I posted this Merry Christmas before leaving work on Wed, 12/23. About three hours later, I was on my way to the emergency room.  Somewhere around 8 pm, my whole right side exploded in red hot burning pain. Fearing appendicitis, Dad rushed me to the hospital where they found that I was in the midst of passing my first kidney stone. Interesting how fast life changes, no? There I was, thinking my first night of vacation was going to be super fun...and boom. Nope. I can't really describe the pain, but if this blog is for the logging of memories, I'm pretty sure I won't forget how that felt.

I think I've passed the stone...I feel mostly better now, a few sharp pains and lots of soreness. I feel wierd from so much pain medicine. I have a cool IV bruise to show everyone.

Just thought I'd log that story away.

I haven't got anything else to say about this particular unpleasant experience, except that kidney stones are not fun. Morphine is nice, though!!

Christmas post coming up. My family is still here for the rest of the week, so I intend to soak up every minute of their visit.

Hope you all had wonderful (and kidney stone free) Christmases!

Snow Day!! ... and a half!

We. Got. Snow. A lot.

Monday morning.The power is out. Work is cancelled. It's freezing cold. First thing in the morning, Michael decides to brave the hilly roads in his Toyota Corrolla to get to school, so Dad loads him up with a 48 hour kit, chains, emergency radio/flashlight/cell charger, rock salt, shovel, extra coat, gloves, and strict instructions to call when he gets to the freeway. Thusly burdened, Michael sets out to find his car...Dad found it for him.

He never did call us to say he'd gotten to the freeway. Michael found that both Buck Mountain Road and Grassy Run were blocked by fallen trees, got his car stuck, so he hiked back up to the house. We had a good day together, the four of us stranded at home with nothing to do but decorate for Christmas. Yay! I had been complaining that I wasn't feeling the holiday spirit, but I can't say that anymore. With snow on the ground, a fire in the stove, and a Christmas tree up, I feel it now! Christmas is here!! Michael and Dad left at one point to get Michael's car, which was the highlight of thier day. Dad and I both enjoyed wandering around taking pictures. We could hear branches snapping all over the hill. We're going to have quite a mess to clean up in the spring... if I'm here for spring, that is. Ha ha!! Nyah!

Michael and Dad get warm after rescuing Michael's car.

We got super bored once the sun went down. Since she couldn't quilt anymore, Mom talked to Anna for a while on my cell phone, then we called Natalie to hear Zuki count to ten, insist that she's a happy girl, and tell us what a Kangaroo says. (Boing! Boi-oi-oi-oi-ing!) Candlelight has a soporific effect. Mom and Dad went to bed at the impossible hour of 9:00, while Michael and I ended the day with homework and Jane Eyre.

I ventured out to go to work about 12 the next day. We didn't get electricity back until 6 or so, but I came home to a fully-lighted house with Christmas lights a-blazing!! It was a relief. Candles are fun for a night, but I wasn't looking forward to another evening spent in a tiny sphere of light. Its oppressive. I had a hard time getting back up the hill, so Michael and I walked down the steepest part of our street and sprinkled the rest of our rock salt on the ice. "Heavenly Father, bless this salt, that with it thou mayest blow the ice to tiny bits, in thy mercy."

Yes, this post is a mess... It doesn't look like it did in the compose mode.  Why does blogger do that!?

 You can click on the images for a better view.

I'm a Novelist!

Yay! I finished writing my 50,000 words last night (50,055)!! I have been officially informed that I kicked butt this month by Chris Baty, founder of National Novel Writing Month and inducted into the winner's circle at NaNoWriMo.org, a place where fireworks burst overhead in the November sky to celebrate my victory. I cried.

My story isn't all written yet. I'm a long way off from "the end" but I got an awesomely spectacular start.

Chris Baty gave back my Inner Editor last night, which he confiscated at the beginning of week one. I'm planning on deleting everything my Inner Editor would have if it were with me during my 30 days of literary abandon, reorganizing my chapters, and continuing from there. I don't know how many words that will leave me with, but I'm not counting anymore. I like my story and I want to see it through to the end.

