Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Wicked Weekend Went Well

I had a great time in Denver this weekend! I went with my sisters-in-law to see the Broadway musical, Wicked. It did not disappoint! (Just FYI, I've referred to this weekend as my "Wicked Weekend," making some listeners raise their eyebrows. But never fear, no real wickedness happened.)

We flew out of SLC early Friday afternoon. We arrived in Denver, got a rental car and drove into downtown to P.F. Chang's to meet some other ladies for an early dinner. (It gets dark early in Denver too.) After dinner we drove to Lakewood, Colorado to a huge outlet mall. Thank goodness for GPS -- what an awesome tool! Oh, and shopping was fun too. Eventually we made it back to our hotel -- the Sheraton downtown. After checking in and unpacking, we pretty much hit the sack.

Saturday was more shopping, lunch at Subway and then ... drum roll ... getting to see the matinee showing of Wicked! The costuming and scenery were fabulous, but better than that was the script and music. For those of you unfamiliar with the story line, it's a look at how the Wicked Witch of the West got her name/fame. I liked how it was a mucial for all different ages. At the most basic level it's a fantastical story with magic and wonder. Teens might appreciate the romantic element in it, and there are all sorts of complexities for adults to appreciate -- my favorite being the whole look at calling good evil and evil good. (There's a bit of political symbolism too.)

The rest of Saturday was dinner and a bit more shopping followed by watcing "Julie and Julia" on the TV back in our hotel room. We packed up on Sunday and, despite initially having a cancelled flight, returned to SLC with only a half hour delay. Whew!

Well, that's all for today -- maybe for this week. Enjoy the beautiful crisp fall days!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

All is Safely Gathered In . . .

There's something cozy about this time of year. With Daylight Savings Time ended, it's dark outside by 6 PM. I'm enjoying how we tend to stay home in the evenings, all warm and snug in our home. When a storm blows in and it's cold outside, Hubby will make a fire in the woodburning stove. The girls and I work on Christmas projects. We turn the porch light on early, telling passersby that they're welcome to join us.

In the last week we finished up the outside projects that had to get finished before the snow descends:

Mixing and pouring concrete for the mow strip of the new fence around the garden and orchard. (Nothing tires one out quite like concrete work.)

Draining the hoses of water and storing them away until spring.

Taking the last load of the season to the green waste bin. (Including the pumpkins and cornstalks that have decorated the front porch.)

Working with our contractor as he got the footings, foundation and floor poured for our future shop.

Mowing the lawn short and bagging the clippings so that mice don't make havoc of our turf.

Breathing a sigh of relief that winter is coming.


I like to think of winter as a vacation from yard work. Yes, shoveling snow feels a little like yard work, but I try to think of it more as exercise. Plus I love how the rest of the great outdoors is covered by a bright, white blanket of cold. It's worth shoveling for.

Enjoy what remains of fall!

P.S. I'm headed to Denver to see "Wicked" -- the broadway musical -- this weekend. Fun! Fun! Fun!