Dan performs "La Dori"

In June Dan joined the Continuo Ensemble in two performances of an Early Music opera called "La Dori". He played his baroque guitar in the Continuo group and sang as well. Here he is confessing his love to a man who is dressed like a woman. (She's really a woman playing a man dressed as a woman....) get's kind of confusing.






Part of the continuo group.

Gothic Basin

Colin and I went for a fabulous hike up by Gothic Basin. we drove to the end of the road on Mountain Loop Highway, then hiked along a washed out road toward Monte Cristo. from there we journeyed up to higher country and lots of snow!

Celia and Keith graduate!!!

Celia and Keith both received special honors - Celia for her arts thesis and for Hebrew studies, Keith for Greek studies and Old Testament.


Celia and Colin play with their quartet at the tea party for Regent Graduates.

What next?
Celia and Keith are going to Japan for 9 months. They will be working with missionaries there in Sapporo. They have lots more information about their trip on their blog (see links)

Nettle Soup

Yeah, these really are nettles. Dan picked the tops off them - with gloves - and then sprayed the bejeebers out of what was left!

I boiled the nettles for 5 minutes to remove the sting, then made soup and nettle tea (which tastes kind of like grass, but is very healthy)

This soup is really, really yummy. And no sting! (this is not the finished product, btw)

Nettle Soup

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
½ cup uncooked rice
4 quarts stinging nettle tips, loosely packed
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
6 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1. If the nettles have any foreign material in them or if they were picked on a dusty day, you may need to wash them. Wearing rubber gloves, plunge them into a sink full of water, then lift them out of the water, leaving any debris behind.
2. In a soup kettle over medium-high heat, melt the butter in the olive oil. Stir in the onion and sauté until the onions are soft and just beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until the grains are translucent, about one minute.
3. Pile in the nettles, the garlic and the broth and bring the soup to a full, rolling boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is very tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer the soup in small batches to a blender and purée until smooth. Add the salt and pepper and serve hot.

Celia's Arts Thesis

Dan, Colin and I made two more trips to Vancouver for Celia's Arts Thesis, parts 3 and 4. The third of the series was a service for Epiphany with the theme being joy. The music was presented by a group of outstanding musicians. I'm not biased, of course.




As you can see, the weather was rather joyful as well. Here is the Olympic symbol adorned with birds.






















A month later we returned to Vancouver, with a slight detour to the north, where we saw another Olympic symbol adorned with birds. Cute.


















Celia and her fellow musicians presented music for the Lenten season, along with scripture readings and time for meditation. The use of light and darkness was very effective.

Enjoying the Big Sky in Montana

March, 2009
What a beautiful place! Our ski trip began and ended with clear blue skies. The conditions at the beginning of the week were like spring skiing; not what we expected in Montana. It did give us a chance to go to the very top.



Later in the week we got a dump of new snow. We enjoyed the tree skiing.

Post Christmas with the Family

It snowed all Christmas day. By the 26th, it was beginning to melt. We managed to get in some sledding time before it started raining. We built a jump with the neighbors.











Right after Christmas Colin and I spent a couple of days at Crystal (while Dan recovered from a cold). Lots of fresh snow, great views and good company made it a special time. Colin wore me out.




Celia and Keith arrived on December 30th, so we really celebrated the 12 days of Christmas this year. We put less emphasis on gifts this year, and that was refreshing. One evening we had a “last chance” caroling party with a number of instruments and voices. We spent lots of time in the kitchen preparing special foods such as eggs Benedict and fusion ravioli. Their friend Carla came to visit on her way back from visiting her family in Brazil.