Ode to Utah

Things we will miss about Utah.

Aside from family and friends...in no particular order:

1. Bike rides up emigration, Millcreek, Big and Little Cottonwood canyons (Brad made a little sad, sulky face when I wrote this)

2. Bike riding along Wasatch Blvd.

3. Being a 15 minute drive from cooler temps

4. chicken frieds steak from Ruth's diner up Emigration Canyon, sausage sandwich from Cinegrill, sopapillas from La Cocina, Taco Time, and the ultimate sandwich from Gandolfos.

5. The perfect running routes

6. Sunday dinners with family

7. Starsky's perfect throwing stick.

8. Fresh veggies from Dad's garden...corn

9. Chloe sitters

10. closeness to temples

11. The cabin in the fall and summer.

12. Bear Lake (have fun over labor day)

And now, these are some things we are liking about our new home...

1. They have these wading pools that are about 2 feet deep. They fill them everyday and drain them at night. The kids LOVE them. I will love them next summer, I am sure.

2. I can pretty much walk everywhere (groceries, bank, pharmacy, Brad to school)

3. The people we are meeting

4. The sunsets.

5. It is a slower pace of life here and I am serious when I say everyone smiles and says hi.

6.It will leave 6-12 blank because we are still discovering...

The first thing you will notice about this place is the sound. I remember this sound from the mission. It kind of sounds like a power line is down. It is a high, constant, ringing sound coming from...bugs. They get louder and softer and then louder again. It is kind of a pleasant white noise once you get used to it. Well, one night we had a run in with one of these cicada's. (suh-kay-duh) Brad tried to tough talk one that was mating on our patio and it rammed the door which I had closed, luckily, then it went straight for Brad's head. He had to run around the house to the back door to safety. I thought I'd research a little about this bug. So here you have it. I particularly like the part about 'not dangerous' and 'edible'.

A cicada also known as a "jar fly" is an insect with large eyes wide apart on the head and usually transparent, well-veined wings. There are approximately 2,500 species of cicada around the globe. Cicadas are one of the most widely recognized of all insects, mainly due to their large size and remarkable (and often inescapable) acoustic talents. Cicadas are sometimes incorrectly called "locusts"[1], although they are unrelated to true locusts. They are known as "dry flies" because of the dry shell they leave behind.
Cicadas do not bite or sting and are not considered a pest. Many people around the world regularly complement their standard diet with cicadas: the female is prized for eating as it is meatier. Cicadas have been eaten (or are still eaten) in Ancient Greece, China, Malaysia, Burma, Australia, Latin America and the Congo. Cicadas are employed in the traditional medicines of China and Japan for hearing-related matters. *(from Google)