I don't know if I'm ready to show it to anyone... I don't even want to post a synopsis. Yet.

Side note: Isn't the winner's badge above hideous!? I got a winner's certificate, too:


It says: "One brave Writer. One impossible deadline. One crazy month where 170,000 people set out on a journey to the furthest reaches of their imaginations. Most turned back along the way but not you. You had the vision, dedication, and creative drive to make it to the 50,000-word finish line and beyond. You did an amazing thing this November, novelist, and the Office of Letters and Light congratulates you for it. Your victory shall be entered ino the official records of National Novel Writing Month, where it will stand for all time." (awww...)

Working on my NaNo Novel

I just passed the half-way mark in my NaNoWriMo novel. That feels good, but I only have a few days to get to my 50,000 word count goal. I'm still having an incredibly good time writing my story. Its an interesting experience to stand by and watch what comes up on my screen. My characters are not who I thought they were, and the story line itself could go any where at this point.

I have no illusions. This is one "craptastic" mess of a novel, but I don't care. I'm writing, and it feels gooood. I set my sights on 50,000 words and even though I'm discovering new levels of "suckitude" on my way, I'm going to get there.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

Pumpkin cake!

Here is the yummy pumpkin cake recipe Dad made for Mom's birthday. Give it a try if you're looking for something unusual and tasty.


Halloween Sweets and Treats

This link will take you to a slide show at countryliving.com. Skip over a few slides until you get to this one. SO good!

Making Mozart: Requiem Night 2009

This year my contribution to Requiem Night was a 1 1/2 foot tall bust of Mozart made of sour cream pound cake and white chocolate. I thought a bust would be appropriate, seeing as most of the evening would be spent listening to Mozart's Requiem in it's entireity. All anttendees wear black for the occasion, the room is swathed in black fabric, and there are always candles to lend to the mourning atmosphere.

I began by sculpting dear Wolfgang's face out of white chocolate, which would end up acting as a kind of skull. It was too yellow next to the fondant to look good as the actual face. (You can add caro syrup to any melted chocolate to make it sculptable.) The next few evenings were spent baking the cakes...I made that cake so many times I won't ever need to look at the recipe again. Ever.

I froze the cakes, stacked them up, and began shaving away chunk by chunk and it began to take shape. On went the face, then I covered the whole thing with butter cream. By that time the cake had thawed out, and Mozart's chin was rather droopy. I fixed that by shoving some tin foil into his throat. Worked like a charm.

I discovered that fondant is HARD to work with! The worst thing about fondant is that you can't sculpt it. I put a piece of fondant on his head, thinking I could sculpt it into hair for his "powdered half-wig" but I found that it bounced right back. I couldn't take it off without destroying the head, so I had to gouge lines into the "hair" and be happy with it...I loved the way the cravat worked out, though.

Cake scultping is a messy business: flour everywhere!


Me and Mozart:


After serving his shoulders up, I took him apart to show everyone how he was constructed, so here is how poor old Wolfie made it home:



There was SO much cake left over! (I froze the biggest chuncks for christmas-maybe there is enough there to carve a Santa Clause head.) Once I had the idea, I had to go all out. Everyone was amazed and delighted, and I sure had a good time.

Sour Cream Pound Cake:

2 3/4 c sugar
1 cup butter
blend these until nice and creamy.

6 eggs
add one at a time, beating for about a minute between each egg. This makes the batter really light and fluffy.

3 c flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
combine these in a bowl, set aside.

1 c sour cream
add by 1/4 cups, alternating with the flour mixture, mixing well between each addition, scraping the sides of the bowl.

1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp vanilla
add and mix just long enough to be well blended

grease and flour your favorite bundt pan and bake for about 45 minutes (then stay close by and take it out as soon as a fork or toothpick comes out clean) in a 350 degree oven. The cake is great with your favorite frosting, or strawberries, or just a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Num yummy!

A Rash of Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Grampa Zenk!

It was so hot this day that we moved the table so that we could feel the fans blowing cool air on us while we ate. (Just to clear any confusion about the backgroud.) We had yummy chicken salad, a lemon pudding ring, and homemade peach ice cream.

