Konrad and Cheryl

What we do in Iowa

2009-08-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

Konrad, Aunt Susan and girls at baseball game.

You probably are all wondering what it is we do here in Iowa. Well, we spend alot of time at the pool....
we eat corn........we go to baseball games(remember Field of Dreams....Kevin Costner walks out of the
corn field..."Am I in Heaven?" he says...No, son, you are in Iowa! (the pic at the baseball field is with Kon, the girls and cousin Susan)and we go
fishing at the Cedar River which is across the road from our apartment. They had a big FishOrama weekend which is where these pics were shot. Konrad is the only one
of us that caught a fish. )

Summer Fun

2009-08-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July weekend in Minneapolis/St. Paul. We went to Waterpark of America for
Zoe's 6th birthday. The girl's were crazy with excitement. Konrad and Cheryl
endured to the end...actually it was a 2 day ticket so we went past the point of
endurance!!

Babic Reunion

2009-07-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

Konrad had the privelege this year of attending his first Babic (Serbian) reunion. This is my stepdad's side of
the family- both of his parents came to America from Yugoslavia. I have been in this family since I was four so I consider it my own. It is a tradition to do a big pig and lamb roast. There are great facilities at the
Serbian church hall and picnic grounds. We had close to 100 people there this year. The men prepare and cook
the meat. The most important ingredient beside the garlic is the Slivo which is taken in shots throughout
the cooking process...the meat was exceptionally good this year as 3 bottles of Slivo were consumed, this is
2 more than usual!!! Konrad loved the whole process and was taken in as an honorary Serb.

Andy's Graduation

2009-07-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

Another exciting Spring event - Andy graduated from college. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and also, a minor in Chemistry. (He gets his brains from me!) It was great and I am so proud of him. Todd and his family were in town and we had a really nice luncheon afterwards. I am happy to report everything went well and my new husband met my ex husband and everyone was quite cordial and a fine time was had by all with the help of a few gin and tonics(the ex husband) and imported beer(the new husband) and diet coke(me)!!!!! Andy has decided to take
a year off of studying and to work in a lab at the University of Utah. He has
become very interested in Botany and plans to go to Grad school next fall.

Moving On

2009-06-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been 3 very busy months since I have had a chance to
add to the blog. Since the wedding, we have had a whirlwind
of a time. Konrad, unfortunately, did not receive tenure at the
University of Utah even after a successful appeal of the
tenure decision.
The appeals committee was unananimous in support of his
tenure and stated they had never read such exceptional letters
of recommendations in their entire careers. The President of the
University, though, reckoned otherwise, and so Konrad was
ultimately denied. He immediately begin applying for jobs and
almost as quickly was offered a great job with Rockwell Collins
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There is an excellent group there that
was interested in his expertise.

Moving away from SLC was not our first choice, but in this
economic climate we are just feeling very blessed that Konrad
got a job, and a good one at that!

We knew moving away from the girls was going to be traumatic
for all of us, but we have chosen to be very upbeat and accepting
of the changes in our life. The girls have actually taken our lead
and have been great about all of it. We are starting out in Cedar Rapids
for Konrad to integrate into the company, then in the fall moving
to Minneapolis/St. Paul where Konrad will work out of the Rockwell
Collins branch office.

There are frequent daily nonstop flights to SLC (and Calgary!) from
there. This will make it much easier to get the girls to us and for
Konrad to make frequent trips to them. On the other hand, the
move has been a huge effort so we are not
looking forward to packing up again.

In any case, this spring has been busy with trips to Cedar Rapids for
interviews and apartment hunting, mixed in with a trip to Calgary for
baby baptisms and a trip to Florida for my stepdad Bob's 80th birthday
celebration.

Konrad's company has been very generous in moving us, including
having a moving company come and do all the packing, driving, and
unpacking. We had so much stuff (all mine,of course!) that they had to
bring another truck! It has been quite an experience. We had my
car shipped and drove Konrad's car, with the cats, to Cedar Rapids, on
the first of June. We have moved into a little apartment for the summer.
It has a great big swimming pool to help ease the pain of the Midwest
humidity. Already the girls have been in it nearly every day. They will
be with us for half the summer, divided into 2 three week segments.
They arrived last week and just settled right in. Kids really do keep
things simple and adapt so much better than us adults. Zoe is taking
swimming lessons, and Hannah is teaching herself to type and hopefully
will begin work on her first novel soon.

