TYPICAL LOOK OF THE 1960'S

Hi, everyone!  Grandma and I are busy getting ready for our trip to Washington state.  We will be flying this time, in fact we booked our flight in the fall of last year, and we are really glad we did as the cost of gasoline is now skyrocketing.  We plan to interrupt our stay with the Anderson's, by going to Portland for a couple of days, to see family and friends.

Have you ever heard of Dent Mowrey?  We found out that his works are located in the Portland Public Library, so we plan to to do some research and hopefully get some copies.  Dent Mowrey was a concert pianist in his time, and his original compositions, even though not well known, are playable, showy, and are a listening pleasure.  He is now gone from this life, but his works will live on.

In Portland, we will probably visit Bob's Red Mill.  It is like Lehi Roller Mill, but much bigger.  A lot of their grain products are located in our local grocery stores, but visiting the actual production site is always lots of fun.

Portland is one big, honking place.  I understand that it is attracting hoards of people in their mid-twenties, even in this time of recession.  I hope it doesn't turn into the kind of city San Francisco did during the 1960's.  Remember the love children?

Peace signs were in




Typical look of the 1960's

 
Another place I love to visit in Portland is the Klackamas Town Center Mall.  This place makes our local malls look small.  I especially like to shop in J.C. Penny's, because they have a huge 'big and tall' department.

Anyway, Tammy always asks me what we might want to do during our visits to Olympia, and I always reply, "We just want to see the kids do their stuff."

I plan to take some pics on our trip, and as always, I like to photograph odd and unusual things.  I will keep you posted as to our adventures, so be sure to visit this blog often during the next two weeks. 

HANDGAMES PASS THE TIME

HAND GAMES PASS THE TIME

While Jenna was in the insta care having her arm set, the rest of us really had a good time playing games. 

NOTHING LIKE DICE

 

PLAYING 'SORRY' PASSES THE TIME

We really had fun playing 'Sorry.'  Even though we were laughing and having a good time, we really were sorry that Jenna broke her arm, and we really missed her at our party.
 
Finally, mom and dad brought Jenna over to Grandpa Zucc's house.  She was wearing a blue splint on her right arm, and it was being supported by a shoulder sling.  You will have to check the 'Girl Going Postal' blog for a picture, as I'm sure mom took one.

 One good thing about all this is that Jenna will now have the opportunity to work on developing her left hand piano technique, since the right hand will be out of commission for a couple months.  "Keep smiling, Jenna."



Jenna - Thanks for the picture, Katie!



1 MINUTE AND 42 SECONDS

If you watch this video, Grandma singing is 1 minute and 42 seconds from the beginning.  She is the taller lady in the purple blouse.

YOU GUYS MAKE MY DAY




YOU'VE GOT TO LOVE THOSE LEGO'S

It always amazes me how kids of all ages love to play with Lego's.  And, without exception they love to display their creations (note the photo above).  Really, even the young kids will build something from scratch, and they will display their little creations on either the book shelf or the end tables.


My two granddaughters from Washington are featured in this photo taken several years ago.  My how their appearance has changed.  Nowadays they wear makeup, and dress fancy. 


Julie and I became great friends, when, at the age of 6, at a family reunion, I noticed she was having kind of a hard time.  So, I made her my buddy.  We even made up a song together, "We are the Hugging Bears."  I also made sure she and I served on the same cooking detail assignments.  Her mother was aghast at the sight of her standing on a stool, whipping hot potatoes with an electric blender.  I had to assure Mom that I had everything under control, ha ha.  But, you know, giving a little bit of responsibility to kids is what they need to give them that wonderful thing called confidence. 


Belana and I bonded for the first time, I believe, when Grandma and I visited the Anderson home in Aberdeen, not too long after that memorable reunion, she and I went to a park along the waterfront at the edge of the town.  After shaking the wobbly wooden wharf with all our might, we ended up pretending to be pirates on a beached row boat nearby.  Of course, Belana was the captain of the ship, and were were attacked by a band of vicious mermaids, and we bravely fought them off.


At the house, both girls loved to play 'waitress.'  Grandma and I would pretend to go to MacDonald's, and the girls would take our orders.  It wasn't long before they got tired of taking hamburger orders, so they pretended to become entrepreneurs, and opened a Mexican restaurant, which they named, "Garnacia's."  This was a great place, that served any kind of steak you could ever imagine.  Belana especially loved to serve steak and eggs for breakfast.


