My Techies

August 20, 2020: Dylan breads chicken tenders for family dinner.

When it comes to issues of technology, my boys are my go-to guys. Jacob is helpful with cell phones and other problems, but since he lives three hours away, he can't just jump in the car and run to my aid when I'm frustrated and ready to throw the computer against the wall while sobbing hysterically. Therefore, Dylan and Jake get the honor of receiving those emotional phone calls at any odd hour of the day or night. 

Recently, they did a big job for me, so we decided to combine the tech stuff with a family dinner, and it worked out wonderfully.

Jake tends the tenders in the air fryer.

Dylan had asked for an air fryer for his birthday, almost two months ago, mainly because (he said) you can use it to reheat chicken McNuggets and they're as tasty as fresh-made by Ronald McDonald! Since his birthday, they've experimented with other dishes and really like it. They had offered a few weeks ago to bring over their air fryer and make chicken strips or nuggets for us sometime, and this seemed like the prefect opportunity.

The perfect chicken strips, especially dipped in a bit of ranch dressing!

They did all the work, letting me just relax and visit. They even used ground pork rinds for the breading so I wouldn't have to cheat on my healthy eating. The strips came out beautifully, tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. It was a delicious dinner, with green beans served on the side. 

I might buy an air fryer for myself, if only I had room for one in my little kitchen!

My new gaming computer...although that's not what I bought it for.

The computer I've been using is only three years old, but it recently started doing some glitchy things that spooked me. Plus it seemed to be less and less able to handle multiple functions at the same time, slowing way down despite attempting a variety of fixes. Dylan had been recommending that I get a gaming computer, due to their greater power. (He and Jake are huge gamers.) Still, I kept telling myself, "But it's only three years old!"

However, the last few glitches made me worry for the safety of thousands of photographs stored on my hard drive, and especially for the novel I'm writing. The idea of recreating the 55,000+ words I've written so far is a nightmarish scenario. And, yes, I have my photos and my novel backed up on external drives, but what happens if the computer somehow tweaks something when I'm moving files between the hard drive and external drive? I don't know if that's even possible, but I'm not going to wait to find out!

People who know what they're doing can open it up and add or upgrade components.

So I called Dylan and said, "Okay, let's do this." He recommended a gaming computer that had the features I'd want, and then he ordered it for me. The new computer, a new curved monitor (never had one of those before), and a pair of speakers arrived about a week before our family dinner.

The fun part is how everything lights up colorfully!

Dylan and Jake make a great team. Dylan is the set-up-the-hardware guy and Jake is the set-up-the-software-and-programs guy. After our family dinner, Dylan got to work removing my old computer, reassembling everything on the kitchen table so I could continue to use it until I moved all my files over to the new computer. Then he un-packaged all the new components and got them up and running and arranged nicely in my workspace. I hung around and asked a lot of questions, of course. He patiently explained everything and showed me how things worked.

The student has become the master.

All set up in my office and ready to go to work!

By the time he was finished, it was getting late. Dylan and Jake had a friend from out of town coming to visit, so we had to call it a night. They came back a few days later so Jake could make sure the programs I'd need were in place and everything was set up the way I like it. The timing was perfect. Since I couldn't use the new computer for those few days, I worked like crazy to reorganize my picture files so they'd be all neat and tidy when I transferred them over, a chore I'd been avoiding for years! It was so nice to have every photo in the correct file, at last, when I loaded up my new computer.

This is my view looking into the office from my bed at night.

So now I'm good to go, and I've been using the new computer for about a week. It's so fast, and I can listen to Spotify while working without bogging everything down! Best of all, I can work with peace of mind.

Thanks, guys! You're so good at what you do!

The new keyboard is pretty spectacular, like a glowing rainbow!

Three Weddings and Two Receptions

August 22, 2020: The Carters with the Bride and Groom...

Mark, Sarah, Dylan, Spencer, McKinley, and Mary.

As restrictions gradually ease up over the covid-19/coronavirus madness (in Arizona, at least), three newlywed couples were finally able to gather with friends and family to celebrate their new marriages, and we were thrilled to celebrate with them.

