Uncle Larry

It is unbelievably sad and just unimaginable that our Uncle Larry was killed. The physical distance between us adds a kind of buffer; my sad thoughts can't possibly compare with the deep stabbing pain his family is feeling. We hadn't seen each other since my grandmother died, but his weekly checking in emails were always a joy and did so much to help us hold onto the love we had for each other. As my youngest uncle, he was the one who seemed the most playful, the one that understood us best and was so great at being a kid, even when he was in his sixties. I hope that there is something I can say to make his wife and sons as well as his brothers and sisters, know how much I loved and admired him.

Solvang Report

Nothing witty to write about this time; just a report on our weekend in Solvang. I can't even share personal pictures because our camera decided to poop out on us. [I've snagged a couple of pictures off the Internet, just for effect.] But we did have a nice weekend with a few little adventures.

For those who have experienced Solvang, much of it has not changed. Food is the same - Danish sausages, meatballs, pastries and cookies. We ate at The Little Mermaid to fulfill one of Rosanne's childhood desires and the food was pretty darn good. The main shops are the same so we didn't find a lot that we had to buy. The kids got to experience the grab-all-kinds-of-candy-out-of-barrels-and-pay-too-much-for-it-store. And we hit every toy store in town. What has changed is the number of wine tasting locations in town; I'd estimate 15 to 20. The atmosphere is definitely more "wine country," which makes sense as the vineyards are proliferating.

We spent the night in Santa Maria, which worked out fine. We had hoped to see the Petersons while we were up there, but they'd gone north to help Jeff and his wife move. We did not look up any Halsne relatives; my bad. The drive up there was nice and it was good to be out of the hubbub of Solvang itself.

Sunday morning we ate at the hotel and then headed to Lompoc to see the Mission La Purisima. We hadn't been there in a long time; it was the mission we liked to visit best because it was still pretty unrestored. It's much different now, but is still far enough away from everything that it felt "real." All three kids enjoyed the farm animals - sheep, pigs, donkeys, horses, turkeys, chickens and a bull - and the little ones had a chance to really run around for a while.

We then headed back to Solvang for lunch before the return trip. Eating is our favorite Solvang activity. On Saturday we'd eaten Danish meatballs - wonderful and not at all like Swedish meatballs. Sunday it was sausages - bratwurst and knockwurst. It all came with red cabbage and satisfactory amounts of potatoes. I bought a loaf of limpa bread, thinking it was the bread we always had in smorgasbords, but it's more like rye. Any ideas about what bread I was looking for? All in all, we had a good time. Our drive home took six hours, so that part wasn't so pleasant.

The lesson we learned from this trip: the kids are pretty decent travelers, but next time we'll aim for a shorter drive.

In Praise of Patsy's

There are times when all you need is your Irish pub. Last night was one of those times. So we headed to Patys' Irish Pub in Laguna Niguel. Was it perfect? Almost. The service was very slow - the Irish are never in a hurry. I think the man who served us is the same man in the picture above, albeit a little older. He brought the little kids Shirley Temples and turned one of the tvs to the Cartoon Network. Jim and I each ordered a Guinness, and at about the time Jim was getting ready to reorder, our friend placed another full glass in front of him saying, "This was a mistake, so you should drink it." I came home feeling satisfied; I couldn't make it to Ireland but this helped a lot. The kids got squirmy and no one cared but their mom. The ladies sitting next to us smiled at the kids from time to time. And when we were finally able to pay the bill (no charge for Jim's second Guinness or the refills on the Shirley Temples), our proprietor complimented us on how well the kiddies behaved. A nice evening, and we'll gladly do it again for anyone who wants to come visit. Hint, hint.

Dad

None of us ever really talks about today, but I think the same thought is there for all of us. We may not have known him as well as we'd have hoped. Our memories of him may not all be rosy. There may be a lot of questions about who he really was and what he was really like. The bottom line, though, is that we love him. At this moment I'm shedding the tears that I pretty much keep at bay every time I think of him. I believe that the best parts of him live in each of his children. There are parts of myself that I like to tell myself are my connections to Dad.