Well, those really were wonderful days, but I think the best of times are yet to come.  I do enjoy the company of my grandchildren, even if they are all growing up.  You guys make my day! 

 

IN MY OPINION



Jennifer Lopez

 A couple of posts ago, I praised Steven Tyler, now it is time to give some accolades to Jennifer.

Who can not like J-Lo? 

Personality, talent, sensitivity, musical!  She has it all, and she is a more than an adequate replacement for all three of her female predecessors.

In my (Grandpa Zucc's) opinion, American Idol now has a winning combination of judges.

Hey Tam!  Notice J-Lo points her finger just like Sherry and Grandma.  Ha ha.   

SHERRY GOES SHOPPING



Sherry goes shopping

 So, we had a big day out on the town.  There is nothing like a trip to the mall to make a woman happy!

Walmart also puts smiles on their faces.  Yes, and the big red heart reflects the happiness in their hearts.

Shopping at Walmart brings smiles

 

Grandma knows what to buy



What? Another DVD?

While shopping we had lunch at this quaint little place, called "The Trolley," located in the heart of Springville.  If you haven't eaten there, this is a must.  The salads are huge.  Sherry and Mom split one, and for a drink, Sherry had chocolate dream delight milkshake.  She indicated Jeff would be jealous if he found out.  I had one of the gourmet burgers.  It was a little pricey, but with the fries, it was more than enough to fill an empty stomach.
 

Have you ever heart of "Indian" motorcycles?  On a wall display, an ancient Indian cycle is mounted.  On another wall is a more modern one.

 

The tabletops are bare bone metal.  No problem with upkeep at this restaurant.  Ha ha.



Do you want to know why this place is called "The Trolley?"  Well, the front of the place is an actual trolley car.  On the inside is seating for eating, as well as overflow in the back, providing lots of room.  I really like the way these people have used creative imagination to make a successful business out of an old building in a depressed part of town.

Hey, this day was a lot of fun, even for poor old Grandpa Zucc!   

HE KNOWS WHAT IS NEEDED

Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler seems to me, a good addition to American Idol.  I really never got into the music of his Aerosmith group, but it is evident that he knows what is needed by idol candidates to succeed in pop world culture. 

Jennifer Lopez is more than a capable replacement for Ellen DeGeneres, who in my opinion, was a dismal failure.  Both JLo and Tyler, along with Randy Jackson are really giving Idol a new, positive image.

I like the way the show is going this year.  They are moving away from so much of the lousy auditions, and are giving emphasis to the really good performers.  I like the increased background coverage of good singers.  This really adds interest to the show.

Still, I find myself recording the show, and then later watching the playback of only the singing, fast forwarding over the commercials, etc.  As in previous years, I don't plan to really get into American Idol until there are only 12 candidates left.

But no matter what I think, the show is still one of the most watched TV productions  and rivals the viewership of Survivor, which I watch religiously. 

Do any of you like what Steven Tyler brings to Idol?     

RED DEVILS WIN BIG

 

Springville 73 - Unita 42  Final Score!

Grandma and I made the long and dangerous trip down I-15 to Springville High School to watch Greg play basketball.  The Devils dominated, the final score being 73 - 42.  The game started out really close until about half way through the first quarter, then the quicker Springville guards turned up their defensive pressure, thoroughly disrupting entire Unita offense.  Greg was substituted into the game before half time, adding a defensive presence in the middle.  Towards the end of the game, Greg was again brought in, I believe, for his defensive ability.  I saw him make a spectacular pass block at mid court, close to the out-of-bound line.

The Red Devils even have red lockers

Greg is number 21



Why are Greg and Mom leaning to the right?



TWO EXPERIENCES WITH JOE

THIS GUY EVEN LOOKS LIKE JOE

It was the month of January, 1990 in a classroom of Mount Jordan Junior High School.  My son Joe was of the right right age to learn about hunter safety.  So he enrolled in the Utah Hunter Safety Course, taught by one of the Division of Wildlife instructors.

The instructor was from the Manti area and had an interesting accent.  As you may have guessed from past posts', I and my wife are trained singers.  If anything, we try to emulate, with our singing voices, the "English accent."