When it comes to eating homemade ice cream, anything goes.

Happy Birthday to Stan!

Dad got his favorite cake: Chocodot Pumpkin! And no, we didn't fill the middle with frosting this year...but we should have.

         The Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday To Me!

It took me two tries to blow them all out.

Happy Birthday To Luan!

Dad made a super-delicious chocolate pumpkin cake for mom this year, with gooey drippy icing. I intend to post the recipe for you all, because it was fantabulous.

Good days were had by all.

Playing with Pictures

A random post, but here you go:

We stopped at the Nevada/Idaho border for some pictures on our recent trip to Twin Falls because it was Hayden's first foray into Idaho.

 Its a long distance relationship: Michael is in Nevada and Hayden is in Idaho:

I've been messing around with Vegas Studio: here is the result. What do you think? Too much? I like it.

Another Reunion Post

This is Zuki posing for the camera. She literally did this on "3." "Zuki!" I called, "smile! One, two, three!" and on three the finger went up and this is the shot I got.

PINK STUFF!! It's even better off the spoon. Family Prayer at the close of the Reunion.

Mother and Daughters

Beauty Pie! (That goes for the above picture as well.)

More Reunion Pictures

Here is a good group of us with our awsome orange T-shirts on...funny how it kind of makes everything look orange.

Here I am reavealing one of my many hidden talents. The BBall standards were up by the ceiling, but I still managed to get a basket. That's A basket= one.

I still did a touchdown dance, though. Yeah! I scored a goal! Basket...unit.Here is Zukiswa helping with breakfast.
I love this picture...its like she's re-enacting the Joseph Smith Story.Me and my adorable neice.

I still have some more pictures...though...a lot of them are of Zuki.

Too bad for you! I'm a doting aunt.

Clawson Family Reunion 2009

This Labor Day weekend was spent in Twin Falls, Idaho, where my mom's family met for our third sucessful reunion in 6 years. Every other year, we gather, laugh, enjoy each other, and sadly, go home, but with wonderful memories.

left to right: Mo, Nat, Zuki, Luan, Stan, Dwynne, Michael & Hayden, who was a hit, even with Zuki for competition. Hayden made a great impression on the aunts, especially. Here is Uncle Lynn and Lacy. I had a good time getting to know Lacy more, and glad of it!

And the Richardsons: in order of the heads:

Dante, Taylor, Aunt Sally, Jake, Simona, and Uncle Corky.

A great bunch of loonies, but oh, how we love them.
Here is the Clawson family. Yes, Alan brought a girl, Jessica, who was a darling to have with us. Then there is Aunt Sheralee, Alan, Uncle Ron, and Grandma.

Here are the Madsens who made it: Arlene, Duff, and Kyle.

I had a good time seeing familiar faces again, and I sure did miss everyone who couldn't make it. See you in two years!!

Kyle and Taylor are going to be turning in thier mission papers soon, if you can believe it. Everyone made a guess where they will be sent. If you want to put your two bits in, I'm sure you can contact Aunt Sally. I sent Taylor to Tonga, and Kyle to Argentina. I hope I win.

There are more pictures to come of the weekend.

A Childhood Rekindled

There are certain scents, certain strains of a forgotten melody, certain flavors that call forth old memories; scenes of the long-ago come rushing into my mind the instant I encounter them, and I find myself remembering vivid details I have not thought of in so long that I never would have imagined they could still be so clear in my mind. Yet, there they are, with that certain strange scent suddenly in the air…a certain staleness, but with a peculiar sharp quality to it, and my first grade classroom surrounds me: the reading corner where an incubator warms chicken eggs, the 5 low tables and chairs the perfect height for first grader statures, the darkness of the room for there were only two windows in each corner, and my teacher, Mrs. Robinson, with her withered skin and short dark hair sitting behind her desk. It’s all there, but it fades again once the scent is gone and I have done exploring those memories.

For my Dad, there is a very particular cookie recipe that does this for him. He’s been searching for it, he’s attempted and failed to reproduce it, he’s asked his family about it, and, until now, he has had to go without his beloved childhood cookies. A few weeks ago, while cleaning out Grampa Zenk’s garage, this recipe card fell onto the floor at his feet: “`Shorty’s’ Oatmeal Spice Cookies.”

