Around the World in Eight Days

Catching up a bit, is the picture Dad used to celebrate his daughters on FaceBook for National Daughter's Day, which was actually the day before, the first of the eight days we'll cover in the blog.   Aren't they a beautiful group? These gals have visited multiple times, or lived in Japan, Canada, Cambodia, South Korea, Finland, Japan, Texas, Germany, Mexico and France, oh, and Disneyland.

So good morning, Monday, oh my what a busy day.  I am out in the north driveway doing a final sweep of many, as we spent part of the day on Saturday doing so. We had hired out the carriage house to my friend Mary so she could celebrate her birthday.  She does a big shindig every year to celebrate, and this one was absolutely over the top!

I also did Mary's announcement board for her party.

Another little project for the day was adding my last little bit of decor for the party.  I found this antique picture of men playing golf in front of a manor house at Farmhouse Peddler.  The only thing it missed was having kilts on the golfers.  So... that's right, I panted kilts on the golfers myself.  I did do them in a water based paint, on top of the oils, so that I can wash them off in the future when I no longer find it amusing.  I also framed the painting.

There's the spot ... and I really think it needs a second little painting.

So on Wednesday, when Sharon Loveless, who is the dealer I bought it from, offered me a great deal on a second one (There were originally 4) I agreed.  I'll be picking it up from her home (and a tour) tomorrow. 

And speaking of golf, the whole golf scene seems to have changed a bit, as you see Darby and Dallas who spent time on the course this week.

After a morning of working on the house, we headed to Highland, which is a wonderful town name, so Scottish.  We'd been invited by Stina for luncheon with her folks who are here from Finland.  I love her knitted pumpkins, she say she makes a couple ever year.  

Stina took this picture of her folks and us at her beautiful table.  Here are Bo-Henrik and Heli Eriksson, which is the Swedish spelling, you may recall that a fifth of the population of Finland are actually Swedish.

everything was just perfect.

Tuesday was heralded by thoughts of the two girls we love who were born on that day.  The picture is of Madison Jean Summers, who was born on what would have been my mother, Norma Leola Clark Larsen's 98th birthday.  Both were born in the USA.

It also saw me back at the north driveway, setting up our metal patio chairs and tables. 

and putting the sign out on an easel. 

Dad spent much of the day stringing our outdoor Christmas lights along both sides of the north driveway, as well as adding 4 chandeliers.  Can you see the one behind the Scottish flags here?

This one is definitely visible. 

I covered logs with plaids for additional 'bistro' seating.  This is the hors d' oeurvres  table. 

On of our first guests arrives and speaks to one of our servers, Malcome.  Mary hired a young couple, he's in the Utah pipe band, and she has a matching kilt.  

He is shown here at the hors d' oeurvres table. 

And here we are in our Scottish gear.

Everyone wore plaid, if only as a pair of suspenders or a tie. 

and here Dad shows off the Haggis and potato with whiskey sauce course.  (No I didn't serve on my plastic everyday dishes, the server couldn't find the other two plates, when the time came. We even had our head waiter, Malcome who is more than half Scottish, read part of Robert Burn's famous poem, Addressing the Haggis. 

The big surprise for the guests was a pipe band that Mary hired at our very own Scottish Days in Payson in July, while we were out trekking from Greenland, and Iceland to Scottland and England. 

They were just wonderful.

They explained the history of the pipes, and how that they originally had real ivory joints, now of course they are made from a resin. 

Here Mary chats with Malcome's wife, Regan.

This piper actually lives in Payson, up Mainstreet 3/4 of a mile. 

Dinner had been delayed, so people started going to the buffet a few at a time, it was actually very efficient that way, and those who were waiting for their dinner were well entertained. 

The end of a wonderful evening, and we needed a picture with the pipe band.  We stood at the end of the driveway so we could be illuminated by the streetlight across Main. 

And of course, a picture of them with the sign.

Dad was evidently not filled with celebration yet, so the next day he went to the Macey's Grand Reopening in Pleasant Grove, to celebrate the finish of their extensive remodel. 

At work that day, I was not celebrating.  My sales were at around 1,400 at a time of the month when they are around 2,000.  In addition 498.75 was the total of the things my friend Shirley had given to me to sell for the Mexico project!  Thankfully I still have a week, right? of course the comfort in all of this is that the money I don't get will go to Trevor and Nell's family for their Christmas project in Mexico.

