I had hoped that when Meg and La came with their families in January that we'd be able to pick bananas off our banana plants. For the first year since we've been here, we had half a dozen maturing bunches. The week of consecutive freezing nights killed off every one of them. It also killed all of the other banana plants that were in succeeding phases of maturation. Nathan did have a lovely time slashing all the dead stuff down, though. So I guess the event wasn't a total disappointment.
Nate pointed out the cat sitting in the sun at the back of his desk--she'd just worked her way out from behind the wooden blinds and was looking over what Nathan and I were doing.
Nate and I went on a walk, trying to find me something to take a picture of for my class. This tiny, very old dog was trotting along the canal fence and came up to Nathan. Nate picked him up and then put him down again--at which point the dog continued his journey down the canal way. He didn't look lost; seemed to enjoy the moment of attention from Nate.
This is an anhinga drying its wings at the edge of the lake where Nate and I walk Linda's dogs. It was well insulated from the sidewalk traffic by a generous clump of sea grapes bushes. I like the silhouette of him, though. Just a cool picture of a cool bird.

Dad and Cindy come in to visit us tonight. They have just come from Cindy's sister's wedding. I guess it was a wonderful celebration--her first try at marriage not a real big success. I hope that they don't mind that we're getting cool weather still. I have been watching the Winter Olympics in Norway (?) (I think.) on and off all afternoon while cleaning like crazy and vacuuming up all the dust bunnies I could find in the corners and under the sofa. Cindy's home is always spotless--while cleaning isn't one of my strong suits--or even a suit I would like to become better at. It will be nice to see them. It has been quite a few months since we were out in Utah. Brent and I change so little, I don't plan trips to visit to keep everyone in on the children's growth. I have a hard time just keeping up with what everyone is doing now.

Nate is doing really well in Chem and Algebra and Art History--I can't remember the other class he's in. I like watching him take charge and get all of his school work done. He'll probably be called for a part-time full-time genealogy center mission soon. I'm psyched. He's calmer about it. But then, he's calmer about just about everything.