I have been fortunate to get a job also. Nursing jobs for the first time
in my entire 27 years in the field are scarce. I am working in the Recovery
Room here at a local hospital. I started last week and it has been great.
The group of nurses who work there are just wonderful and I felt right
at home quickly. Cedar Rapids is actually a nice town, very family
oriented and a fine place to spend the summer. Konrad is enjoying
his job also, so we are feeling good about our decision.

I have posted some pics from our trip to Calgary over Easter weekend
and the trip to Florida. We are so behind on the blog, that everything is
getting tossed in all at once! Konrad and I were asked by his brother
Chris and his wife, Patti, to be the godparents for their 1 1/2 year old girl
Natalie. They also scheduled the baptism of their 4 month old twin girls
the same weekend. We drove up SLC-->Calgary with the girls as we
had them over spring break. It was a wonderful weekend.

Memorial weekend was spent in Florida on Siesta Key for a big surprise
80th birthday celebration for Bob. We were all able to make it...the 4
girls, (me, Dee, Bobbi and Andra), our husbands, and all of our
children. The kids all told us it was the best vacation they had ever
had! We stayed at condos on the beach, and everyone had their own
space (which always contributes to a successful vacation!!!) The weather
was great. Bob was very surprised and thrilled! We did the traditional
family pic on the beach with everyone in white and khaki, per my
mother's request. Everyone was as cooperative as could be expected
and we did get some great shots. It was a memorable weekend.
Pictures to follow. The first slideshow is of the Easter baptism in
Calgary. The second slideshow is of Bob's birthday. The best way
to view the pics is to double click on the slideshow, this will take
you to the web album and click on full screen or slideshow - this will
really show the pictures well.

2009-03-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

OUR WEDDING DAY MARCH 7, 2009

Well, it has been almost 3 weeks from our beautiful, memorable wedding day. I am finally gathering in pictures that many of you took and choosing some of our favorites for the blog and albums. I don't think that the pictures will be able to fully capture the joy of that day! It has taken us a couple weeks to come down from the euphoria of the day. We just couldn't quite process all the wonderful moments that we had. We both felt that it was one of the best weddings we had ever been to and it was our own!!! So many people ( I think final count was between 110-120) who were so happy for us that we were quite overwhelmed. What an outpouring of wonderful love and blessings we received on that day. There was alot of joy and laughter accompanied by an amazing number of grown men in tears! Konrad did not believe me that a large portion of people were in tears during the ceremony but it is true. I guess he couldn't get his eyes off of me long enough to observe the crowd but I did witness an outpouring of tears and downright sobs at times (including my own)!!!
We are so grateful to everyone who joined us and our family in celebrating this great day. A huge thank you to all the helpful loving hands who made it possible. The biggest thanks of all goes to our friends Steve and Diane Hague who provided their beautiful home and property for us to hold this ceremony and party and spent endless hours in helping prepare for this. They , of course, had no idea what they were getting into....We are so grateful to them!! Their property nestles up against a small canyon and was the perfect venue for this day.

The above pics are of us coming together down 2 separate trails...Konrad with his girls, Hannah and Zoe and Me with my boys, Andy and Ben (led by nieces Virginia and Isabella.

Our children definitely contributed to the day. Hannah wanted to write a poem for us and recited it during the ceremony. Many people have requested a copy so here it is:

VERY MERRY DAY

Oh! Today is the day! Flowers bloom, so does the groom on this very merry day.

Clouds cry, so does the bride on this very merry day.

Trees bray and children play on this very merry day.

Butterflies crowd, so does the loud crowd on this very merry day.Leaves clap, so does the old chap on this very merry day.

Buds dance, so people prance on this very merry day.

Stems bow, will it end now on this very merry day.

