'Scott'ish Plaids and Infinite Curry

Monday, Monday, seems so very long ago, but that's just because Thursday was a weeklong, but that's another story.  Dad and I worked on the Carriage house in preparation for a party on Saturday.  He moved the air conditioner that was in it, putting it next to the main floor AC, just outside the west doors.

That evening he had an online board meeting with his Barbershop Chorus. 

Here's his view.  He is the treasurer. 

More work in the Carriage house Tuesday before and after Caren Kirk's funeral.  Here are some pics of her as a kid.  What a cutie. 

Here with her husband while they were dating. 

This gentleman played a couple of guitar pieces.  I also wanted to capture all the color of her casket bouquet.  I thought it was just stunning. 

That night Dad headed to Saratoga Springs to put together bouquets to go with the Barbershop quartet singing Valentines they would do the next day. 

On Wednesday he brought me lunch for Valentines, so sweet.  While there he ran into Trisha Wright, who he worked with at Associated Foods.

He even managed to get to sing with the quartet that went to see Ben's friend Aaron Nelson and did a singing Valentine for his wife and cute daughters. 

This is Brittany ... she loves hot yoga ... she made me go once, it was a misery for me, and was possibly the longest half hour of my life.  On the other hand, being sick on Thursday was the longest day of my life.  I was so sick I couldn't eat at all, nor drink much.  I slept all day and all night, both before and after but woke up about once an hour, thinking I'd slept for 8 hours ... sooooo wierd and miserable. 

Fortunately, all that sleep allowed my body to fight off the bad bugs, and I felt like myself on Friday morning and was able to go to work.  Yay ....

After work I framed some pictures, tidied the house, while Dad vacuumed. I cleaned bathrooms, and rearranged art with Dad's help, as you see in these pictures. 

Then on Saturday morning, we finished up in the carriage house, in prep for the India Dinner that night.   I'd brought home this large basket from the shop to cover the part of the window well that was still visible. 

We washed the seat covers and moved the plaid green chairs to each side of the fireplace.

I added the antlers to the top of the serving alcove. 

I'd found them at the Grove, they are resin. 

Dad had affixed the three deer hooks on the right side of the shelf after working hard to put up the shelf and braces on Friday while I was at work.  I brought home the green plaid blanket from the antique mall to hang between the two red ones from the hooks.

On the other side of the serving alcove, Dad hung a single deer head hook to hang yet another plaid blanket.

This is how it all goes together. I'm debating painting the shelf, topper and brackets in the green of the bench (Also the green of the doors).  What do you think?

I also brought out this large landscape with a shepherd and sheep that I thought could look Scottish. It pretty big, and I am looking for a big frame for it. 

Here's a detail. 

We took off in time to meet up in Pleasant Grove, or was it Sherwood Forest, with these folks for Penny's play.

Cutest little merry man I ever met. 

Here she is with other Merry Men.

Here's the whole crew.  It was a 'just add children play'.  A production of the Missoula Children's Theater method.  You should google it.  So fun! And yes, it was Robin Hood. 

Back at the house in time to finish up a few more things before our guests, and our Indian caterer, Nixon John arrived. 

 There were 17 of us in all.  People I have been gathering for 2 months.  On the left side is me, then Michelle Rickard and her husband,Joe, we met them at the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Program, and found that she had worked for a month each year for 6 years in India.  She is now serving a mission at Church Headquarters.  Nest to her are the Newmans.  Sister Newman's sister is a great lover of and traveler in India but was unable to come.  Next is the Elsbys who served a senior mission in Northern India. On the right side are Tambria and Nixon John, who have been feeding us wonderful Indian food for more than a year and a half, every week.  He's from Delhi, and they are also Davin's next-door neighbor.  Next to them is Raj, an Indian member of the church from southern India, actually in the area where Nixon served his LDS mission, so they had a lot to talk about.  Next to him is the Taylors, who are serving with the Rickards at the church office building, where Raj also works.  They invited him along, as they also have traveled in and love India, and made friends with him when they arrived in Salt Lake.  Of course, our final guests are an adorable family of Perkinses, who will soon be living in India.  Luckily, we talked Nixon into catering the whole shebang, which made it much easier for us. 

Here are Raj and Nixon, they are about 30 and 50 respectively, both grew up in member families from young childhood in India, both served mission there. 

Some Perkins and Taylors.

Here I am with the Elsbys as they are leaving.  It turns out that they know our friends the Coltrins who lived in Lehi.  Wendy is an antique friend who moved to Arizona last year. 

The kids were just great, playing with the Duplo while the adults visited endlessly. 

Egad more plaid.

The Johns cleaned up and left, while we gave a tour of the house to the rest of the group. 

It really was so lovely to celebrate this amazing country, across the world, and to learn of the work of Christ's church there.  It looks like a mission there is unlikely for us.  The Taylors actually chose all three options on their mission application to go there, but in the end were sent to SLC.  They believe it was because of travel restrictions into India by the Indian government.  Dad also learned that when he contacted the Mission President in New Delhi, last month.  

I saw these beautiful twins at church today in the same pram, and it reminded me of this Bessie Pease Gutman painting of twins, also a favorite wish of mine. 

Did I mention that Nixon made enough curry for an army?  Well, we took some to two different neighbors last night, then put out an emergency invite to come eat chicken curry on our family messenger chat.  We managed to get two of our girls and some cute kids and a cute husband too. 

along with Abish. At the end of dinner we filled 5 quart jars with chicken curry sauce to be distributed to yet more people, and a 2 cup container for my friend Aubrey, who is my curry groupie.  

It was like the food expanded, and of course we don't eat chicken.  The best part is that there are also 12 containers of cauliflower curry (each will feed Dad and me one meal each) in the freezer ... I know, curry for days, and such yummy, yummy curry. 

We had a great chat after, and some traditional child torture by Aunt Darby. She later repented and served her fellow man by taking Davin and Bri their rightful share of the curry abundance.