The Mapping of Love and Deep-Fried Oreos

This past week we have been lounging around at beautiful Bear Lake, Idaho with Marinda's family.  Its been a busy week of reading, puzzle-making and eating way too much.

Marinda was consumed with reading the latest book about mystery-solver Maisie Dobbs: Jacqueline Winspear's The Mapping of Love and Death.  "Maisie Dobbs is my hero!" Marinda says, "I want to be just like her...minus being shelled in World War I."

Eastern Washington

While Marinda has been about as one-dimensional as a drive through Eastern Washington (see picture to the right), Amit has been exploring a variety of different activities.  He's been reading his astrobiology textbook, Planets and Life; solving jigsaw puzzles with the rest of the family; and kayaking all over Bear Lake.  Yes, he's basically been living life as a spoiled brat who pictures himself a renaissance man.  "Oh, I can't be tied down to one thing," he said while wearing a fedora and holding a fake pipe in his hands.  "My mind is far too versatile.  My life is like cross-training for my mind."  If by cross-training he means being pretentious, snooty and yuppie-ish, then yes, his life is like cross-training.

Verticalville II, one of the
puzzles completed at the cabin

Amit, attempting to wakeboard

But those two knuckleheads aren't the only people at the cabin.  In fact, there have been many guests.  Yesterday (Saturday) Marinda's Uncle Wade came to visit and took everyone to play on the boat.  Marinda and Amit both got to try wakeboarding and tubing.  For those who don't know, both involve a powerboat pulling someone either attached to a snowboard type thing (wakeboarding) or a giant floating disk that you hold on to (tubing).  Both of them were actually able to stand for a split second while wakeboarding before wiping out and needing to be rescued.  "My water is filled up with nose!" Marinda said after she wiped out (she may have been a little shocked from the wipe out still).  But not every one was happy about the day's events.  "This is so wasteful!" a resident global warming alarmist and environmentalist said.  "I've been trying to ban these...trifles...even since I realized I wasn't any good at them!"

Amit and Marinda living like movie stars

Giles

Missing their pet bunny Durandal, Marinda and Amit have a adopted a resident stuffed animal and cutie-pie from the cabin, whom they have named Giles, in honor of Joseph Sinkler Giles, one of Marinda's ancestors who they learned about last Sunday from Marinda's mom.  Why him?  "Oh, he's so cute!  Can we keep him, can we, can we, can we, can we, please please please PLEEAAASE!!!!!!!" was Amit's response when he saw him, so that pretty much settled it.

Deep-fried cookies.  So good, yet so bad.

Other than that, things at the cabin have been fun.  There have been sailing trips with Marinda's dad, Amit and Ben bonding over watching cartoon characters throw elements at each other, and occasionally, people maybe sometimes possibly take naps around here.  Marinda and Amit have also been taking their turns cooking for the family.  So far they've made pizza, chicken curry and daal, and yesterday they made Hawaiian haystacks.  But the food highlight of the trip has to have been the deep-fried oreos and nutter-butters.  These scrumptous heart-killers were prepared by Steven and Megan and can literally cause a civil war between your heart and your stomach.  Why do the best things in life have to be bad for you?  You know, like reading this blog. It may be hilarious (let's face it, it really is) but it probably lowers your IQ by a few points in a hebdomadal fashion.

Well, even we can't wax eloquently and wittily forever, so we hope you'll tune in next week!  Next weekend we'll be in Colorado for a wedding and we'll be in Cleveland after that, so we'll get to see Amit's parants again!  Both Amit and Marinda haven't seen them since Thanksgiving so they are looking forward to seeing them for a good amount of time.  Speaking of things Marinda is looking forward to, she literally was craving chicken pot pies from the Nauvoo Cafe in Salt Lake City when they flew in last Friday, but they didn't have time to stop there.  So she's really really hoping that they will have time to stop there on they're way to the airport Friday.  Yeah, that's right Steven (who doesn't read this blog) we're looking at you.

Hebdomdal over and out.

The Sailboat, courtesy of Steven Mitchell Photography