Yes, I am afraid to say on this very merry day, Konrad and Cheryl will marry!!!

My oldest son Andy and his roommate made 2 wedding ales which received very good reviews...a Grooms IPA and a Bridal Apricot Pale Ale. My youngest Ben did the labels

Our ceremony was performed and made official in the State of Utah by my dear friend, Catherine Tanner who besides being a RN, parish nurse, legal nurse consultant, Medical Writing instructor, Master Knitter, Wife and Mother, can now add Ordained Minister to her repertoire. You, too, can receive your certificate on-line at the Universal Life Church http://www.ulc.com/ !!!! She did a beautiful job and we are very appreciative of her making the trip from Wisconsin to be with us. Our vows were quite nice but I won't bore everyone with repeating them here. Just let it be known far and wide that I DID NOT agree to Love and Obey...just to Love!! Konrad denies that he became emotional during the ceremony but luckily several people captured his quivering chin on film and this can be viewed on our on-line albums to follow! Tears aside, there was also much laughter which is more our style. Konrad stopped the ceremony before we did our final vows with the announcement that there was an impediment to our union. He proceeded to tell the story of a lien against my hand in marriage that my stepdad, Bob, had informed him of when we called to announce our engagement. For over 25 years, I have owed him $150 that I borrowed to buy my first husband's wedding ring. I was a new graduate nurse and swore I would pay him back as soon as I got my first job but never did! Konrad insisted that he needed to clear this debt to assure that this union was lien-free! He presented Bob with a check for the full amount and we were able to complete our vows!

We were, also, very blessed to have the contribution of wonderful music for our ceremony. My sister Dee came in from Ohio and blessed us with her beautiful voice and our friend Wen, who plays for the Utah Symphony played a beautiful piece on her violin as we walked into the ceremony. Konrad's very talented friend and colleague Eric and his band the Lab Dogs entertained us throughout the evening with their great blue grass sound.

There are so many pictures and so many memories that there is not room on the blog so I have made 2 separate albums which I am (still) working on. Click on the links at the end of this blog post. I will be adding to them over the next week. One is with the main ceremony pics, the other with friends and family "party pics". Our wedding party started several days before the wedding with family and guests arriving from as far away as Amsterdam (darling Herbert a vibrant 85 years young) and lasted until the last guest left 5 days after the wedding...Konrad called it the Big Fat Utah Wedding that is never going to end!!! We loved every minute of it and will never forget it!

Click on albums TWICE to view and enlarge! Keep checking back as I will be adding labels to the pics and probably adding more pics to the albums.

Wedding Bells are Ringing

2009-01-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is true, he did ask me on bended knee (well, sort of) and I did say Yes! (absolutely!) We are both quite excited about it and have decided to have a big celebration and exchange our vows in the Great Outdoors. We love to be outdoors no matter what the weather and we have chosen late winter, March 7 for our date. As though the whirlwind of our love is not enough, Konrad who craves more dramatic weather is hoping to be married in a gale! The setting we have chosen is very beautiful, a bit of a wild feel but conveniently located behind my friend's home. This means we will have the convenience of electricity,a kitchen, bathrooms and a warm spot for those of a weaker constitution.
I will keep this post up to date with information about the wedding/party!
Please RSVP and
feel free to email us with questions or comments at alpenglo59@gmail.com
My number is 801-440-2428

Wedding Plans
Party starts at 4:00 pm. Exchange of vows (i.e. the wedding part!) at 4:30 pm.
Great food and music(live band) and fun with friends to follow. Dress is casual and weather appropriate. This will be mostly outdoors with deck heaters but plenty of room inside around the fireplace, also. Warning: there is a fast flowing stream throughout the property so children under the age of about 5 may not be appropriate.

Directions: The actual address is 3601 East Heughs Canyon Circle, Salt Lake City
You can get here coming from either direction on I-215 on the I-215 belt route. Basically just follow the signs toward the Ski Resorts and the road to the house is off of Wasatch Boulevard which runs alongside the mountains between about 3900 south and 6200 South.
Take I215 to 6200 South. Get off the exit and head east toward the mountain. The road will wind up and begin heading south. You will see on a sign that says Wasatch - Park and Ride - Ski Bus. Turn left at the light onto Wasatch Blvd. Go north about 1/2 mile to Canyon Cove Drive (plaque on the wall entrance that says Canyon Cove). Turn right. Go up the street to the 3rd street on the left, Heughs Canyon Circle. House is at the top of the hill.

