood. Any one of those girls would be there for me if I needed her. 

A highlight for all of us was the chance to visit with our first Mother Advisor and her husband, MaryAnn and Ken Frack. I hadn't seen them in over three decades, and the full warmth and nostalgia and love of all 30 of those years were wrapped up tight in two, very long hugs. I will always love you, MaryAnn and Ken.

But Nancy Rae wasn't finished with just that one afternoon. The following morning she planned a non-kidnap breakfast at Elmer's Pancake House. Backstory: each year Mrs. Frack would kidnap us early in the morning and take us to Elmer's for breakfast. She'd come right into our bedrooms, wake us up, and whisk us away; we weren't allowed to fix our hair, apply makeup, or even change our clothes. This tradition became a favorite among us, so several us us showed up at Elmer's Sunday morning dressed in PJs. We stayed four hours! At one point, an employee politely asked us to please move out of the earshot of other nearby tables. Haha, what can I say? The Rainbow bond is forever.

Along with Rainbow activities, I also got to visit my family, which included dinner at Sayler's Old Country Kitchen. My brother's oldest daughter, Leslie, loves this place as much as I do, so every time I get to Portland, the two of us plan a dinner there. Here's a post from when we were there in 2018. This past weekend we were accompanied by Leslie's husband, Silas; her mom, Jacqueline with her husband Mike; and my mom. Such good food and even better company. Thanks, Leslie!

Another trip to Oregon for in the books (in the blog?). I ordered four days of rain; the gods obeyed!

My mom came to visit...

 ...and here are some pics:

"Shop the walls first!"

I used to be able to keep track of life. COVID changed that. The past two years feel like a time warp. Like we lost two years or experienced those two years in a parallel universe. How many times have I used the phrase "pre-COVID" in my normal conversation? "When did that happen?" "I don't know...sometime pre-COVID." 

I don't mean to imply that the virus is gone. Many are still testing positive every day. But not nearly so many are dying, and whether that is because as the virus mutates, it loses strength or because science blessed us with effective vaccines that provide at least some protection against the new variants, I don't know. I'm just so grateful.

One clear consequence of this wretched virus is that many of us missed seeing our extended families for way too long. This is true for both Gerald and me. Neither of us saw our original family for over three years. That changed for Gerald two weeks ago, when we traveled to Everett, Washington to visit his mom, sister, and brother. Here are the four of them:

It was a short trip, just two days. Gerald's nonagenarian mom, Violet, enjoys walking as much as I do. We took several walks around her condo and then down on the waterfront. The weather was nearly perfect the first day and absolutely perfect the second when the rain I ordered finally arrived. I'm hoping my 25-year dedicated walking regimen serves me as well as it has Violet when I'm her age.

That second day we also got to visit Gerald's brother and sister-in-law, Glenn and Monica, at their home, where Monica's incredible artwork lines the walls. "Shop the walls first," she suggested, as she generously let me choose several pieces to bring home to add to the two others she already gave me. I think there's a name for this art form, and I think someone even said it while we were there, but I can't remember what it is. Anyway, I LOVE it, and this time I got to share it with Shulamith. Here is her daughter, Kennedy, with the piece she chose for her room:

Here are the two I kept for myself, one for the entryway to our home and the other for my half bath:

COVID changed our lives so much. Some of those changes were positive, as we learned to find joy at home and as we grew to recognize all the "fluff" we could live without. Ironically, it brought us together in many ways, while it separated us physically. But it also left many grieving for lost loved ones and fearful for the future. I didn't lose anyone close to me, but a friend of mine lost her beloved father. It's critical that "post-COVID" (if that time ever comes), we don't forgot the relentless spread of this virus; its random, unpredictable effects (You may have no symptoms at all, but you may die); and the millions who are left grieving.

I'm thankful life is "normal" enough that we were able to visit Gerald's family. 

But where are the tulips?

It was hard to know where to begin. As we navigated the winding path through seemingly endless fields of tulips in an array of vibrant colors, we asked ourselves, "Where should we stop?" Searching for the best photo spot, we finally landed in the middle of a giant field of bright yellow tulips, with another to the left filled with deep red ones, the perfect contrast for our pictures. Systematically, we placed one kid after another in the middle of these glorious flowers and shouted, "Say, 'cheese,'" as we used our analog camera to capture the beauty of both the tulips and the children. 

This was an annual tradition for many parents who lived in the lovely Skagit Valley in northwest Washington. We were there 11 years, and I have albums of pictures of my children sitting in tulip fields to prove it. One day I'll cross off the item from my never-ending, mental to-do list that says, "Organize physical pictures and scan the ones you want to keep to digital files." One day. Meanwhile, maybe I can find you a generic picture. Yes! Here you go...

Last Friday, a few of us headed down to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point, near Lehi. I'm not sure what I expected, but memories of the Skagit Valley tulips clouded my reality. 

"But where are the tulips?"  

A bit of hyperbole for sure because, yes, there were tulips, imported ones. They lined the walkways and this waterfall, and they were definitely pretty, just not quite what comes to my mind when I hear the phrase "Tulip Festival." 

Still, it was such a fun day, with perfect weather and even more perfect company. Here are Shulamith with Kennedy and Theodore, followed by Amanda and Jane and me.

I'm forever spoiled by the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, and one day I'll return to see it again, but for now, I'm grateful for this smaller scale, but still lovely, option.

OMG, we finally found our drugs?

They say the olfactory sense is the strongest and most memorable. I agree.  Before our trip, Shulamith and I had never spent time in a city where marijuana is legal. Walking the streets of NYC took me right back to my college days, when I had to hold my breath while walking through the halls of my dorm. Gotta love the 70s! That smell is so distinct, haha, and so gross.

