Last Night's Concert

So in the end we all thoroughly enjoyed the concert. Lovely music. Lovely lighting. Lovely set design. TRQ behaved herself when the bell ringers showed up. She did have a tiny bone to pick, however, with some of the medieval costuming. Basically TRQ felt like she went to a Mo Tab concert and a production of "Spamelot" with dancing knights broke out.

But as I say it was a wee small (practically invisible!) bone, because you know what? Nothing says "Happy Christmas" like great Mormon Tabernacle Choir music.

And also dancing knights.

Another Reason I Heart The Rodeo Queen

This is the phone conversation I just had with my mother, hereafter referred to as TRQ.

TRQ: So I guess we're all going to the Tabernacle Choir concert tonight.

ME: Yes. It appears so.

TRQ: What time is it again?

ME: The tickets say we have to be in our seats by 7:30 or else our tickets are invalid. But I misread it, of course, and thought they said if we're not all in our seats by 7:30, they'll turn us into invalids. You know. People who can't walk and stuff.

TRQ: Ugh. That's so late.

ME: Yes. You're right.

TRQ: Well. I just hope they don't have any of those damn bell ringers this time.

I have known that woman for 55 years, people, and this is the first time I've learned that she apparently has issues with bell ringers.

And then we went to the cemetery

. . . to say hello to our dead. So my mom points at a tombstone and goes, "He was my really good friend. He used to tell me that I had horse legs."

And that's how they do really good friendship in my mother's homeland.

And it has been good times

I sat around this afternoon, listening to Mom and Ava swap stories, some of which began like this: "You remember how Sophie just had that one eye?"

Happy times, people.

As per Lisa B's suggestions

I will give a goal update. Today I did, in fact, work on the picture book AND the mystery. A little bit anyway. Then I had to write a talk which I delivered this evening. Hopefully I'll get to the YA thing tomorrow.

Also tomorrow! My mom (aka "the Rodeo Queen") and I are driving to Wyoming to see her people in Big Piney. Then we'll stay overnight in an awesome cabinette in Pinedale and drive home on Wednesday. Looking forward to the conversation.

More about the poodle

I left St. George and the poodle behind today. My parents told me to leave him at the poodle spa there so they can pick him up on their way home from California. I dropped him off this morning, and may I say that the poodle spa is much nicer than many of the rooms Ken and I have stayed in when we travel. I imagine when the poodle retires tonight there will be a classy dog treat on his classy satin dog pillow.

Seriously? I wouldn't mind coming back as one of my mother's dogs in the next life.

It's amazing she doesn't weigh a ton--literally

So here's the thing about the Rodeo Queen (aka my mother). For most of her life she was a willowy, lissome lass. In spite of the fact she pounded back Hershey Bars and glasses of milk all the live long day like Snooki tucking into another margarita. She still loves to snack, which is why she had the following items in the car when she picked me up monday morning.

1. Hummus
2. Flatbread
3. Little sandwiches with cream cheese filling
4. Several boxes of Coffee Nips
5. Sees suckers in a HUGE plastic bag.
6. Multi-grain chips. Because you know. Multi-grain crap is good for you.
7. Lots of diet Cokes and (because she loves me) many Dr. Peppers. Cold. In a can. Shaken. Not stirred.

However, we made three stops before reaching Evanston (which is only an hour or so from Salt Lake) to buy more snacks so we could "keep our strength up." This is what we bought.

1. Corn nuts (ranch-flavored)
2. Dots (the last time I ate Dots was at a movie at the Academy Theater in Provo. I believe the years was 1965.)
3. Wasabi-flavored almonds
4. Farr's cherry mound
5. Farr's huckleberry mound (so we don't get in a rut with the cherry mound)
6. Peanut M & M's
7. Regular M & M's

Also, before we got out of Salt Lake we went through a drive-through and purchased smoothies.

I love my mother. So much.

Patti's yummy lemon ice cream

A few weeks ago I mentioned in a column that my mom makes a great lemon ice cream. Some readers have asked for it, so here's the recipe she gave me. I do feel the need to say that my mom often cooks "by feel" which can make her an unreliable reporter of measurements. But this looks about right.

4 cups sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
l 1/2 tsp lemon extract
2 quarts milk
1 pint cream

Add ingredients in the above order, putting the cream in last.

Churn, baby, churn.