Close encounter with a moose

After the Bear Lake Triathlon yesterday we went back to the cabin to clean up and have some lunch. Now I've had close encounters with antelope, deer and even Bison, but this was my first encounter up close with a Bull Moose. I was cleaning a few dishes at the kitchen sink when I looked out the window to see a big Moose trot over the lawn towards the bridge from the west side of the cabin. I hurried over and got my camera. By the time I got to the back door it was already in the water making its way to the other side. It was very exciting to see such a majestic large wild animal.

Here is the video I took. But the video quality is poor. Sorry.

SLC Depeche Mode Concert Review

So last night I took Cathi to Depeche Mode. I surprised her with the tickets earlier this summer knowing that when we were young she liked them. However, she told me many times before the concert that she wasn't that big of a fan and shouldn't have spent the money and rather I taken someone else.

So we went with our friends Duane and Jen Ralphs. We enjoyed their company on the way in and back home.

The opening band was not terrible. I previewed their music before the concert and noticed that one of their songs was loaded with the F bomb. I warned Cathi and sure enough they played it. But they only played for 30 minutes and then the stage got setup for Depeche Mode.

When they came out the first two songs were from their new album which I'm not really familiar with yet. But the third song and most of the songs after that were from previous albums. Two of my favorites they played were: In My Room, It's No Good, and Never Let Me Down Again, and Enjoy the Silence.

Behind the stage they had a huge big screen monitor. During some of the songs they had some visual trippy stuff, and sometimes a video. During Enjoy the Silence the big screen played a video of the band just standing in space suits rotating every minute to the center. Pretty boring, but added a cool touch to the song.

I was really getting into it and having a ball at this point! Great concert. Then after 90 minutes they went off stage. The crowd cheered and bellowed for a good 5 minutes and then they came out again. We really should have left at this point. Because when they came back on stage it quickly went downhill. They played Stripped, and Fly on the Windscreen which wasn't terribly bad, except for David's habitual pelvic grinding of the mic stand.

Then they started to play Strange Love along with a video of some lesbian activity. As soon as I saw the screen with a woman in lingerie laying on a couch and another lady entering the room and walking over I sat down in my seat and let the tall guy to my right who was standing, block my view of the big screen. I could only see the front part of the stage where David was singing. I was afraid to look to my left where Cathi was sitting knowing she didn't have someone to block her vision, and I knew she was getting angry.

She isn't a big DM fan and this was only making her hate me for taking her. After the song she got up and left. I could only imagine what she saw and how offensive the video must have been considering the song. I followed her out and she kept telling me to go back in as I spent $70 dollars for my ticket. She was so mad at me! She wouldn't stay within 10 feet of me and wouldn't look or talk to me. She kept saying "I don't want to be with you!" There wasn't any one around us except for a few people off in the distance, but it was getting to be quite a dramatic scene so I backed off.

I was embarrassed for several reasons. We must have looked like dumb quarreling teenagers. I didn't have a clue they were going to do that. I kept reassuring her before the concert that they only have a few raunchy songs and that perhaps that they would do their homework about SLC and not play those songs. I was wrong, dead wrong. It's one thing to play those songs, but to show an R rated sex scene. That's pathetic.

So they probably only played for another 20 minutes while Cathi and I sat outside on the grass (ten feet apart again, as every attempt I made to apologize and console an angry conservative woman failed and she would move away in a huff making me look like a fool). I texted Ralphs that would meet them at their car. By the time they showed up Cathi put on her fake "I like Gordon afterall" look.

Apparently Jen Ralphs was furious as well. Hopefully Duane wasn't in trouble like me. We had a good talk about triathlons and Duane's job on the way home.

It's the last time I take Cathi to a concert. It's just too risky. I'm never sure of what's going to be sung or shown on a screen. I guess I'll have to wait until the Millenium when perhaps John Denver will do another tour. Only then will I be confident that Cathi will enjoy herself at a concert.

Happy Birthday Cathi - can I come out of the doghouse now? I love you and sorry about the crappy evening.

Cathi - my eight cow wife

Today was our 15th Wedding Anniversary. I'll tell you what. I chose a winner. Cathi's best qualities include: She's outgoing and friendly. She's a great mom to our children. She's flexible and laid back. She's athletic and takes care of herself physically. She's close to the Lord and a great example to the whole family. She's loving to me and forgiving. I seriously couldn't have been more blessed with a perfect fit for me. We get along so great and I'm still very much in love with this foxy red head!

I thought this week what I could do that would be fun. So I thought I'd sell the very rare tu uefi shell that I found and buy (make) a golden mirror. One carved with birds and flowers.

Here's a picture of her anniversary gift: a wooden bowl with eight cows and the golden mirror. The mirror was truly lined with gold and had birds and flowers on it. Very good looking.
Here's my eight cow wife and her golden mirror. Her gift to me was a wonderful poster full of pictures of our 15 years together. We've sure had a fun ride and am so grateful to have a happy marriage with these wonderful kids.

Now for your viewing pleasure, here is the original film of Johnny Lingo. The whole film is put into 3 parts. Parts 2 and 3 can also be seen from youtube.

Cathi's favorite part: 4:55
Gords' favorite part: 7:35 - 7:46, 7:53 - 8:00, 8:16

I'm a thoughtful guy!

This morning Cathi was especially nice to me when I got up and she was just coming back from her run. She told me last night in her dream she was at a talent show singing a song.

When she started singing the first line, she realized that she was slaughtering the song and was starting to get nervous cause she knew it was sounding really bad. She said that I immediately jumped out of the seat in the front row at the auditorium. I ran up next to her and started singing with her. She said that the song went perfect after that. She felt more confident, we made great harmony and the crowd was on their feet at the end.

She thanked me. I saved my red-headed lover from ultimate talent show failure.

It's funny that Cathi's subconscious has more confidence in my singing and lyric memorization skills than is realistic.

I just called her from work to remind her about something and she thanked me again for helping her on the song. It was a dream! I'm sure glad I didn't have an affair in her dream. I'd really be in the doghouse.

In reality I most likely would have let her crash and burn alone rather than drag my sorry butt into it. I mean if I truly had those skills, I would have helped out. But in reality it would have been a two man disaster.

Also in reality, Cathi has a great voice and her enthusiasm is entertaining all by itself. An example of that is her Christmas concert she did at a rest home a couple years back. Click on the pic below for the video:

From Family Videos

Could I, Should I, create a patent?

Yesterday enough was enough! I'm sick of our main floor toilet not flushing well. Sometimes, not at all and I have to use the plunger. I already snaked it several times, even removed the toiled trying to find the cause of the poor quality flushes. So I stopped at home depot and got a Class 5 "powerful" toilet. The word "Powerful" was the sales clincher for me.

When I got home I again removed the old one and put this new one in. When I used the Shop Vac to clear out the remaining water in the bowl after turning it off, it sucked up a ball point pen. Dang it! Oh well, I already had enough with the old one and this new "powerful" one, sucked me in to just installing the new one anyway.

I installed it and sure enough you could feel the sucking motion. I imagine for girls with long hair it makes their hair move towards the bowl when flushing.

Then I had this vision. Imagine a toilet not made of ceramic or porcelain. A complete clear plastic toilet. This way, you could not only be entertained watching your crap make its way down the drain, but you could see the exact cause of any clogs that might be preventing you from having a good day.

Would that be an awesome patent or what!