Yesterday was a second reception for Spencer, the son of our friends Joshua and Karen Hall, and his bride McKinley. They were married on July 31 and had their main reception in Utah at that time. McKinley is from Alaska (named after Mt. McKinley!) but her family has many relatives and friends in Utah. This second reception was for their family and friends here in Arizona. 

The tables are all set up just before guests begin to arrive at 6:00.

I had the honor of arriving an hour and a half before the reception began, to help finish up the preparations. Held in the family's lovely forested back yard, there were fifty chairs that needed burgundy tulle ribbons tied on the backs of each, and I tied about thirty of those ribbons. It takes a lot longer than one might imagine!

Beautiful centerpieces with fun photos of the happy couple.

Guests started arriving promptly at six o'clock and found a delicious buffet set out for them. Chicken cordon bleu, baked potatoes with butter and sour cream, garden salad with ranch dressing, buttered rolls, and big fluffy slices of cheesecake with whipped cream were set out for our dining pleasure.

Guests begin gathering to visit with the wedding party in line.

I hear the food was all delicious. Sadly, in my never-ending quest to eat healthy and lose weight, I had to settle for a big plate of salad. Nonetheless, visiting with friends we haven't seen in ages due to five months of "shelter-at-home" nonsense more than made up for my lack of chicken cordon bleu! I was interested to note that there wasn't a single mask in sight, even among the folks my age and those ten, twenty, thirty years older. A few of us even dared to hug in greeting.

If we lived in Los Angeles, our friends would have their water and power cut off as a punishment for hosting this gathering. I've never been so glad to be an Arizonan!

Good friends since childhood, Dylan Carter and Spencer Hall.

It was good to see my son Dylan with his friend Spencer again. During the disastrous three years of my second, abusive marriage, the Halls' home became a safe refuge for Dylan. Karen and Joshua became like his second parents, and Spencer another brother. I'll always be grateful to them for that.

Gifts begin to pile up on the gift table.

Spencer and McKinley perform a sweet dance for their guests.

And that's not all! Exactly one week earlier, on August 15, we attended another reception. This event was actually for a sister and brother who married their sweethearts about six weeks apart, but both couples had to wait to gather for their wedding celebrations.

Another happy Bride and Groom: Monte and Sydney.

Monte is the son of our friends Eugene and Wyndie Prestwich, and his bride Sydney is the daughter of our friends Newell and Becky Belnap, both families being in our church ward. Sydney, in fact, is a former student of mine, who took a few of my classes over the course of her high school career.

Two gorgeous wedding cakes for this reception.

As it turned out, Monte and Sydney got engaged first, and then her brother Spencer (yes, another Spencer) became engaged to Breezy some time after. However, Spencer and Breezy got married first, about six weeks before Monte and Sydney, who were married on May 30.

Monte and Sydney cut their wedding cake first.

Spencer and Breezy will have their main reception in Idaho, where the bride's family is from, in a few weeks. Meanwhile, Monte and Sydney sweetly agreed to have them share their long-awaited reception so that their Arizona friends and relatives could celebrate with both couples (and make it a bit easier on Sydney and Spencer's mom and dad!). The planning of the backyard reception, however, was all according to Sydney's design.

Then Sydney's brother Spencer and his Bride Breezy take their turn.

Sydney, a sweet young lady with a definite will of her own, is passionate about her kindergartners and looks forward to getting back to her classroom. Meanwhile, she thought it would be fun to have her reception refreshments resemble a kindergarten snack break. An adorable idea! Thus, the guests were served little pint cartons of milk and HUGE chunky chocolate chip cookies served in individual plastic bags.

Again, I'm told the cookies were delicious, but I managed to walk away without giving in. Of course, Mark more than made up for it by eating FIVE of them himself. Not even kidding!

A gorgeous photo of Monte and Sydney among their gifts.

The reception was quite well attended, the first such large gathering I'd been to since early March. I observed a few people wearing masks and a few others with masks dangling from their ear, chin, or hand, but the large majority were mask-less and visiting freely. It was a wonderful night.

I look forward to a day when the world resumes its sense of sanity. In the meantime, it's great to know that the love and friendships we feel for each other endure, and that we're always ready to celebrate together in the start of young married lives!

A backyard filled with guests to celebrate two marriages in the family.