As we've discovered before, outside of Utah where Diet Coke should be the state beverage, it's sometimes a challenge to find. I mean you can always get bottles or cans in grocery stores, but we prefer fountain Diet Coke in styrofoam cups. In NYC, there's a Starbucks on every block (and we went there one morning for some yummy hot chocolate), but not a single Swig or Sodalicious anywhere. So you can imagine our joy when Shulamith spotted a 7-11 just a few blocks down from our hotel! I worried they might not have fountain soda, or worse, that they might have only Pepsi products. But hallelujah (!) look what we found our very first morning:

Not styrofoam, but we'll take it. We carried these with us as we sought out a good breakfast spot. You always hear about New York style bagels, but I thought the hype couldn't be real. I mean nothing could beat Einstein's, right? Wrong. At a place called Pick-a-Bagel, we feasted on the most giant, chewiest bagels, both sweet and savory. We each ordered two and couldn't finish them, though we definitely tried. The next morning we considered finding a different place to eat, but wound up right back at Pick-a-Bagel. So good.

Our best dinner was on Isaiah's recommendation, which is not surprising. In his world travels these past seven years, he's become quite the food connoisseur, especially with Asian cuisine. Ramen is his favorite, so he insisted that we go to this Japanese Ramen bar. All they serve is Ramen, and you don't speak to anyone. Instead you fill out a form to "Customize Your Ramen" (level of spice, noodle texture, pork and garlic options, levels of saltiness and richness) and are seated at a bar that faces a wall with an opening at the bottom, just large enough to slide bowls underneath. You slip your form through this opening, and the people behind the wall (whom you never see or hear) slide your bowl of Ramen to you. Apparently this dining style is common in Japan and is designed to accentuate the experience as you focus on the Ramen, rather than on people. It was lots of fun and truly the best Ramen I've ever eaten.

We also ate a delicious Italian dinner, spaghetti with carbonara sauce. Like in all the restaurants we went to, we felt like we were the only ones not drinking alcohol, and the servers seems rather confused when we requested Diet Coke. At one place, they didn't even have normal soda glasses, so they brought us our Diet Coke in these:

In the entire restaurant, we could see just one other table drinking soda, and these people also had 4 or 5 kids with them, so we made a stereotypical judgement that they must be members of our church, haha.

As this post comes to an end, so does this series "Terrianne and Shulamith fly to New York City to see four shows in three days." I won't lie; that's making me a little sad. It was such a wonderful trip in every single way. I can't think of anything I'd change. You, Shulamith? Thank you for being the best travel companion and best friend in the whole world. 

Until next time, "Give My Regards to Broadway!" We will be back!

I wanna see their sweat!

This is what my mom always says when she buys seats for shows; she likes to sit right down in the orchestra section just a few rows back. I agree! If I'm gonna pay to see these performers, I wanna be close enough to see their sweat. So that's what we did. 

Before we left, when friends heard about our trip, they would ask, "Are you gonna see any Broadway shows?" to which I'd reply, "FOUR!!" They were usually surprised by that, but you see, that was our entire purpose for going. I mean what else would we even do?

Since returning, the most frequent question has shifted to "Which was your favorite?" Shulamith says she can't decide because they were all so different. This was her first time in NYC, and she says she is now ruined for any other theatre. Nothing will ever compare. I think she'll change her mind about this at some point, but I get it; nothing compares to Broadway. So which was my personal favorite?

Best Broadway Musical of Terrianne and Shulamith's trip, the nominees are

Wicked

Hadestown

Phantom of the Opera

Dear Evan Hansen

First, I must say that all four were fabulous. But really. They were incredible, and when Shulamith says she can't choose, I totally understand. I had seen both Phantom and Wicked previously, but these two productions were the best ever. The lovely young lady who played Christine in Phantom held the audience in the palm of her hand with the strength of her voice and honesty of her emotions. Elphaba in Wicked held me in the palm of her hand; I have no idea about rest of the audience because I was too focused on her amazing timing and natural physical comedy to notice. Ahhhh, she was so good! 

After opera (Phantom), show tunes (Wicked), and jazz (Hadestown), the pop music of Dear Evan Hansen was a fun change. And the kids were so talented. My favorite scene was near the beginning when Evan and Jared draft the fake emails to prove that he and Conner were BFFs (with deceased Conner in the background singing his emails back to Evan). Yes, the subject matter is tragic, and yes, we feel that poignantly in the scenes with Conner's parents, but this particular scene with those three boys is genius-ly hilarious.

And the Tony goes to......

Hadestown!

Without question, my overall favorite was the story of the young lovers Orpheus and Eurydice, narrated by Mr. Hermes, who seems to delight in telling the tale over and over, as many times as it takes to get it right. Could that be the plight of humanity? Always trying to trust, always hoping to stay strong, but always failing as "doubt comes in." Hmmm. Shulamith thought the ending was sad, but I'm not so sure. The idea of do-overs, grace, is a central gospel principle and also key to understanding the way the myth is presented in this show. I actually loved the ending. I also loved how I identified with pretty much everyone, even Hades, trying so desperately to keep the status quo, to keep his wife Persephone for the six months he has her, and ultimately, to keep his "little songbird," possibly the only light to enter Hadestown in a very long time. I'm not a super fan of change either, Mr. Hades.

Ironically, Hadestown was definitely an afterthought for us. We had chosen and bought tickets to the three other shows, before I asked Emily if she had any inside scoop on current Broadway productions. She said she'd heard several different people rave about a relatively new show called Hadestown. "Let's just add it!" I told Shulamith, without much thought. Thank. You. Emily! Whenever it tours here, grab those tickets fast.

One more installment yet to come in the series "Terrianne and Shulamith fly to New York City to see four Broadway shows in three days." Stay tuned!