I've been "promoted"

I found out today that the promotion my manager recommended me for was approved--sort of. I am getting the better title, and my bonus potential will increase by an additional 3% of my salary. However, the recommended salary increase was not granted by HR. There's a freeze of some sort on raises outside the normal salary planning process. So, my immediate salary hasn't changed, but I might get a better Christmas bonus, and I'll be in a better position to argue for a bigger raise next spring, since I won't be penetrated very far into my band. Unless I've left for greener pastures by then. I like my job and the people I work with, but it is frustrating to see my real salary decreasing as my raises fail to keep up with inflation. Good thing my home and 401k plan aren't decreasing in value at the same time, or anything :-(

Battle of the foliage II

My brother who runs an inn in Vermont took umbrage at my comment about fall foliage. In his defense, he posted some photos that are, without question, spectacular. And the shot of the river that runs through his back yard makes the lovely, treed horse pasture behind mine look like the city dump.

So, here are a few shots of the fall foliage along the Wasatch range. Note that I won't be posting anything with our churches or bridges as a backdrop. As great as our canyons and mountains are, I'll concede that the beauty is more ubiquitous in New England, where poor urban planning and the super-saturation of big box stores and chain restaurants isn't pervasive.






So, you decide. Is Utah foliage, at its best, as good as the vibrant fall colors at every turn in New England, or am I seeing through Zionist glasses? Either way, I'm looking forward to this weekend, when my wife and I are going to an overnight marriage retreat at Aspen Grove, up Provo Canyon--but I'd rather be spending the weekend at my brother's inn. Hopefully, the golden aspens will be in full swing.

Artistry

My three-year old is at the age where she likes to draw people that look like Pacman ghosts. Her figures are getting more realistic faces, but the limbs are sticks that protrude from the head with no torso, as is common at that age.

My wife was trying to help her see this and began to draw a simple figure. She had only drawn the face, which was little better than smiley-face quality, when L interrupted her and cried, "Mom, that looks fantastic!" H was proud of her drawing skills, but I was happier with her new and correct use of a big word. I guess she's the product of both of us.

Fall colors

Yesterday, we went for a drive on the Nebo loop, a scenic byway that reaches 9400 feet on the sides of Mount Nebo, the nearly 12,000-foot peak that is the highest in the Wasatch Range. I'd only been past Payson Lakes on that road once before, on bicycle with my father. That time we'd headed to Nephi, but this time we drove up to the Devil's Kitchen, a geologic site that is described as being a mini Bryce Canyon. Bryce Canyon it wasn't, but it was still an interesting geologic formation with hoodoo-like spires a couple of hundred feet high. It was interesting to see the contrast of the red rock conglomerate spires with the surrounding aspen and pine. Truthfully, though, after hearing the feature compared to Bryce, I'd expected a little more.

Not so the drive to get to Devil's Kitchen. Although only a few of the aspens had changed to blazing yellow, the fall colors were amazing. Some of the maples were so bright red they looked like rose bushes in their coloring. Others were brilliant orange. At one lookout near the summit, we saw a narrow canyon or ravine on the side of Mount Nebo where the colors had fully changed. The afternoon sun was hitting the ravine just right, and I literally stopped the car in the middle of the road to gape for ten seconds. The blazing colors surrounded by the green pines and aspens that had not yet turned, below the towering summit devoid of trees near the top was at least equal to the fall foliage I've seen anywhere, including the more famous Alpine Loop and falls spent in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The drive also afforded plenty of views across canyons and into valleys, including one lookout to Utah Lake in the distance. With apologies to my brother in Vermont, I'd stack the best of Utah foliage against new England's also-spectacular brilliance.

Called to serve (good food)

Man, I haven't blogged much for a while. It's not because I haven't had anything going on. Rather, I've had so much going on that the combination of busyness and paralysis of where to begin has kept me from blogging.

This weekend, for instance, H's parents are staying with us. They go into the MTC tomorrow in preparation for their 18-month mission in northern Missouri. They'll be assigned to two branches to work with less-active and part-member families.

Last night, we took S out to dinner at a local Thai place for her birthday. I can't believe she's 10 already--it seems like she's growing up so fast and has reached the milestone my older sister always called "double digits." I remember well reaching that milestone myself. Anyway, we went to this Thai place and invited both sets of grandparents. None of them were familiar with Thai food, but S loves it. I ordered half a dozen entrees and some appetizers and we passed the food around family style. I tried to stay mainstream with dishes like peanut satays, pad thai, and mild curries. I don't think either grandfather liked it too much. My dad dislikes both noodles and rice generally, and my father-in-law is a self-proclaimed meat and potatoes guy, but they both gamely tried almost everything and seemed to do okay. I made sure not to get anything too spicy, either, since my dad is very sensitive to many spices. It was enjoyable, and H and I enjoyed introducing our parents to some new dishes and trying a couple of new things ourselves.

Go, world!

I admit it, I'm an Olympics junkie. I've been watching the games every single night, and it's been great. Every time I watch the swimmers, though, I remember that I owe my sister $20 from a bet I made around the '84 Olympics when I was a county-wide champion in my junior age bracket. I bet her that I would swim in the Olympics someday. I was good on a local level at least, but I lost interest in swimming a few years later and didn't swim competitively in high school. I guess I liked to talk too much--plus, I couldn't see anything in the pool with my bad vision.

Time capsule

For family night tonight we created a little time capsule. We've been doing work on the bathroom, and there was a space behind the new tub created by a change in configuration of the plumbing, so we decided to put in a nod to a future occupant of the house by putting in a mini time capsule. My contribution was $1, because, hey, who doesn't dream of finding money hidden in the walls of their home? I also whipped up this little poem for whoever finds the capsule:

If you read this Carr family rhyme
You must have our capsule of time
We’ll put treasures inside it
In the bathroom we’ll hide it
And leave it to age and to slime.

We’ll tell you a bit about us
Now you’ve got our old house full of rust
And we hope you are happy
And don’t think it’s too crappy
Like life in a Volkswagen bus.

Of children our family has four
We’re middle-class, not rich or poor
Our mom plays the trumpet
Our father likes crumpets
And all think that laundry’s a chore.

A lawyer, musician, four kids
(Thank goodness none died of SIDS)
From age one to ten
They make quite a din—
Like banging a hundred pot lids

You must be remodeling now
We wish we could tell you just how
To paint and to grout
But you’ll figure it out
For we’ve done the same stuff, somehow.

To God we give thanks for our place
And hope it brings smiles to your face
It’s given us pleasure
And been quite a treasure
Enjoy it, whate’er your life’s race.