A FEW OF HER FAVORITE THINGS

Six years ago, almost to the day, I lost my mom. It was the first time anyone so close to me had passed away. The loss turned my world upside down and I was in therapy for two years as a result. One activity, suggested by my therapist, that helped me cope was to celebrate my mom's life wherever possible. Specifically, I immersed myself in the things she enjoyed as a way of having fun and appreciating her tastes.

In that spirit, I threw together some items for today, Jenny's birthday, as a means to celebrate. Starting at upper left in the photo above, meatloaf is the one of the few dishes that Jenny let me make from scratch for family dinner. I did it using a recipe she found online and it was a mainstay ever since the twins were toddlers. We almost always used ground turkey and served it with sides of rice and broccoli.

Going clockwise, Jenny and I watched the Great British Baking Show after the kids were showered and asleep. It was usually the last thing we did before going to bed. I have such happy memories of the show, which had a way of soothing us and bringing peace to our stressful lives.

Every now and then for birthday cakes, we would bring out plastic balloons (at three o'clock in the photo). They are a holdover from a birthday for the kids from many years ago and we use them to add some color and nostalgia.

At the bottom is the issue of Business Week that was on Jenny's nightstand and is from June 2022. I never touched it till now for the photo. (I used to leave everything in Jenny's room alone but I cleaned up her room for Dylan when he got Covid.) Business Week was the only periodical that we subscribed to. Jenny admired the publication for its density of information and the wide breadth of topics covered.

And, on the left, desserts from Alexander's Patisserie. I included these for two reasons. First, in our family, going to Alexander's was about as extravagant a treat as there ever was for dessert. Second, rather than opting for a single large cake that would stay in the fridge for several days, Jenny preferred multiple individual desserts for birthday celebrations.

The Alexander's website has the following dessert descriptions: The upper cake is Midnight Earl, featuring "Earl Grey, infused mousse layered with blackberry gel and rich chocolate - so smooth, dark, and quietly intense. A nocturnal indulgence made for fall nights".

The lower is Harmony: "Croustillant, sponge, velvety vanilla cremeux, and a decadent 70% Guanaja chocolate mousse."

In the middle of the table is a blue plastic dolphin I used to loosen up the knots in Jenny's back by rubbing it up and down her spine.

Of course, for those who caught the reference to the Sound of Music in the title of this blog entry: Yes, Jenny loved that movie and the soundtrack. I'm listening to it as I write this post.

Quick updates on the three of us below:

Earlier this month Tyler moved into a new apartment and also made two new furry friends. See their introduction in the video below. They both snuggle with him at night. He and I talk on the phone every night at 6:20.

October 3, 2025: Tyler's two kittens are introduced to his apartment! This video shows just one of them, with her sister staying out of view. All three are now getting along famously.

Dylan makes the most of every day at UCSB and is as committed as ever to serving his community. Even though he's in SoCal, I try to see him at least once per month. Road-tripping together has become a beloved tradition. The photo to the left was taken two nights ago, when he dressed up as Ken from the Barbie movie (photo on the right).

I took this selfie in June, when I drove down to Santa Barbara to play with Dylan.

With Tyler having left the house, of course it's a little hard for me to be living alone. I have enough to stay busy, though, and I feel like I'm always playing catch up. I take Skeeter on two one-hour walks every day. Even though he just turned three, he still has loads of that that puppy energy.

I go back to Minnesota every six weeks or so. On that note, I'm blessed to have traveled a lot over the past months. Since August, I went to Hong Kong, Hawaii, Seattle and, of course, Minnesota. (In HK, after more than nine years of red tape, I was finally able to put my grandmother's ashes in their final resting place.) My frequent road trips up and down to Santa Barbara frequently take me through the Central Valley, which I am falling in love with.