Leatherby's - We Did It Again

Clarine, George and five Russells, we went after two huge banana splits after we ate our sandwiches, etc. Due to my having two wisdom teeth removed a week ago, my mouth is still sensitive, so I had a bread soup bowl with chicken noodle soup in it. I also got a scoop of chocolate mint ice cream, so I was pretty full without the banana splits. Nevertheless we ordered seven spoons and we all dug in. We snarfed up those splits very readily. This Leatherby's thing is getting to be a tradition with us every time we have some family come by. It is not such a bad tradition. We may have to establish it.

Present in addition to Clarine and George were Russells: Amy, Beth, Hannah, Caleb and Sarah (and Sarah's stuffed puppy, COPPER. It took three pictures to go around the table and get us all in. I, the picture taker, am not included.

The occasion that got us together was Beth is being delivered to BYU to start her freshman year. That will happen on Wednesday and Thursday. Lisa and Phil's family and Callie and Dan's family or parts of it are getting together here with the Russells and us tomorrow.

Before and . . . .

Here are two photos of the chair that I hope to refinish. I would like for the "after" pictures to be taken not too many months hence. I suppose that I may find that the chair presents more challenges than I am able to meet with equanimity. In the event that I master the challenge, it will be good to have a picture that tells me what it was when I started. Well, as of tomorrow the clock has started. (This particular hobby is not a Sunday type chore.) The fact that the clock is running likely will not stampede me into real rash activity. When my mood, the weather and temperatures are right, I might just get the urge and make some progress toward the final goal -the "after" pictures.

You may recall that I mentioned that I came into possession of this old chair at the same time Jack gave me possession of "Ye Olde Kithcen Cupboard." The old chair is not a piece I grew up with, but the cupboard is, and I remember it from when I was quite a small boy. In fact it was always in the house from the time I start remembering. I believe the old chair might have some ties to Jack's earlier days.

Well all of this banter may not have elevated your spirits greatly, but it has put me in the position of contemplating the project that cries out to me for attention - even "at my age and feeble condition."

Ye Olde Kitchen Cupboard - Finale

A sigh of relief and accomplishment. I have got my father and mother's old kitchen cupboard about as new (back to original) as I can do it within reason. Much heavy green and brown paint was removed from the exterior. The interior had been painted red and was too difficult to strip in the corners and tight places, so I just painted over it with white. I think it was some version of egg shell white originally. I guess it will now be "more for show than go" since kitchen appliances and hardware are now at a much advanced stage. Clarine has already stored some sewing materials and cloth in the lower half. I think I will next start on an old, old rocking chair that Jack Coburn bestowed upon me after Lenora died.

Comfort Level

The photo depicts the comfort level inside of the Liberty Jail. I took this picture in the last part of June at the Liberty Jail.

My comfort level isn't at its highest point right now, so this photo is the tie in. Today at twelve noon I went to Dr. Lindsey's office here in Stansbury Park, and he made relatively short work of my last two wisdom teeth. He says they should have been removed forty years ago because they now have only a short distance from their roots to my sinus cavities. Also food gets crammed into the space between them and the tooth immediately forward of each of them. They were on the top - one on the right and one on the left. It has been four hours now and the bleeding has essentially stopped. The jaws are a little sore and swollen and I'm just a couple of steps above miserable. I have stuff to take if necessary.

There were no teeth beneath those two teeth, so they didn't have a lot of function. When they get healed up and my mouth works well again, it will be a relief to never have to floss them again to get stuff from between them and the tooth that was just forward of them. If this is more than you ever wanted to know about this particular situation, just ignore it and hope for a further blog about something a bit more interesting.

Butchart Gardens, Victoria, B. C.

This will likely be my last post with respect to the cruise to Alaska. Saturday the 11th was the last day of the cruise. We docked and left the ship early Sunday morning (about 9:00 AM) in Seattle. About 5:00 PM we docked in Victoria, B. C. We had booked a tour to see the Buchart Gardens -about 50 acres of flowers and plants placed in an old quarry. It is one of the most beautiful floral plantings I have ever witnessed, and the blooms were to vivid, large and spectacular. There are four different general areas to the gardens - The Sunken Garden, The Rose Garden, The Japanese Garden and The Italian Garden. With four cruise ships in town and the general public, the gardens were quite crowded. I will post some pictures for your enjoyment.

Four Generations

I am proud to post this blog. It is interesting that I have become a great grand parent without a whole lot of effort on my part. It seems that all I have to do now is just be there and when the great grandchildren come, they are just mine.

I have three great grandsons. One is one year old. His name is Elliott Lucherini. His mother, Kim, is holding him in the four generation picture. Then there are twin great grandsons, Braxton and Taylor Hatch, who are a little over six weeks old. Taylor and Braxton were blessed this past Sunday. This furnished the occasion to take a four generation picture. The twins father, Justin Hatch, is holding one of the babies in the four generation picture. I am holding the other. Kim and Justin's father, Dan, is sitting between me and Justin in the picture. The first generation is the three little boys; the second are Kim and Justin; Dan is the third; I am the fourth. There is also a picture of the proud great grandfather holding Taylor and Braxton. The twins and their parents, Ashley and Justin, live in Spokane, Washington while Justin is attending law school at Gonzaga, University. Elliott and Chris and Kim Lucherini live in Centerville, Utah. Dan lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho. I am a resident of Stansbury Park, Utah. If I have great grandchildren, I guess that I am becoming a relic.

Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, and Skagway, Alaska; 8,9, August 2007

At Skagway Clarine and I had our picture taken as we traveled to White's Pass, Yukon Territory. It had been quite foggy and overcast as we traveled by bus to the summit. When we got to the summit, it had cleared enough to take a picture by the lake atop the pass and of the mist and fog in the mountains in the vicinity. This pass is noted for the many gold miner's that struggled up to it with their gear to get to the gold mines in Yukon Territory.

The image that is shown is carved from a watermelon. I took the picture as I went on a tour through the galley of the cruise ship.

The Mendenhall Glacier is just 20 miles or so outside of Juneau. It is large and is part of an ice field that extends back into the mountains for hundreds of miles. There was a fresh water creek that ran into the ocean here by the glacier. The salmon were in the creek to spawn, so naturally the bears were around as well. We saw one big black bear, but he ignored us and was fishing instead. He did not clear the brush well enough for us to get a picture of him. We also the parts of many fish that had been dragged upon the grass to be eaten. Fishing had been so good that the bears could be quite picky about what part of the salmon they chose to eat. There is a waterfall beside the glacier that was fed by glacier melt.

Ketchikan, Alaska - 7 August 2007; Tracy Arm, Alaska - 8 August 2007

Tracy Arm is a long fjord (inlet) that is a dead end for ships, but it is truly beautiful and spectacular. It was helpful for viewing in that we had a very sunny day (unusual in this climate). There are large glaciers in the area, and icebergs are continually calving into the water from them. The arm is very deep with steep sides. Birds and seals like to get on the bergs and take a free ride. It was a glorius presentation of some more of the wonders of this grand world.

Ketchikan is a wonderful, long town (7 miles) and one half mile wide. It is built right on the shore as the mountains get very steep close behind. In Ketchikan we saw a lumberjack show - sawing, chopping, climbing trees, and log rolling. Two teams competed. They were good athletes and could do these things quickly. Photography wasn't easy to do, so I am not posting anything, but it was fun to see them perform. As we were leaving the town there was a little shower and I got a picture of a rainbow from on deck. Some one took a picture of Clarine and me on the top deck overlooking the town of Ketchikan. This was before we went ashore to the lumberjack show.

After visiting Tracy Arm we sailed to Juneau where visited the Mendenhall Glacier. Next posting will be about that.

Alaska Cruise - 5 August to 12 August 2007

Our cruise started in Seattle. I got a neat photo of the skyline as our ship left for Ketchikan. I also got a profile of Clarine sitting in the window area of our stateroom. She doesn't even know that I have taken this picture. I just wanted to post a blog tonight to tell you that we have returned safely and everything here is intact. We had a grand time and I will post a few more scenes in the next few days.

Zachary Taylor Hatch - 10 JULY 1999

Today, 4 August 2007, Zachary Taylor Hatch, was baptized and confirmed by his father, Phillip Owen Hatch. His mother, Lisa Reimchizzel is shown in the kitchen at the time of the "great feast" which followed the ordinances. The post which I chose to give of Zack is one of him at his bed with his journal just after the rites were over (almost before the rites were over). As the member of the bishopric was getting ready to close the meeting, he counseled Zack to go right home and write how good he felt during the ordinances. As soon as he had been told that, Zack arose from his seat and headed for the exit. He was retrieved for a closing song and prayer and headed directly for his room where his journal was. I went down to his room and got a picture of him following the counsel of the Bishopric member, and Zack can be seen here with his journal.

The feast provided by Lisa and Phil consisted of several different kinds of gourmet bread and as many different kinds of cheeses and cold cuts, along with salads, veggies, cookies and drinks. If feasting is a good way to celebrate such occaisions, we certainly did it well. Present at the feast were Lisa, Phil, Sheridan, Zack, Max, Evelyn, Diane, Callie, Dan, Julie, Clark, Kim, Chris, Elliott and myself. I am so very proud of you, Zachary.

Ye Olde Kitchen Cupboard

I have progressed to the point in finishing this old kitchen cupboard that was in the household where I grew up as a child that I am going to publish a preliminary picture. It had all original finishes at that time and was very functional. Now it is as much "for show" as it is "for go." As you can see, the doors have not been added and the insides are sort of exposed. The beautiful golden tones of the original finish have been uncovered on the outside after many coats of paint remover. Before it came back into my custody, the previous owners had painted the outside a sort of military green and the insides of the cupboards had been painted red. I completely stripped the exterior down to original finish. The red on the inside was so overwhelming and difficult to reach for stripping that I made a management decision and decided to make the entire insides white. (Painting it was so much easier than stripping it.) At least the exterior will display the orinal patina. With the doors off, one can see the old metal flour bin still in place. I can still make it functional, but I will not put any flour in it as it is not a practical process to fill it and take flour from it in this day and age. Also I think in due time weevil would discover it and think it would make an ideal home having many years food storage readily provided for them. So the flour bin will be absolutely "for show" rather than "for go." The doors for the top half of the cupboard are all finished except for the hardware. When the doors are added and the exterior is prepared for view, I will post another blog to show the final product.