IAN'S BIRTHDAY!

It's hard to believe that Scott's youngest child is 17 years old today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IAN!!! I am so blessed and happy to be Ian's Stepmom - he's such a great, talented, handsome, smart young man with a sharp wit and great sense of humor...so much fun to be around. I hope he has a wonderful day today, and wish we could be with him to celebrate his birthday. I look forward to having him back home in Cali this summer! I love you, Ian. XXXXOOOO
Mary

WAMJM

When I was recently cleaning the garage and found the old lamppost sign (see post below), I also found the license plate from Pop's old Mercedes...

Remember when Dad had the WAMJM license plate in the 70's? That one took a bit of explaining, but so did this Tintic one, I suppose. Hard to believe the last time Dad had that car registered with this plate was 1993. He sure did love that car.

Just checked on the Cali DMV site, and neither of these plates are available:

Wonder what wonderful Cali residents own these plates? I'd love to meet them, cuz they must be the best people!

512

When Mom and Dad moved out of the family home, I snatched a few things...

• I have the dinner bell that hung in the back patio next to the kitchen window
• I have the all-electric-home medallion that hung above the doorbell
• My biggest score was the sign from the front yard lamppost....

When I took down the lamppost sign, in my heart I hoped that someday a McDonell - me! - would be putting it back in its rightful place. The last owner contacted me a few years ago when he was selling the house, but no way could I afford what he was asking. Who knows? Maybe it'll come back on the market at a price that Mary and I can afford.

Worse case scenario: I also have the original, complete blueprints so I guess I could just rebuild the house somewhere else someday. I also have Milo's original sketch of the swimming pool, so I can make a fake of that, too. But what would really be cool is to own the real thing - my family's old homestead.

Babies, Please!!!

This weekend one of my projects was cleaning out the linen closet and going through the cedar chest. In the linen closet I found two gift boxes with Scott's name on them. They contained some of his precious baby clothes which were carefully wrapped in tissue. I have seen baby pictures of Scott wearing these! His beautiful white linen suit complete with tie and belt; his soft blue and white knit jumper, sweater and cap with felt moccasins; a white seersucker hat with blue and white striped seersucker shoes; red and white Christmas shoes - they are all so adorable, just like him!! I have carefully re-wrapped them in tissue and placed them in the cedar chest, awaiting the arrival of our Grandsons...I sure am looking forward to being a Grandma! Elliot, Abbie & Alysson, Claire, Ian...not to rush you into anything, but when the time is right...babies please!!!

My Cowgirl Bride

Thought I'd jump into the Halloween fray and show off my cute cowgirl...

Check out Wild Bill's belt buckle...
Yippee Ki Yo Kayay, I'm a lucky guy!

The Honeymoon Continues

I can't get over how wonderful the first week of marriage to my beautiful bride, Mary, has been.

Today she made me pancakes with a heart.

I Love You, Mary!


PS: I'm sure this newlywed stuff sounds corny, but I'm liking it!

The Perfect Honeymoon

A week ago today I married my Sweetheart, my Best Friend, my One True Love...this has been the happiest week of my life. Our wonderful families arranged a surprise honeymoon for us on Catalina Island where Scott and I enjoyed the peacefulness of beautiful Avalon Bay. We stayed at the Hotel Vista Del Mar in an incredible ocean front suite on the third floor. We enjoyed the sunrise every morning as we sipped our coffee from the balcony overlooking the bay. Every evening we relaxed in the moonlight and stared up at a sky full of stars as we listened to the peaceful sound of waves rolling up the sand on the beach. A fireplace and two person jacuzzi tub in our room topped it off!!! It was hard to leave the room, but there was so much to enjoy on the island. The weather was sunny and warm as we toured the Casino museum, hiked to the botanical garden and Wrigley Memorial, window shopped up and down the quaint streets, and enjoyed great food highlighted by a delicious dinner at the Catalina Country Club. WOW! Truly the Perfect Honeymoon!!! Endless thank you's to our family members who made this possible. We love you all so much.

Pops and Mary

After a very, very long wait, Dad and Mary
finally met each other yesterday!


I know they both longed for that moment,
and it was wonderful to see them together.

Sam's

Last Friday, Mary and I went to the recently reopened Sam's in Sunset Beach. It was closed about a year ago and was going to be torn down and replaced with a strip mall, but a local guy bought it and renovated it.

It's not the same old Sam's that we know and love - it has an entirely new menu, linen tablecloths, upscale silverware and plates, top cabin service... and the prices reflect the changes. No longer can you get the Fisherman's Platter for $10 or the lobster for $15. But I must say... I have never had such good food at Sam's before! I always liked the place for the kitsch atmosphere, and didn't mind that the food was so-so, but now the ambiance is totally cool and the food is insanely good.

I give it a solid 8 out of 10 stars. Check it out here: www.samsseafood.com

TinticWest

What a way to start blogging - I decide to take the plunge and come to find out that my Pops stole the best possible URL... www.tintic.blogspot.com Right on, Pops!

Oh, well... I went with TinticWest which is kinda cool, I think.

Stay in Touch