Au Revoir

I think we all know what the phrase au revoir means.  Good-bye, right?  But in French, it literally means something more like "to the next time we see one another."

And I'm afraid that is what I must say right now. 

The chaos of the floors and the remodeling I told you about.  But what I didn't tell you about is that one of my children is struggling.  Really struggling.  And I honestly haven't known how to help her.

But one thing that has come to my mind over and over is to organize, simplify and reduce.  So I continued to write, but I haven't been visiting your blogs very often. I haven't been responding to your wonderful comments.

And finally I've realized that it just isn't fair for me to just keep writing without giving anything back to you.  I'm disappointed because this blog was my own little piece of me.  My own little attempt at doing something scary and different.  My effort at being more. 

But right now my little girl needs me to be more for her.  And that is enough.

Hopefully I will be able to return to writing again.  Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.  Hopefully it will be "to the next time we see one another" rather than "goodbye." I'll still check my emails, so I'd love to hear from you. 

It Never Rains in Southern California

.... or that's how the song goes.  And, thankfully, the weather was fantastic, except on the last day when we were planning to go to the harbor and see the Maritime and Midway museums—Doc was quite bummed about that.

So what were the highlights?  (And I promise at the end there will be a connections—maybe slight?—to my regular making-a-home Wednesdays posts.   

1.   Doc's Lecture

I know that sounds weird, but he's been a professor for many years now and I've only seen him lecture a couple of times.  So I get a little thrill watching him work a room.

I'm cheating—this pic was actually taken at a conference that he hosted earlier in the year (I couldn't snap a shot in the middle of his address).

2.   Mormon Battalion Museum

This place was impressive, and I think kids would absolutely love it.  The guides dressed in historical costumes and "had conversations" with actors in short videos (those pictures on the wall are actually video screens) throughout the tour.

Source

One fun part (at least for me) was when they dressed up a volunteer (or at least the husband of a woman who volunteered him) in part of the uniform of a member of the Mormon Battalion.  

 

Bless Doc's heart—he sure is patient with me.

3. Heritage Park Victorian Village

Although we found this place entirely by accident as we were heading to the Mormon Battalion Museum (the entrance is right across the street), I quickly fell in love.  It is beautiful and peaceful and oh-so-enchanting!   

The 7+ acre park consists of 6 houses and 1 Jewish temple from the Victorian era (late 19th-century).  All of the structures were at one time set for demolition before they were acquired, relocated, and restored.  All of the homes were supposed to be turned into bed and breakfasts and two additional homes were going to be reconstructed after homes that had previously been demolished—in fact, two were already opened as inns—but the original company that was overseeing wanted more money from the city, so the deal fell apart.  So now all the homes—except one that contains a little gift shop—are again closed. 

 

I hope something works out soon because I want to stay in one of the bed and breakfasts for my next getaway with Doc—couldn't you just imagine it?

3.  Lunch at My New Favorite Restaurant

As I think I've mentioned, I love Thai food (remember this recipe?).  Doc and I discovered Thai food on our first not-quite-a-date just a few days after we met (remember this story?).  And now our first goal in a new city is usual to find a good Thai restaurant.  So we've eaten at countless Thai restaurants.

But I think I have now discovered my new favorite restaurant.  But, sadly, it is a L-O-N-G ways away. Seriously impossible to describe how GOOD this panang curry was.

But perhaps this will give you a clue.  I'm REALLY not exaggerating when I say that if nobody would have seen me, I really would have licked that bowl clean! (Eek! That picture was a mistake! What's up with my tongue?!  And now all you people who've told me I don't look like I'll be 40 in a few months can see all the wrinkles that prove I do.)

And because I'm such a food lover, I've got to show you the food that I just couldn't eat.

It looks really good, doesn't it?  It's called Phở, a Vietnamese noodle soup.  I honestly tried to eat it, but I just couldn't.  Doc said it reminded him of dishes he ate in Taiwan, so he ate it (but agreed we would have been happier with Thai). 

And lest you think that we ate nothing but Asian food during our entire trip, Doc insisted we get a picture of one of his favorite foods on the trip (or at least the Nutritional Information so he could show just how healthy his choice was). 

Notice he somehow didn't get the calories, sodium or fat content in the shot.  And, just in case you're wondering, that would the oh-so-healthy Cool Ranch Doritos that has 2 g of dietary fiber, 2 g of protein, and all those percentages of daily vitamins and minerals.  Yeah, he rarely gets to eat chips (too many heart problems in his family medical history), but vacations are fair game—What a hoot!

4.  A Totally Cool High-rise Apartment Building

Actually, I don't know anything about this building.  We couldn't find any signs (although, because it was raining the day we were touring this part of the city, we didn't try too hard), but we're assuming it's an apartment building.  But what got my attention is the house on top.  I couldn't get the best angle, but truly it looks like somebody built a normal (albeit large) house on top of this building.   Very cool in a very odd sort of way.

Any of you know anything about this?

5.  Going Home

It was wonderful to have the time with only my sweetheart, but in the end it was just so nice to be heading home.  And that is the beauty of a vacation like this—plenty of time to remember why we got married in the first place so we can be better parents to our three little kidlets waiting for us at home.