He knew it for what it was instantly: His Grampa’s long lost cookie recipie. After all the failed attempts, the first batch from the oven doesn’t let him down. Delicious, scrumptious flavors of his long-ago childhood bring forth memories more potent than the spices of the cookie, and he is in the past.

They are delectable cookies, warm and gooey, flavorful and satisfying; the kind of cookie you have wished for and craved, the kind of cookie that you remember, the kind of cookie that doesn’t disappoint, and the kind of recipe you don’t mess with, for it can’t be improved. It is nostalgically perfect.

Shorty's Oatmeal Spice Cookies:

1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup soft shortening or 1 cup margerine
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
4 Tbsp milk
1 packaged chocolate chips
nuts or cocunut as desired (Dad put walnuts and sunflower seeds in his latest batch.)
4 cups uncooked rolled oats

Sift dry ingredients into bowl. Add shortening, sugars, eggs and milk. Beat until smooth- about 2 minutes. Fold in chips, nuts/coconut and oats. Drop onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. (Dad recommends a shorter cooking time 8-10 minutes, so sit by and watch your cookies to find the right cooking time for you.) Enjoy!

Eat them with your feet up in a dark comfortable room with soft music playing... ahhh.

Surprise Party for Karen

My sweet friend Karen definitely ranks as one of my favorite people. This year for her birthday, Valerie, another friend, and I decided to throw Karen a surprise birthday party. I've never thrown a successful surprise anything (I get caught) but Karen played along beautifully for this one. I am convinced she knew nothing.

Valerie helping me decorate

Valerie and I wanted to do something different, something none of us had ever done before, so I suggested we visit the new Cameron Park Observatory, then go to my house, pre-decorated of course, for the obligatory cake & ice-cream. She suggested we meet at her house first, as if it were one of our usual game nights, to throw her off the scent of our deviousness. Jared, another game night regular, met us there to further blind Karen to the truth. After a while, I put an end to the gaming, and informed everyone to (please) go get in my car. Karen didn't ask one single question! Not one! She just climbed right in, happily participating in the conversation about thumb wars! ("Luke...I am your mother!") So, I drive us out of town, expecting some kind of question from Karen, like, hmm, I don't know: "where are we going," or something like that, but no. She just sat there. Even when I turned off the highway and started winding us through the dark countryside roads, she asked not one question. She didn't even ask WHY when I charged my passengers to avoid any light sources upon pain of death! (To get their eyes as adjusted to the dark as possible for better night vision, good for star-gazing.) She just obediently sat with her eyes closed until we got to the observatory and I told her to open them. Later, when I asked how on earth she could possibly go along with everything and not ask one single question, her reply was: "Why would I? I LOVE surprises!!"

The new observatory was interesting... a little small and plain, like everything else is in podunk Placerville, but interesting. They had a couple telescopes set up outside, and one huge one inside. The planet Jupiter was the subject of the night, and we also saw 4 of it's 63 moons. (Did you know there was that many??) We had a good time.

Claiming I needed a bathroom break, with Valerie and Jared readily agreeing, I drove us to my parents house, where Valerie and I had spent some of the afternoon decorating. We came inside, Karen looked around, and then she asked her first question: "Whose birthday is it?" It's yours, you silly goose! Surprise!" Golly. And then we attacked the cake.

Karen, Valerie and Jared

Karen turning ____ years old...even though her birthday is really on the 5th.

(There is an unspoken agreement in our group. We don't ask, and we don't tell. Its a birthday. Thats all you need to know.)

After we took the decorations down, we decorated Karen for a photo op. ( I got Michael out of bed to take it for us. He's such a good sport.)

New Tooth

My first cosmetic alteration: I got my chipped front tooth filled in! Awahaa! I don't look like a hick anymore! I know its a small thing, but it makes me feel totally different about my smile.

I chipped it when I was somewhere around 12... playing marbles with Michael. Don't play marbles with your face down within range of your opponent.

