Springtime in the City of Salt Lake

         Well hello there!  As you've probably noticed, we've updated the look of our blog-  it is now pretty snazzy lookin',  if I do say so myself.   It's been fun to fiddle around with photos and blog templates and typefaces and the like.  I hope you like it!

        Here are a few pictures from our more domesticated lifestyle.  Enjoy now, because by the end of the week, we'll be back in the van!

Liberty Heights Lunch         

         My wonderful parents sent me a gift certificate to Liberty Heights Fresh, (a gourmet grocery store) for my birthday.  Cody and I indulged-  good hard sausage, smoked chevre, nougat with almonds, Castelvetrano olives, a young Pecorino Romano cheese, delicious crusty bread, and one other soft cheese that I've forgotten the name of.  The name card described it thusly:  "If Creme Fraiche and Monterey Jack had a wild night on the California coast, this cheese would be their lovechild."  A fairly accurate description of this wonderfully soft and slightly tangy cheese.  I washed it all down with my new favorite fizzy drink, a lavender DRY soda.   Yum.    See what wonderful folks I have?  Thanks Mom and Dad!     

  

  

Out with the old, in with the new!

So, last summer, at the International Climbers' Festival, held annually in Lander, Wyoming, Cody did 27 pull-ups in the pull-up contest, and won!  His prize?  A gift certificate for a brand new pair of Acopa climbing shoes.  Since, my shoes were in such a sorry state, (note the completely blown out left toe!), and because he's such a nice guy, he gave me the gift certificate.  And look at those shiny new shoes!  Do you think,  if I click my heels three times and make a wish, it'll come true?  Maybe I'll be able to climb as hard as this gal.   

The view from our living room

           Spring has tentatively sprung here in Salt Lake.  It's  hesitant to stick around, and keeps reverting to thunderstorms, and there's fresh snow on the mountains, but the tulips and trees are blooming, and that's enough proof for me.   I've worn shorts and flip flops a few times, but also my raincoat and a warm hoodie.  The weather has been like the Revolutionary War lately. We all know that the warm weather is going to win out in the end, but there are some days, when, gosh, the British have lots of ships, and lots men, and those cannonballs are landing awfully close to the troops at Bunker Hill.  Yikes.  But it's okay, because I know, from previous experience, that summer follows spring.  So I remain optimistic in the face of late April snowstorms.  

   I hope you're all enjoying the spring weather where you are.   Cody and I have had a wonderful and productive stay in Salt Lake.  However, we both feel like it's time we moseyed along.  We're pointing the van towards Joe's Valley this Saturday.  We can't wait to get back to our vagabond ways!  The dream lives!  Onward!