Yesterday we took our family dog, Evee, to the vet to be put to sleep. I wasn't
convinced it was merited but it came to be. After spending a few moments with her
after work my mother, sister, and I loaded up in the car and headed off to see
Doctor Erickson.
While waiting for the event we
took turns holding her and exchanged stories. When she blatantly peed in front
of everyone, how she ran away all the time, or time she got scared so bad she
literally released her bowls.
I held her for her final moments
and as the doctor injected the concentrated sedative I felt Evee's heart beat
until it stopped, her body quivered, and she was gone. As I laid her lifeless
body onto the table it felt wrong, her entirety was limp and it was obvious that
she was no longer our dog.
It was at that moment that the
full force of her death hit me. I can't say I cried but I teared up as I
reflected on her companionship to myself and my family. I rested my hand on her
hip and said a prayer.
I have lived in Utah for the past nine years and the only winter sport I had participated in was sledding. This has caused me to be incorrectly classified as "not an outdoorsy guy" when really the only thing I don't like about the outdoors is sleeping on the ground.
My resume has finally gained some Winter experience with some snowshoeing. I took one picture but it was unflattering to everyone involved.
Sarah's ward took us up the canyon which was a perfect time to try it since most people there probably wouldn't have any idea what they were doing just like me. It was quite easier then I expected and since I was one of the few people to wear waterproof boots I got to walk people across log bridges like that pioneer guy in 17 Miracles (only without the death part).
This picture isn't from New Years, we just really like 2014.
Winters in Utah have actually become a hot-button issue with the increasingly severe inversion. It occasionally gets so bad that I start feeling sick and light headed if I'm outside for too long. So we did what countless other movements have done, we marched on the Capital.
It was my first rally and Sarah and I went woefully unprepared. Volunteers were kind enough to give us some great masks to wear and some pre-printed signed to wave at the speakers. We yelled, sang, and some guy even got arrested in true democratic fashion. Ultimately I felt the message was a little muddled but it was a fun experience--next time I'm bringing a chair.
Since we were already in Salt Lake City, Sarah and I spent the rest of the day walking around town. The Leonardo Museum had an exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls which was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the historical context of the bible.
In unrelated news, some of you may remember I did a Secret Santa exchange for Christmas with about 100,000 other people in which I netted the plant which now sits on my desk at work. I am doing it again only this time its just an apron exchange. My match is in the Netherlands and this is the quilted design I'm thinking of, the back would be all black which I just realized would make it reversible.
This will be the inaugural project on my sewing machine from my parents! I'm eager to see what apron I get and where from. I have a month to finish this.
Its the mark of a great celebration if you can walk away with zero pictures or maybe it just shows how spoiled I was from my trip to the East Coast where my friend Jon supplied all my pictures.
I swear people came!
My party ended up going on without any problems and unlike last year where I was stuck making waffles all night I was able to walk around and converse with everyone and even play some games. Both soups were a big hit, Mirielle was kind enough to provide the bread, and other treats were brought to share among my thirty something guests. At one point it was suggested that one could eat blueberries by picking them up with your nostril and letting them drop into your mouth. This was a joke but upon mentioning it my coworker immediately did it.
For those who were asking, this post contains a loose recipe of the soup I made.
My birthday continued to be its rightful celebration for the next several days including a family party on Sunday, a date with Sarah on my actual birthday, and my birthday dinner made by my mother on Tuesday. I would outline more detail but I without pictures even I wouldn't read it.
I'm twenty-eight now!
Would you like to read more about my holiday back East? Check out my friends' blog for pictures of their kids and sometimes even me.
This last weekend I returned from a two-and-a-half week long trip to the East coast to visit my good friends Jon and Tallia (and Co). During the course of the trip we spent Christmas in Brooklyn, explored DC, and rung in the New Year at their apartment in the heart of Pittsburgh. I even drove through Delaware proving that it actually does exist despite my long standing doubts. The trip was long and I probably should have made it into two posts but I didn't so I'm cutting out a bunch instead.
The first couple of days was in Pittsburgh and I was shown around the neighborhood and we went to the Carnagie Science museum. Besides taking a great thermal selfie, I did a great deal of flips. The woman running the stand noted that it was doubtful anyone would flip as much as I did that day. The price was a minor headache and nausea for the next several hours but it was worth it.
We left for New York after a couple days and on our way we stopped by Hershey, Pennsylvania. I honestly expected the city to smell like a Hershey's bar but it just smelled like a town. They had a ride where they explained the process of making chocolate. It was a free ride and at the end you got some chocolate so we went on it a couple times--quickly learning the cow song about Hershey's and then quickly forgetting it I suppose.
We arrived into Brooklyn late after some traffic but we found our apartment and got some great parking. The apartment was a fairly large two bedroom so I took my place on the couch. Our first day we explored Manhatten and within an hour of getting off the Subway we walked back Amanda Seyfried talking on her phone saying "thank you" to someone. It was rainy and cold but we still had fun.
I choose you pikachu!
If I look intense it's because that was the best hamburger I've had.
The following day we decided on a more kid friendly activity and went to the Brooklyn Children's Museum (which I'm told is one of the very first ones) where I got to drive a Vespa around with the kids.
I guess we had fun since following the museum I went back to the apartment and immediately fell asleep and took a three hour nap. It was still Christmas Eve though so Jon and I went on a mission to find a treat. We looked around a nearby Hasidic community for a bakery but had no luck, I was going to ask someone where they get their treats but apparently that's how you get murdered. Instead we found a small doughnut shop open so no one died.
Suddenly, it was Christmas.
Jon and Tallia were nice enough to fill my stocking. After a traditional breakfast we opened presents and I received some gloves from my parents, a Nintendo 64 game from my sister (retro!), a portrait of myself from Mirielle, and fancy salt from J&T. I can not dwell on any of these gifts as to avoid showing preference.
Christmas jaunt. The kids definitely were not crying.
The day was spent idly until we headed off to a friends' house to start preparing for Christmas dinner. The theme was "What Would Jesus Eat" and we pulled all the recipes from The Jerusalem Cookbook and it included rack of lamb, couscous, and a hazelnut-pomegranate-cauliflower salad. It was a delicious meal and it was a pleasure meeting the Knudesons.
As an act of providence, my sister happened to arrive in New York the same day we were leaving so we met briefly for brunch. I got to meet her suitor and it gave me an excuse to go on the Subway on my own and try my best to look like a local. My trick was to look uninterested and stare at the floor.
We added D.C. on to our agenda after Jon realized his Brother would be out of town so we could stay in his apartment. This drive was the moment I realized Delaware was a real place but also realized that this would be the only time I would ever have a reason to be excited about Delaware.
Playing ball at the Mall.
We headed back to Pittsburgh for my last few days and hit a few more places including a conservatory (with dinosaurs), REI (life changing), a dinosaur museum (with dinosaurs), and an art museum. The art museum and dinosaur museum were actually the same place but that doesn't make any sense. I finally saw a real Van Gough which made me happy.
ART
We had plans on going into the downtown area for New Years but it was entirely too cold and instead we stayed in and went to bed early because its not worth it to stay up. The weather got bad enough that my flight home was actually cancelled with 24-hour notice which meant we got to go sledding where it was so cold my mustache had ice on it LIKE A REAL MAN.
