Saturday birthdays are a good thing--there is time to do all kinds of things. There was time in the morning to hear Sarah and Joel practicing the piano--something they usually do after school before I get home. Both are developing into wonderful piano players. Will started the piano this week and is showing great promise. We then watched Will's impressive soccer team. He helped them win with his five goals. I then mowed the lawn, watered the garden and picked tomatoes and peppers for some fresh salsa for tomorrow's family dinner. While I was in the back yard I heard our neighbor let out a cry of shock. He then called his wife to come and see the large garter snack emerging from under his deck. She was not happy to have a snake in her back yard and urged her husband to get rid of it. I then called out to see if I could get the boys to come and see it before he did his wife's bidding. They of course said yes so we went over and I grabbed the snake to let Joel and Will take a look. We were then gifted the snake which we took back to our house to surprise Marie! She was surprised and not happy to see it--I thought she only didn't like mice. Sarah was not phased at all and soon all three kids were in our yard happily playing with the snake they named Fredrick. I love this photo of pure joy. It will always remind me of a happy moment.
We then all journeyed to Salt Lake City for Joel's soccer game. While the team was warming up Sarah and I went to spend my birthday money from my mother-in-law on a new croquet set. Driving to a sporting goods store in Sugar House we passed Stratford Ave which I recognized as the street where we were living when I was born. I called mom during half time and she remembered the house number. After the game (Joel's team lost, but Joel scored an impressive goal) we went and found the home.
This is the home at 1262 East Stratford Ave where I lived for the first two years of my life (dad was in his final years of residency at the University of Utah Medical School). I was impressed that this house and my current house are both xeriscaped (the planting of vegetation that needs less than normal amounts of water) and include beautiful lavender colored Russian sage plants.
Just up the street is the Highland Park LDS Chapel, where I was given a name and a priesthood blessing by my dad. After this serendipitous reconnection with my infancy we decided to celebrate with an Arab dinner of hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, fetoush, felafel and pita at Mezza restaurant. As we went to enter the restaurant I realized that my wallet was missing. I last remembered taking it out of my back pocket while watching the game so that I could sit more comfortably, so we hustled back to the soccer field, but it wasn't there. Marie then thought to open up the camp chairs and there it was secured in the folds of the red chair I used. Happy day. Delicious food. Drove home listening to the rocky start of the BYU-Utah game. A great birthday at home and about with the family. Tomorrow afternoon we will have Sunday dinner of flank steak, corn-on-the cob, potato salad, beans, rolls and root beer floats at our home with a score of Emmetts now living in Utah County.
Congratulations to my oldest brother Bill, who at age 60 won his class in the Top-of-Utah marathon today.
As I read my Newsfeed on Facebook this morning, this was the post from a former colleague, now in Sri Lanka: "The bathroom snake has returned and officially identified as a cobra. He's taken refuge under the toilet bowl. Waaaaah!"
ReplyDeleteSnakes. . .