Warming, warming...

Absolutely impressive

I don't know who was more confused when we said we were in Kirtland, Ohio, for our anniversary; the people who live in the frozen state or Utahns who don't know why we didn't go to the beach.
But we didn't mind their blank stares.
We just enjoyed the snow (we couldn't find any this year in Utah) and the history and the beautiful creches at the Historic Kirtland Nativity Exhibit.
Marc had had Kirtland on his bucket list of church history sites for a while now and really wanted to visit.
He also (just coincidentally, of course) wanted to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where his close friend Bob Dylan has a little bit of space.
I had heard about the Historic Kirtland Nativity Exhibit and since I love nativities, I signed on right away.
We headed out armed with new gloves, boots, Harry Potter scarves and thermal underwear.
We flew out with no problem and landed in Kirtland safely.

The prophet sat at this table

The next day was a snow-crunching tour of Kirtland with a pair of really cold, earnest, sister missionaries who showed us the Newell K. Whitney store where Joseph Smith spent a lot of time in the upstairs room studying and the school of the prophets held class.
We stopped at the John Johnson farm where Joseph and Emma were when ruffians broke in and stole Joseph away for some tar-and-feathering.
We checked out the Kirtland Temple, literally built with faith and prayers, a place now owned by the Community of Christ church.

In the John Johnson gingerbread exhibit

We then headed to the visitors' center to see the 954 Nativity sets on display.
We were quickly overwhelmed with the detail, the creativity, the beauty and the many ways and means people use to portray that Christmas event.
(My favorite is a tiny nesting Nativity with a microscopic Baby Jesus!)
We then made a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
It is a brilliant collection with almost every song Marc and I knew from our high school days celebrated.

So, Bob, what's new?

Marc even had a heart-to-heart with Dylan.
I enjoyed the Elvis collection and would have come home with the gold outfit he never wore as a complete outfit if I could have got away with it. He only wore the jacket because it was too showy, he said.

For casual Fridays

Really? This from a guy who wore a diamond-encrusted pantsuit in most of his shows?
I think my mind is blown.
We found out later that the night after we visited Kirtland an ice storm shut down the hill we'd driven up and the day before we flew out of Atlanta 350 flights were cancelled due to bad weather.
We just skirted around all the trouble. I guess our guardian angels were on duty.
Want to travel with us?

The highlight in Cleveland

A rising star

I've enjoyed Nathan Pacheco since Yanni invited him to be a Voice on the first album that included words with Yanni's gorgeous music.
I thought at the time that he was a perfect choice since his voice had color, depth and range.
(Even though I think for a lot of us diehard Yanni fans found it difficult to welcome singers to the mix, Nathan was a natural. He respected Yanni's talent and augmented what was already beautiful music without harming the instrumental core.)
So sitting on the front row at his concert in Kingsbury Hall Saturday night was truly a gift. I was delighted.
Marc and I had to work to get there.
We had a full Saturday with a ward breakfast that required Santa and Mrs. Claus (We know them very well) to show up in costume with pockets full of candy canes, end-of-season yardwork, Christmas decorating and catching the TRAX train in time to chug up to the University of Utah.
Marc is still babying a toe that required a knuckle removal and stitches so, for him, scurrying along the sidewalk from the stadium to Will Call required stamina and sweat.
For me, it's a test for my complaining arthritic joints.
It was worth it, though.
Nathan has a charming personality and some of the song arrangements were so remarkable that I'm going online in a few minutes to buy them.
He sings in several languages with ease. He's comfortable with the patter.
He encourages sing-alongs so the audience feels a part of things and invests in the music.
He can dabble in a variety of styles.
It's a fun Christmas event and there are two more Utah concerts: Nov. 8 at UVU and Nov. 9 in Logan at the high school.