We will have some sort of shuttle or valet system set up so watch for signs as there is a bit of an uphill climb depending how far away you have to park. Call ahead if you have special needs.
Numbers to call the day of the party: 435-770-5324 or 801-718-2273.

No gifts, please, as our combined household is overflowing. We have so much of my stuff in our basement that Kon says there is no way we could possibly need anything.

We will accept acts of service or talent to help with the party. Call or email our Wedding Planner i.e. Cheryl!!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely holiday season. Very relaxed and low key. We had the girls starting on Christmas day so we flew in the afternoon to Calgary. We celebrated with Andy the weekend before going to a wonderful concert in Park City, Natalie Mcmaster, who plays amazing fiddle from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He then headed to Ohio to be with his Dad and and all of our Ohio family. As Ben lives there now, I didn't get to see him but I knew he was surrounded by family so it was ok. Alberta was lovely but frigid. Konrad's brother has 5 little girls including brand new twins so Hannah and Zoe were quite happy and entertained for the whole week.Konrad and I also thoroughly enjoyed all the little ones. It was a delicious chaos. Konrad took Hannah skiing one day and she was quite proud of herself, skiing blue and black diamond runs. Konrad's parent live out of Calgary on a bit of acreage and it was so nice to be in the country for me. They have well-visited bird feeders like my Dad does in Ohio and I enjoyed getting to know some new birds. Also saw moose and deer and heard the coyotes every night. I have no idea what I did for over a week but just relaxed and it was great!! Click on the album and it will take you to another site where you can view it larger. Choose slideshow option for the best way to see it and read the captions.

Konrad's 50th birthday

2008-12-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

Konrads 50th birthday

Halloween fun

2008-11-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

Halloween2008

San Rafael Camping weekend

2008-10-21T06:04:00.000-07:00

Here is an album from our trip this week to an area called the San Rafael Swell. It is one of my favorite places in the world. Ben and Megan were with us and Jamie, one of my friends daughters, who now is living in SLC. It was a perfect idyllic weekend. The kids loved climbing and exploring and pretending they were Indians. Our campsite was in a little valley with juniper, sage and cactus. Just click on the album and view!

San Rafael Swell

Fall 2008

2008-10-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here is an album of fall pictures. Click on the pic to view the album and read the captions. We are going camping this weekend so will add more pics next week.

From Fall2008

Canada

2008-08-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

Just got back from our trip to Canada. We were gone for 2 weeks and it was a great trip. We went first to Casper, Wyoming and spent a couple days with Kon's Aunt Susan who has a cabin there. We packed her in the car with us and then headed for Calgary. After a couple days at his parents, we headed to Jasper for a 4 day weekend with his parents, brother Chris, sister Kate and their families. It was just great. The girls had a great time with their cousins, big and small. I am hopeful that I passed inspection by Konrad's family. They seemed to have the same reaction my family had...just really happy to see us so happy!! We did once again travel amazingly well together considering we travelled over 2000 miles, packed and unpacked our car and cartop carrier 5 times and had 3 girls (well, 4 when Susan was with us!) with all of our varying moods accompanying us!!! Konrad does have more patience than any man I have ever met....

The Canadian Rockies far surpassed any previous notion I had of them. I actually didn't take alot of pics because I knew there was no way to capture the immensity of their size and beauty. Here are some pics, though, to give you a glimpse of our trip. Again, click on each picture to see them larger.

Feeding Baby Natalie

Morning coffee

Lee's 80th birthday

Here is the overlook by our cabins

Hike up the aptly named Beauty Creek.

2 happy campers, 1 very grumpy one!

Lake Louise

Horsebacking riding

2008-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Went to a my friends Claire and Jim Sherner's last weekend with the girl's up in Logan.

