Shreveport, Louisiana 2012

 I visited my nephew and his family in Shreveport for the weekend. We did many things to occupy our time. First, we saw the new movie "Brave"---very cute but I'm sure I'll need to Netflix it so I can see it with subtitles because the Scottish accents were sometimes hard to understand. Then near the theater was a carousel, so my great-niece, Diana, and I rode that for our picture opportunity together---we were the only 2 people on it so it was easy to get a picture of us on it! After that the 3 of us girls got a pedicure--workers had strong Chinese accents, but luckily Rachel could interpret for me---and I had a few moments of pain during the pedicure with the pedicurist digging on something near my toenail---I thought for sure I was going to look down and see blood everywhere(that's how badly it hurt) but my toe was fine and the nail looked and felt great afterward---and I took the pain bravely without screaming out or pulling my foot back! That night Rachel cooked up a shrimp and crawfish boil for dinner---you have to put a plastic bag covering on the table with paper on top of that. There are no utensils or plates. You boil the shrimp, crawfish, potatoes, and corn on the cob in special seasonings, then drain the water and dump it all onto the table. Then you dig in with your fingers! And there is a yummy remoulade sauce(like a fry sauce but mcuh better[the taste was to die for]) you dip the items in. Also, I got taught the correct way to eat crawfish---Louisiana style(last time I had crawfish was in Texas where I broke it open and sucked out the insides, which was nasty---but here you break off the tail and find the meat in it)! We had french bread to go with it too! It was so tasty and yummy!! Clean up was quick because you just fold in the corners of plastic bags and throw everything away! It was just a fun meal altogether!! Another day, we went to the Farmer's Market in town. Rachel's sister was there performing in a group of "hoopers"---women who do tricks with hula hoops to music---at the end of their performance, the let bystanders try out the hoop---I was horrible at it, but it was fun and tiring trying to keep the hoop up! Then we just relaxed the rest of the day---but it was entertaining to relax at home because they had just acquired a kitten(found him in a park in bad shape so they took him home[and to vet] to heal him)---and kittens are so dang cute to play with and watch!! And he definitely had front and center attention from all of us---their dog, Sally, and one cat,Tommy, liked the new kitten(named Kreeger--means warrior in German), but the other cat, Lorraine, refused to be in the same room or even walk past him---and the 3 hermit crabs just didn't care(did you know you have to "water" them---and they change shells every now and then so it's fairly impossible to know which crab had what name). Also, I learned a new card game called Palace---I really enjoyed it---now I just have to remember the rules so I can show others to play it again! It was such a great time hanging with my nephew and his family!!!

Ely, Nevada

Last weekend I drove to Ely, Nevada(4 hours through the barren salt desert of western Utah and then more of nothing from NV stateline to Ely---so boring---good thing I had an awesome audiobook to listen to)! My nephew and his family live in McGill, Nevada(about 10min north of Ely). I had to wonder why anyone would start a town in the middle of absolutely nowhere, but I guess there was a booming smelter business at one time in McGill and there is still mining to keep people in these 2 towns. My nephew works for the BLM, so he helps take care of the acres of empty land down there used for recreation and grazing. We did go up into the mountains for a cookout---that is where the real beauty of this area lies: up in the mountains! There is also a mountain called "Garnet Hill" where you can literally find garnets(January's birthstone)! The garnets are already "cut" like a gem when you find them(after searching through lots of dirt/rocks). I'm not sure what to do with the garnets I found yet---first I gotta find a rock polisher to get some of the rock off the gem. The biggest one I found was the size of a plump raisin, but one of my nephews found one the size of a big grape(and on the first stone he turned over)!! Searching for the garnets made me realize I'd have never made a good '49 gold digger---takes too much time and digging around for the little success you have! But the reason I went to Ely was to see my great-niece get baptized, which was the highlight of the trip! I love spending time with my family and watching them develop into who they have become so far in life!!!