Road Tripping

Rules of the road when traveling with Kris:

1. When the gas station has only one restroom, pull rank and make sure you use it first. 

2. Listen to lots of Elvis and Michael Jackson music. Kris will let you know he thinks you're goofy when you start chair dancing, but you know he's loving it.

3. If you provide a neck pillow and some of his favorite snacks he will be a very happy and entertaining travel companion. He has two settings: talking and sleeping. I love following his stream of consciousness to see what triggers his thoughts. What often seems like random blathering frequently has some deep feeling and emotion behind it. But there are times I'm pretty sure it is just random blathering.

4. When traveling through towns where Hallie & Ralph lived, listen to the stories Kris tells. He may be creating new family history, but there is often some truth behind what he's saying.

5. Go to cemeteries whenever possible, even if there is no reason to think there are any family members buried there. Kris loves cemeteries, and he will look for Jensens, Halls and Bakers.

St. George Cemetery - 2010

No known relatives are buried here, but Kris was quick to find some Bakers and Halls, and wanted to spend time alone at their headstones.

Provo Cemetery - 2012

Willamette National Cemetery - 2012

When we visited the grave of his grandparents in the Brigham City cemetery we were able to understand why he spoke so frequently of a little baby named Raymond who had died. That name was carved on the back of the headstone of James Peter and Laura Baker Jensen. Born and died in 1903, he was their firstborn.

 Brigham City Cemetery - 2013

6. If your sister lets you use her Beamer convertible, Kris will be more than happy to accompany you wherever you go. Otherwise, expect to hear "No more vacations!" every time he learns a trip is in the works. However, once he's packed and on the road he's very pleasant company.

Anyway, like I was sayin' ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhfK98f5S00

Please watch the above clip before reading any further.

There has been a marked decline in the amount of baking I have done since becoming an empty nester. Today I broke form and whipped out the mixer to bake up a double batch of chunky chocolate chip cookies to share with some deserving folks.

Kris immediately caught on to what was happening. He spent the entire time I was in the kitchen sitting at the counter talking to me. About halfway through the process I realized that he was on the third or fourth round of naming every yummy dessert he could think of that his mom would make: peanut butter cookies; oatmeal cookies; pumpkin cookies; coconut cookies; coconut cream pie; lemon meringue pie ("Mom's favorite, but she liked to go to Marie Callendar's"); pumpkin pie; German chocolate cake; burnt sugar cake; bread pudding (Dad's favorite); etc., etc. It really made me smile!

Note to self: bake goodies for the menfolk a little more often.

How Very Complimentary

I stepped into Kris' room to let him know Keven and I were leaving for a funeral today. He looked at me and said, "THAT'S a pretty dress! It must be a new one. You have very good taste. My mom really likes that dress."

What a boost to the ego! And it wasn't even a new dress.

Oh, Kris

Kris loves being in charge of the freezer's ice supply. He has a very specific way he likes to arrange his ice when he has a Dr Pepper and so makes sure there is always plenty on hand. Sometimes after a shopping trip the number of items that need to be kept frozen take up some of the freezer space he maintains for his comfort zone. In other words, they infringe upon his good nature. And so, on occasion he resorts to placing freezer items in the fridge. Most of the time I find them in time to return them to the freezer (and reorganize things a bit better so he's willing to leave them there.) Sometimes we get to eat something sooner than we planned, and a few times I've just had to chuck things. He especially doesn't like the way the bananas I freeze for smoothies look because they are the most frequent victims of his purging.

Today we went to a whole new level. In my efforts to get some of the things we need for the reunion (Dutch oven and measuring stick at the top of the list!) I decided to move a few boxes and make a stab at a bit of organization in the garage. I just happened to open one box that was sitting on top of a bin of Easter decorations. Yup, 3 bags of not-even-close to frozen food sat nicely on top of some of the lovely linens from Grandma Hallie. Nothing was rotten, so I'm guessing they were placed there since our last shopping trip a week ago. Good bye, lovely Oregon Marion berries (that leaked onto some of grandma's beautiful embroidered napkins). Adios yummy homemade beef stew. Au revoir Bertolli chicken parmigiana. 

I sure do hope there aren't any more surprises in the garage, but if we come back home to a rotten smell we will at least have a clue as to why....

It's a Good Thing...

... we didn't run right out and buy a new puppy for Kris. The next morning this is what I found:

But for sure, we did buy bread, ice cream bars and cheese when we went shopping Saturday!

Puppy Love

Tuesday evening we dropped something off at a friend's home. I took their adorable 2-month old puppy, Rascal, out to the car for Kris to hold & cuddle for about 5 minutes.  He was all smiles all the way home, talking non-stop about that cute little puppy.

Too bad I didn't get a picture, but this one is almost as sweet

Yesterday I noticed he had started a new shopping list:

Another Funny Thing Happened

on the way to Circle K today.....

When I arrived home from work the first thing I saw when I walked into the house was a large piece of paper taped to the furnace door in the kitchen. It read:

LOST DOG

Small Beige

Please call: (phone number)

Can only keep 3 days and then 

will have to take to the dog pound

Me: Kris, do you know where this came from? 

Kris: Yeah, we have to find the puppy, it's a little one.

Me: Did you find it when you walked to Circle K today?

Kris: It's a flyer. To find the dog.

Me: Was it taped to a pole?

Kris: Yup.