They were very excited to see Claire's horses and go for a ride.

2008-07-05T10:46:00.001-07:00

Here are a few shots from our trip to Ohio. We had so much fun with the kids. I did a 3 day Aunt Cheryl's summer camp. We went to the Cleveland Zoo, I conducted a First Aid class which they all had to pass off CPR, Heimlich Maneuver and Bleeding, danced, skatedboarded and went to the driving range. Konrad felt this was the right peer group to show off his golfing skills as they were very impressed!!

2008-06-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

Three Cooks!!!

This is one of Konrad's favorite pictures from last fall!

Fishing the Logan River

2008-06-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

Bear Lake

2008-06-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

more pics

2008-05-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

Fun with Crayfish

2008-05-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

We went up to Red Butte where Andy is helping with research and helped him pull his crayfish traps. Girls loved it. Hannah was amazingly brave and helped Andy remove them from the traps. Zoe was trying to get brave and then Konrad got nipped quite hard by one of the little fellows so she backed off from them!!!

New Dresses

2008-05-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

We hauled out my old Kenmore sewing machine this weekend and the girls experienced their first foray into sewing for themselves. I bought fabric that already had the elastic shirring and the girls sewed the seams and helped make straps. They were both so excited and the little sundresses came out quite sweet.

Cozy Saturday Afternoon

2008-05-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Caught this shot of Henry and Hannah having a cozy moment. So cute!! The cats have certainly settled in and we are all really enjoying them.

2008-05-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Slind arrived for a long weekend to visit us. We had a great time with them. Unfortunately, I did not get very many pics but Grandma did so I will get those from her and add them eventually. I did get a few shots from our birthday dinner for Hannah. Her birthday is next week but we celebrated early!
Zoe helped with the Birthday Blondie, as you can see...kind of a giant brownie.
My oldest son Andy with Zoe.

We had a steak dinner....that is Hannah's favorite.

Henry and Hazel arrive

2008-05-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

We have two new members of our family...Henry and Hazel. Konrad and I have both been wanting a cat for some time. We had looked at the Humane Society a couple of weeks ago with the girls but they mostly had grown cats so we left with no cat but 2 crying furious little girls who punished us all the way home with their glares and accusations of heartlessness. We heard rumors of kittens available the next weekend at a local shop and came home with two! Hazel is about a year old and upon walking into the shop, she wrapped herself around Konrads ankles and he was hooked! Henry is crazy and cross-eyed. The girls were very surprised and happy when they next arrived at our house, of course!!!

Car wash

2008-05-11T07:06:00.000-07:00

How can you not just love a man who takes it upon himself one beautiful Saturday morning to start cleaning out your car (AKA The Pigmobile) and continues until it is spotless inside and out??? Many objects of unidentified origin and date were found and disposed of. It was an enormous project and the girls assisted him in his endeavor.

Zoe, of course, was in her typical cleaning girl attire!

Spring Planting

2008-05-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of Hannah planting our little garden patch. She loves digging in the dirt !!!

2008-04-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Castle District of Buda

2008-04-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Budapest. Konrad was able to take a morning before talks and go into the Castle District of Buda with me. Budapest is one city now but at one time it was Buda on the east side of the Danube River and Pest on the west. The city is much larger than we expected. Definately a city that has seen the hardship of wars and political unrest and still is recovering.
Here is Konrad after several days without a razor. As our bags have never come and obviously are not going too, I guess I am going to have to go buy him one before he gives his talk here.

Here is looking from one castle across the Danube to another.

Beautiful church which they are renovating. There was extensive renovations going on everywhere.

Night Train

2008-04-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

We took the night train to Budapest. My first train ride!! It was very cozy and I actually slept pretty well. We woke to the scene of fresh spring green Hungarian countryside out of our window. It was just lovely. Here is a picture of me now at Day 5 with no make up or curling iron. This is our little train compartment.

Sunday Beer Sales

2008-03-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today was a gorgeous sunny day with temps reaching close to 70. We went for a stroll and late lunch in the huge park/green space on the outskirts of Munich along with hundreds of other people. I couldn't believe how many people there were....must have been the after church crowd??