I'm sure that our speaking voices have taken on the values of the local in which we live, but listening to this particular instructor was so entertaining that I just had to write down the words that he spoke, and my interpretation of them.  I have a couple pages of them, but I will give you just a few, so here they are:

Ah              -          I
Stort          -          Start
Ma             -          My
Da             -          Did I
Are            -          Our
Em            -           Them
De             -          The
Fur            -           For
Dra           -           Dry
Pars          -           Pores
Dis            -           This
Ta             -           To
Shar          -           Sure
inda           -           Into
Day           -           They
Ay             -           Hey
Wanna      -            Want to
Keels         -           Kills
Morksmanship   -   Marksmanship

OK!  His instructions might have sounded like this,

"Ta stort, I wanna wheelcame ya all inda dis morksmanship class fur beginners.  Da tell ya day deer wanna run ween day see ya, fur shar?  Yar keel most be dra and clean, cause ya wheel hayve ta clean em." 

No kidding!  His accent was this heavy, and I had to write his words down because he was so entertaining. In fact, he noticed me taking serious notes.  I believe he thought I was really interested in the content of his presentation.  Ha ha.

Joe never really got into hunting, as Mike his brother did, but we really had some good times on the west desert.  One time we had been shooting our 22 caliber rifles.  On the way home, driving on I-15, we spotted a lot of para gliders over the Point of the Mountain, so we drove the short distance to the top to get a closer look.

A flying club was rendezvoused and one of the members, a lady, all dressed up in leather flying gear, came to greet us.  She was nice enough to explain what flying meant, and to answer our questions.  All of a sudden, a cry was let out by one flyer.  We all looked up, and a kite was wildly out of control, and was quickly falling to what appeared to be a terrible accident.

Just before hitting the ground, the kite pulled out of it's fall, and went zooming off.  The leather clad lady, proudly proclaimed that the flyer was the leader of the club, and was an expert.  She told us his nickname was, "The Viper."

Both Joe and I were very impressed with the expertise of "The Viper."  Anyway, he made a nice, turning loop, then smoothly dropped down about 10 feet from us.  He looked at Joe and said in a loud voice, "Hey kid, want a ride?"  Joe quickly said, "No way!"  The Viper then quickly and gracefully flew off.

  PARA GLIDERS AT THE POINT OF THE MOUNTAIN - UTAH

GRANDMA AND I CHUCKLE OFTEN

This is kind of 'old news,' now that Jenna has been 8 years old for over a week.  The 'new news,' is that she is to be baptized this coming Saturday.  Anyway, the photos below are really cute.

Jenna is really proud of her new ear ring.  I also like the matching colors of the hairpiece and shirt.  Good job, Katie.

Yummy cookies and sugar-free ice cream.  One entity cancels the other.  Good job, Grandma. 

My grandchildren are sparkles in my life.  Grandma and I chuckle often when we consider their antics.

GET ALONG BETTER WITH OTHERS

Mail boxes in my neighborhood are all pretty much the same, you know, with just a cheap receptacle on top of a cheap post. Most of them are either dented or rusted, or both. But there are a few people that have been imaginative, and have come up with interesting designs. The one on the top is my favorite. The lady who owns the above box is known to us as "the dragon lady." By the way, she is really a nice person.

The fish box has been in place for at least a couple of years, and just recently the house went up for sale. I wonder why? Could it be that the owner was a fisherman, and that the smell indoors got unbearable?

OK! It is time for me, Grandpa Zucc, to do some philosophizing. While visiting some in-laws, a long time ago in another city far away, I was told by them that relatives are like fish, "after 3 days they begin to stink." It was said jokingly, and everyone laughed; but still, the rest of our one week stay was a bit uncomfortable, and we were glad when the time came to depart.

While composing this article, I looked out the window and saw the snow blowing off the top of Lone Peak (blowing off to the right).  The wind in the valley is probably blowing at about 20 mph.  Up there it must be reaching well over 60 mph.

So, how does one handle uncomfortable situations?  A friendly attitude always helps, I'm sure.  Have you even watched on antenna TV, the old television series "All in the Family?" Well, Archie Bunker was the ultimate in provoking confrontation, and as comical as he was, his bigoted actions were certainly not the best examples of promoting pleasant relationships. 

So, please give me some witty comments on how to get along better with others.

SHERRY'S CAST

You have got to love this picture! I bet I know the first thing Sherry will do when the cast comes off. A pedicure seems very likely.

Grandma knows how to organize a house cleaning detail for 4 kids. Notice the finger! She means business!

Now that Greg is 16, he can get a license and drive a car. Whoops! Wait a minute! Mom's knee scooter will do!

There is nothing like a nice pink cast with an ice bag on it. Right?