On Thursday, before I headed to work, and Dad went off to the temple, Sarah Davis, who we met at a wedding a few weeks ago, called to say she was coming to Payson and would love a quick tour of the house.  It motivated us to finish up the rest of the party cleanup, so that was fun.

Here is the largest of the floral arrangements from Mary's party.

And here are the two smaller arrangements. It made the house look extra special for our one woman tour.   

I also added this checkered pumpkins.

And my boot bench.

I took in more Halloween to work, most all of Shirley's stuff has sold. 

That night I had book club where we discussed a book called The Keeper of Hidden Books about Poland during WWII It was about how Germany tried to take over Poland by destroying their culture.  One thing they did was to ban all books, eventually, except German Books.

Here's a picture of Dad's chorus as they work to prepare for the fall contest, which we left for on Friday.

The drive was beautiful and in reminded us that we get to see some wonderful autumn colors in West Virginia a few weeks.

I managed to do some antique shopping for my business along the way, stopping at my favorite DI before leaving SLC.

On the way we stopped in Laramie to pick up some mercury glass pumpkins I'd bought on Face Book Marketplace earlier in the week.

 Then when we got to Cheyenne, Dad went to the Barbershop quartet Prelims and a chorus practice, while I went out junking, cleaning up at a Goodwill there. 

We stopped at a restaurant in Wyoming the next morning.

This is the back side of the display/divider.

Yep we're in Wyoming, Cheyenne to be exact, the capitol of the state.  Other cities we drove past on the way, were Newcastle, Guernsey and Lucerne, which should represent England and Switzerland. 

Saturday was National Son's day, and Dad celebrated by bragging about these good looking men.  Amongst them they have lived in, or visited multiple times in Italy, Japan, England, Finland, Peru, Bolivia, Canada, Argentina, India and Labrador.

Saturday morning Dad went to his Chorus practice, and I went to an antique mall, that I thought was a flea market.  I didn't find much, but I did get a piece of the Danish china pattern I collect. 

Then it was time for the chorus competitions.  Things have sure changed since I attended my last Barbershop Convention. 

There are now women, and even children in some of the choruses, though  not for the two Utah Choruses.

Here we see how far Grandpa Carlo's chorus has dwindled, from 50 something, down to 12 and of these 12, one came in with a white cane, another with a walker with a seat, and yet another who had obviously had a severe stroke.  I might have wondered about that if I had not met the man in the MTC as we left on our first mission, who could not speak, but who could sing after his severe stroke. His wife said that the speech and singing parts of our brains are not adjacent. 

I went to an couple of antique stores after the chorus contest, while Dad went to a chorus evaluation, and then to lunch with most of the chorus members. 

Then I got back to enjoy the finals of the Quartet contest. A couple of the 10 finalist quartets had one of two gals in them, but this one was all girls.  Hmmm.

This is Shoot the Moon, who are in Dad's chorus, and who won the quartet contest.

Dad's chorus took second of the entire contest, with a score that qualifies them to go to Denver for the International Contest next July. It was a grand weekend there for both Dad's hobby and Mine. 

 

As it turns out were we were not the only ones Traveling

Look who is finding all the fun

Here's Bri's bestie and her new husband, what a fun trip!

How much great is this! They're in the Uncompahgre Mountains, Telluride, Ouray, Montrose Colorado.

Other folks we know were also traveling this week.

First is my friend from Art Group, Shirley who is visiting Germany

including the Bavaria region.

Our friends Kevin (Barb's brother) and Bev are in Prague and other countries from the former soviet block. I thought this sculpture was interesting.

Then there's Andrew Hale, one of our favorite missionaries from Finland, and his wife, who served in Denmark as they tour in Norway!!

And of course there is always Spencer's family in India. 

Driving home we added a few countries, like England,

Greenland ...

and New Delhi, just for Spencer and Brit's family. Hahaha

Of course part of our drive home was very pretty.  Dad wanted to come home by way of Provo Canyon, and he was so right ....

It was just stunning.  In fact we passed a line of cars that was more than a mile long, waiting to turn left onto the Alpine Loop, so we weren't the only ones. 

We hope your week was grand, and that you have some fun new memories as well.

Here are all the countries that were mentioned in this post, see if you can find them all?

Japan, Canada, Cambodia, South Korea, Finland, Germany, Mexico, France, Scotland, Sweden, USA, England, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, India, Denmark, Norway and Czechoslovakia.