We had a great lunch at another Biergarten. Yes, that is more saukraut I am eating and no, I have not had my fill of it.

As for the question of Sunday Beer sales??? Oh, yes, definately!!!

Munching down in Munich

2008-03-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

I have made a decision to eat saurkraut every day I am here. We went to a Bier Garten today for lunch and had the best sausage, spaetzle and more saurkraut. I have always been a big lover of kraut but this stuff is wonderful. I can't seem to get enough of it. Konrad said maybe we should just include a whole album of the empty plates I am leaving behind!! I will definately be into big girls sizes when I get home!
I took a couple shots today of some of the architecture around town. There was a protest in front of this big arched stage which has quite a politcal history to begin with. It is where Hitler gave one of his speeches and 500,000 were in this square.
I finally went out today and bought us each a complete outfit as our luggage still has not arrived. I am optimistic it will get here and hopefully before we leave!!!!

Day 3 No Bags but Good Food

2008-03-29T01:29:00.000-07:00

I am really loving Munich. It is a beautiful city, clean, obviously affluent. It has been so nice that Konrad speaks German because it appears very few people speak or are willing to speak English. I am crazy about the food. Our bags have still not arrived and we will probably need to go ahead and buy some new clothes today. I was freezing, so the first day we went looking for a sweater or jacket for me. We happened upon a thrift shop with a little frau tending the place. As I was perusing the rack, Konrad was conversing with her in German. She asked him what size I wore. I said a size 10 in the States....she looked me up and down and shook her head in disbelief and motioned me to follow here and THEN in perfect English she said,"Here are the clothes for bigger girls!!!!!!!!" I was almost in tears.....Konrad is flitting around nervously trying to keep me in the shop directed to finding a coat. ANYWAY, I did find a coat and it WAS NOT on the "bigger girls" rack. So just to spite her, I ate to the excess the rest of the day!
We went to one of Konrad's favorite restaurants with typical Bavarian fare. It was so good. He ordered the big sausage plate and I ordered pork with saurkraut and potato pancakes. The beer was the best I have ever tasted. And yes, I finished everything on my plate.....I am a good value for the dollar on a date!!!

Baggage Woes

2008-03-29T00:58:00.000-07:00

Well, we have not had good luck with flights on this trip. On Thursday we flew out of London Heathrow from the brand new Terminal 5...1st day it was opened. Things did not go as planned and our flight was 4 hours late leaving for Munich. We finally got on board and they announced that we would be leaving with NO bags.....honestly, not one bag was on board. We found out the next day that the baggage handlers were not able to log into the new system and they thus could not get the bags moving at all, all day!!! What a nightmare.....reminded me alot of the opening of our new IMC Hospital so I was feeling a bit empathetic!!!

Kew Gardens

2008-03-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

Went to the world famous Kew Gardens on my last day in London. It was wonderful and very nourshing for my soul after the hustle and bustle of the city. I have definately confirmed that I am a peasant girl. The gardens were just barely blooming but it was nice because I went around and looked at things I normally wouldn't have spent so much time in. The conservatories were enormous and filled with all kinds of unusual specimens. There was a gallery of botanical paintings over 500 from the same artist which I was just smitten with. It was actually nice to be able to concentrate on plant and tree forms around the garden because I wasn't distracted by the usual bombardment to my senses of all the blooming flora. I enjoyed it very much.

Royal Society Dinner

2008-03-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from the Royal Society dinner last night. The meetings that Konrad is here for are being held to honor one of his friends from Cambridge who was just inducted into the Royal Society which is a great honor in Britain in the Sciences.

Here are the 3 who organzed the event. This is as dressed up as this group gets. The only reason Konrad even has a tie is that I bought him one that day at I thrift shop down the street from Harrods!

The guest of honor and his family, Michael Gordon.

Konrad's old pals from Calgary.