I have a brilliant dentist. Took him an hour and a half, two tries to match the shade, but it was worth it. I love and adore my dental hygienist, Ann. She is about 45, but she is just like me in every personality aspect we have discovered so far. I never miss my regularly scheduled 6 month cleaning, but I'd go more often just to see her again! It takes her twice as long to clean my teeth as any other patient because we're both jabbering away. Ever had a full on conversation during a cleaning? Messy. It was she who first assured me that the chip was fixable when I complained about it at my last appointment, so I asked the doc to do it, and I'm so happy I did!

New Home for My Books

I have been accused of not posting often enough. Well, as you see, I haven't got much to blog about. Nothing super exciting anyway, but in an effort to appease my fans, I promise to blog more often, telling whatever stories I may to entertain you. But remember, you asked for it. I really DO tend to ramble.

I recently acquired about 20+ books from Grampa Zenk's garage sale that looked interesting to read. The problem, though, is that I have no more room in my room for more books. I have books on top of my armoire, in drawers, on my desk, crammed into my one little book case, and my closet is full of them. Beloved books, future beloved books, books, books, books. I've even spilled over into the study hall shelves outside my door. Not good when you have a mother who measures dust depth. I've had to create a pile-shifting pattern so she thinks these books are in constant use. She sometimes chucks stuff that has more than three hours worth of dust on top.

The solution? New bookcases! Two of them! Side by side under my windows they sit, providing a safe harbor for the huddled masses. Actually, they just have room enough for the books that were lining the floor under my window...I still had to cram more paper backs onto my little book shelf in the corner. (Point of interest, Grampa Clawson made that for me.) It's nice to have a place for stuff that was cluttering my desk as well: pink boxes! New shelves! My room is a happier one. Much Better.


Here is a "before & after" for you.

(A post featuring the above mentioned garage sale is soon to follow.)

Hidden Talent Discovered

I was wandering through my footage of Natalie’s wedding (looking for those delicious awkward moments which are perfect for a gag reel) and found this gem of a moment, featuring my brother-in-law, Anna’s husband, Adam. Who knew he could play like this? I wonder if HE even realizes how well he can play. Wowie. Impressive, no?




If you can't read the narration titles because they are so small, here they are:

In this never before seen footage,
and here-to-fore unheard of talent,
while he thinks everyone's attention is elswhere,
daring to risk it all, even his anonymity,
though he puts those who hear him at risk of fainting from sheer delight,
Adam reveals his super secret piano skills.

(Meanwhile, Anna counts the bodies of the people that fainted.)

I Caved

My plan was to just stick with one template for this blog, something plain, clean...until I saw this template. It's so darn CUTE! I had to have it. I guess simplicity isn't my thing when I can have flowers and swirlies and lots and lots of pink!


I'm not a fan of the butterflies, though... in fact, I like them less and less... I'll probably still go looking for a different template. I do like the flowers, though. hmph.

What's in a Name?

I've been working to come up with the perfect name for my videography business...I'm stumped. There have been a few good ideas, but nothing really feels right so far. So I'm calling on all you creative types out there to help me think of something good. Feel free to email me gonewithdwynne@hotmail.com, or leave a comment with your ideas.

I'm looking for something catchy and different, of course, also quirky, random, fun... creative... with a feminine feel to it. I will probably be doing a lot of weddings, but I don't want a name that is too weddingy. I want to be hired to film any event that needs filming, but I have other ideas as well. I definitely want to use "productions" in the title. ie. Dwinfinity Productions. (It doesn't need to have my name in it.)



Last night I pulled out our Syzygy game and tried to come up with nonsense words that could work by closing my eyes and rearranging letters: (funny!) here are a few that "happened:" Tralegit, Apata, Ippy, Knap, Figrin... I wrote some others down, but now that I look at them this morning, they are NOT gonna work.

Dad suggests I use opposites in the title. His example: Ugly Fairy Productions... I kinda like, it actually.

All you that speak other languages: I would love to use foreign words, too.

I humbly request you to set your imaginations on high and help me name my own baby, so I can get this show on the road!

Thank you, dear ones!