The Getty

The Getty is a fabulous art museum in LA that I just had to visit during my trip. It's a huge art complex with several buildings and beautiful gardens. The views of the LA area were pretty amazing too.

Some of my favorite works were: "Portrait of Jeanne Kefer" by Fernand Khnopff and a Joseph Mallord William Turner painting that has a super long name - "Van Tromp, Going About to Please His Masters, Ships a Sea Getting a Good Wetting".

Girl Time

At the end of my trip I met up with some friends from the mission. April, Michelle and Lucinda all met me in LA and we had some good girl time. Most of the time we spent chatting and catching up. And it's always good to reminisce and tell good mission stories. Thanks for joining me ladies. I had a great time

Loving Mom

Today I am reminded of how much I love my mom. But I was reminded of that yesterday too. And I'll probably be grateful for my mom tomorrow and most definitely later in the week. Mother's Day is nice, but I am thankful for my mom every day of the year.I have been so blessed with an amazing mom. She's done a lot of great things for me over the years, but most importantly, she has loved me, always.

Happy Mother's Day mom. I love you.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

I'd like to take this opportunity to post a few more vintage photos and acknowledge the birthday of my grandpa Henderson. Although he has been gone for many years, I still think about him occasionally and remember the things I learned from him. He always seemed to have an honest approach to life, and even though I was only 12 when he died, I have a clear recollection of how much he loved his family. There was never any doubt about that. Here is Grandpa Henderson with his first grandchild (me). Daniel Garvin Henderson was born April 23, 1926 in Jersey City, NJ. He loved to work with wood and build things in his basement workshop. The Japanese culture fascinated him and he admired it's simplicity and beauty. He was very proud of his Scottish heritage and shared his love of Scotland with his family. He loved starlight mints, tea, Neil Diamond, M*A*S*H, Japanese gardens, the beach, and most of all, his family. (Pictured below, from left: Andrea Henderson Stahr (my mom) Daniel Henderson, Ermina Henderson, Sheila Henderson)Happy Birthday Grandpa. I feel fortunate to have known you.

Warmer weather is coming

I'm ready for Spring and then Summer. The weather here has been nice lately and I'm so ready for winter to surrender to spring flowers, budding trees and days without wearing a coat. Here are some old pictures of me enjoying the warm weather of the Oregon summer when I was about 2 or 3. I'm not exactly sure where this carousel is. Maybe my mom can chime in and give some additional info. I don't remember loving this outfit, but I'm sure I did. I do now, that's for certain.

I remember the great summer family gatherings at my grandparents house. Grandma and Grandpa Stahr were excellent hosts and their patio was the perfect place to get together. Now that my parents live in their house, the patio is still a great place to host a party. Here are my parents, nearest to the fence, aunt Patty, her son Brad, and me.Uncle Ted and aunt Eleanor used to come visit from some far away state. Maybe Colorado, Arizona or California. Anyone in the family want to fill in this little detail? I always liked them and was amused that uncle Ted looked so much like my grandpa. And man, I had cute clothes when I was little. Where are those dresses now?

Navy Boxing

On Friday night I went with some friends to the US Naval Academy where we watched the annual Brigade Boxing Championships. There were 10 fights in weight classes from 125 to heavyweight. I had never been to a boxing match so it was exciting to be a part of the excitement. The event is the Navy's school championship and the gym was packed with midshipmen and Navy alumni. Since I took a boxing class for a couple of years, I felt I knew a little about the punches and techniques and I was excited to see my first fight. It wasn't long and brutal like Rocky, which I think is what I was expecting. It was very athletic and all the fighters hugged each other after each fight. Not a very "Mike Tyson" thing to do. The fighting wasn't violent at all, although the last two fights did produce some blood. I guess that's why people watch, right?

Snowshoeing in the Adirondacks

Last weekend I took a quick trip up to Albany to join Emily, Doug and Benjamin on a snowshoeing trip in the Adirondacks. We headed up to a small town halfway between Lake George and Lake Placid where we hiked to a yurt at Falls Brook.

Saturday was a perfect day with plenty of sunshine and minimal wind. We headed out to find the frozen Stony Pond but we never quite made it. We still had a great time enjoying the blue sky and fresh snow.

Little Squirt in the Yurt

Benjamin and Emily enjoying the nice warm yurt. This kind of backpacking is way better than sleeping in a tent. You don't have to load your pack down with the tent, a ground pad or any kitchen gear. Did I mention that it was heated? It was heated. The yurt came fully equipped with a gas stove and kitchen items. Emily and Doug made some delicious Thai food on Friday night -- I'll take that over tinfoil dinners any backpacking trip. Winter camping is cold, you say? Then opt for a yurt. Ours was well heated with this trusty unit, that worked so well that we heated water on it. Little hands and wet shoes beware. This heater will burn or melt anything that touches it. My only recommendation: install a fan to promote air circulation. The air from the waist down was freezing, waist to head was semi warm, and the high ceiling area enjoyed if you were sitting on the top bunk was a veritable sauna. Our yurt at Falls Brook. Emily and Doug were very dilligent about making sure Benjamin stayed warm. Here is the happy family gearing up for a day out in the snow. Ben loves his hunting bunting.

Winter's Beauty

Obviously this trip was mostly about enjoying the beauty of winter. There's something so peaceful about a quiet forest covered in a thick blanket of snow. While taking breaks on the trail, we enjoyed that deep silence that is only enjoyed in the back country during winter. Here are a few glimpses of that beauty.

Beautiful and Delicious

Last week I went with some friends to a gallery event at the McLean Project for the Arts. It was called Gals in the Gallery, a ladies night that also had a demonstration by a internationally renowned pastry chef. The theme for the evening was the Art of Chocolate and the chef built a beautiful chocolate sculpture right in front of us. We got to taste some yummy treats too.Here is part of the final product. He made these amazing roses out of white chocolate paste. Alisha, MacKenzie and me enjoying a fun girls night out. Besides the sweet treats, we also saw some intriguing art.

Good Memories

I didn't take many pictures during my holiday trip to Oregon. But I did manage to find these old pictures. It's fun to look at photos from the past and remember how much more simple things were. Or maybe they just seemed easier. Being an adult seems to bring responsibility and big decisions and sometime disappointment. Life was a little easier when I was running around the driveway with friends and sticking my tongue out. I seemed to do a lot of that. I don't remember exactly which vacation this was, but I'll venture a guess and say it's when we went to Cove Palisades. It could have also been Ft. Stevens. Camping was such a great vacation. I wish I did more of it now. Really it's all about sleeping in a tent and cooking and keeping the fire going. Not much else to it. I have no idea where or when this picture was taken, but I like it. Someone told me I look like Dorothy. I especially like grandma Henderson in the background. This looks like it could have been a school concert. More importantly, I remember loving that shirt. I wish they still made cool shirts like that. I have more pictures that I'll post in the future. I'll save them for when I don't have anything new to report.

Bananas for the Steelers

So as you may know, I'm not a huge professional sports fan, however, I do enjoy a good Super Bowl party. Tonight I went to a fun gathering with friends and since I didn't really have a favorite team, I picked the Steelers. When at the grocery store looking for something to bring, I saw a box of Nilla Wafers and got an idea.
Here is my version of a Super Bowl winning dessert. I think I'll call it "Bananas for the Steelers". Congratulations Pittsburgh and fans everywhere. There's plenty of pudding left over so stop by for a celebratory snack. In case you don't know what the Steelers' logo looks like, click here.