Shopping in London

2008-03-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

Spent the day yesterday checking out the shopping and museums. Made it to Harrods and was certainly in awe at the decadence. Two floors of Handbags alone. The one I looked at was 2000 pounds ($4000) and people were buying them. Great shoes,also, of course. The window display with the shoes and $$$ symbol said it all. We wandered through Soho a couple days ago and Konrad did his own version of window shopping....something for everyone in this city!!!

2008-03-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

Here we are in front of Parliment.

London

2008-03-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

Finally able to get back on line and post some more pics. I am having a bit of withdrawal from technology...no cell phone and intermittent internet access!!! Of course, I am spending my evenings with techno-geeks so that should count for something!!!
We left Cambridge on Monday and took the bus to London. Wandered around for a few hours together and did a quick tour. Saw Big Ben, Parliment, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Cathedral, Pickidilly and just ALOT of people. I do think this may be the biggest city I have ever been in???
The masses of humanity and the diversity of "peoples" was amazing. We walked and walked. Public transportation is everywhere, of course, but Konrad believes in the "on-foot" method of rapid transit. I didn't have my best walking shoes and I have definately had a way too sedate winter in Utah. It was freezing cold - coldest Easter weekend in 40 years, complete with the first snow of the year on Easter Day! Konrad thinks he is the Snow King and pontificates endlessly on the virtures of snow and frigid weather when we are at home in Utah. He has loved our endless winter this year and believes he can convert me to his wicked ideals. I told him I am going to start calling him the Snow Devil as he brought this weather with him!!!
Here he is rubbing my aching feet on the train to Wimbledon to pay for his sins!!!
We are staying at Anya's an old girlfriend of Konrads while in London (it's free and I am very mature!!really I am!!) She lives in Wimbledon which is about a 15 minute train ride from London.

more pics

2008-03-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

A few more shots from around the campus.

Cambridge

2008-03-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a few first shots from Cambridge. I found this darling little churchyard garden but it appears to be planted all amongst the old graveyard. The BBC is here to record the Easter concerts this weekend at Kings College Chapel. I think we will try to go on Easter Sunday morning. I hope a brought a proper frock and I could actually wear an Easter hat (if I had one) for the first time since 1966. I visited a garden nursery today which was glorious but terribly frustrating as I can only bring back seeds but no plants with soil on them. It is probably for the best as I could have spent hundreds of dollars there. Well, off to the pub for a pint and some fish and chips!!

2008-03-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

2008-03-21T07:52:00.000-07:00

We arrived

2008-03-21T04:19:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally arrived in Cambridge after a typical 24 hour travel ordeal. Our flight out of Salt Lake City was delayed about 3 hours causing us to miss our flight in Chicago to London. We tried to get on the next (and last) flight of the night. We were on the standby list and they were down to the last seat and to my name being the last called. We had to give it up as I, of course, wasn’t going without my guy!! Just as we are waiting to see what flight we could get on the next morning, the agent informed us that our original flight had been sitting out on the runway for the last 3 hours and was returning to a gate to switch planes due to mechanical problems!! So we ran there and at 3 am finally took off!!! We arrived in London around 3pm without problem except that my bag didn’t make it – Konrad’s did arrive. We hopped a bus to Cambridge (about 2 hour trip in rush hour) had a nice meal and were quite tired enough to fall asleep by 11pm. My bag did come on the next flight and is to be delivered tonight. We are supposed to go to dinner with some of Konrad’s friends tonight so it will be nice if I can put on some fresh clothes!!
I love this town. The architecture is great with the University originating in the 1200's. It is rainy and cold today and I am wandering and exploring while Konrad is working at the computer lab. I have discovered several lovely little gardens, all tucked into old churchyards. The early spring bulbs are blooming- daffodils, hyacinths, snowdrops along with hellebores, bergenia, forsythia, quince and oh, the primroses which I love and which are really underused in our gardens. It has just been a pure visual delight.

We're off!

2008-03-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

Heading for Europe tomorrow and we are so excited!! Andy left last night to meet up with his Dad in Puerto Rico. Ben, his girlfriend Megan and his friend Gwillie will be arriving in SLC tonight. They, also, are heading to Puerto Rico to spend Easter with Todd. Be watching for pics and updates on our trip!!!