Sunday

The plaque hit me and garlic around my neck didn't seem to help much. Thursday afternoon I started to feel it coming on, then I dragged my work up to the crit session at Nick's place and started feeling worse. Somehow wine and a fever don't mix very well and I felt like just crawling into a bed. I stuck around against my better judgment to hear the comments about my work and looked at some nice landscape pieces Rick Graham did. But then that was enough.....I dragged myself back home to sleep twelve hours.

The next few days were spend just lying around the house as I slowly recovered. Although yesterday peace and quiet became a bit of a problem!

Lina had her birthday party with nine screaming girls all running around the house. Its amazing the decibel level they can collectively achieve, ear piercing in some cases. Karin, my wife was more or less over her flu and able to deal better with them, I just kind of checked out on the sofa in the living room. I was grateful that Markus and Victor had them involved in a treasure hunt for a while, which kept them runnng outside around the house in a wild frenzy. Nothing like sharing the decibel level with your neighbors, I'm sure we will hear about it today!

After they ran some energy off, it was cake and more sugar...........yes lets wind them up even more!!!


The "Show-off" at the left is Lina !!!

We scheduled the party for bolling up at the Union building at the University of Utah. Karin, Markus and I each took a carload of giggling ten year olds for the short drive up there, as they made up songs about the street names we drove past! Nothing like walking into a ordinarily quiet bolling alley, all eyes looking in your direction, with a large group of screaming laughing girls. We occupied two lanes and the girls insisted that the fence rails be put up. I soon realized why, most every ball would have ended up in the gutter, instead they proceeded to bounce the ball from fence rail to fence rail down the lane and sometimes miraculously hitting a strike. This went on for maybe an hour and a half and finally we decided it was time to head back for the spaghetti dinner with the gang.

Five hours later at 8 in the evening the last parent arrived to pick up her daughter. It was time for a glass or two of wine..........my stomach seemed to be better, but my mind was shattered. Karin's comment summed it up pretty well "I need a gin and tonic after that!"

Richard Boyer