The Saddest Vacation

This week I had my first of several vacations this year. Vacations are supposed to be fun, but the circumstances surrounding this vacation are sad.

A few months ago, my brother, David, lost his science job. Unfortunately, this occurred right around the time of the Trump administration, and with all the funding cuts, it is extremely difficult to find science jobs in the United States right now. So he is moving his family to Taiwan, which is where my sister-in-law, Ya-ping, is from. I wanted to visit them in California's Bay Area before they leave. They moved into this particular apartment last year, so it was the first and last time I saw it.

Guys, this is the reality of the Trump administration and DOGE. If you voted for Trump, I'm ashamed of you, and you should be ashamed of yourself, especially if you continue to support him.

I flew into California on Tuesday, and they were taking things down to get rid of them. Ya-ping asked me to take old pictures of my niblings out of their picture frames. As I did so, some of the photographs stuck to the glass, leaving splotches behind. (Good thing we live in a day when the original files are digital!)

This picture is from June 2012, when the kids were seven, four, and two. They were at my cousin's wedding, which they stopped at while they were moving west from Tennessee to California. Seeing the blotches on the photograph is a reminder that that period is long past now, thirteen years later.

The year 2012 is forever etched in my mind as one of the most significant and memorable years of my life: I had my most important editing and geology classes; I got my first internship, which plunged me into an unexpected career in Mormon history; I made various friendships; I first came out to my mom; and of course, I saw these adorable kids in California.

Thirteen years later, the oldest, Preston, is in college, so only the younger two, Franklin and Amity, are at home. They spend a lot of time playing computer games, and they objectively aren't as cute as they were in the 2010s.

I got a dose of cuteness instead from their cat, Pudding. I met Pudding when I briefly visited in July 2023, but I got to spend more time with him. He is a playful cat, but he also spent hours cuddling with me.

When the light shone through Pudding's ears, I could see the blood vessels outlining his ears

Pudding and Reggie are very different from each other.

Wednesday and Thursday night, we played Jackbox games. During the game Quiplash, Amity and I had to answer "The three best birthday gifts for a very sad man." We both, independently, put Pudding and Reggie in our answers.

During the days, I spent a lot of time doing reading for work. 

On Thursday, my brother took me to a nearby nature trail. It was fun to see forget-me-nots, redwoods, and thimbleberries (which we also have in Utah).

And he also showed he Mortar Rock, a Jurassic volcanic outcropping where Indigenous peoples ground grains. It's kind of a park, except that it's just a block in a random neighborhood.

On Thursday evening, I boarded Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to go from Albany to San Francisco to meet a friend, Dave, I met at the Gather conference in 2023. I was surprised how noisy BART was. I just sat there on the train, instead of looking at my phone. One good thing about this trip was that I got time to just sit and do literally nothing, instead of flitting about from job to job, to chores, to trails, to stores, etc.

Once I got to my stop in San Francisco, I walked through the neighborhoods. It was fun to see the iconic steep roads with the houses close together. 

I stopped in a little neighborhood grocery store, since I love grocery stores, and I was surprised to see they sold grapes in paper bags! I have never seen that before. I might buy grapes more often, except that I feel guilty about the plastic. But I didn't buy anything in this store. 

And I stopped in a bookstore called Bird & Beckett Books & Records, which was overpacked with books. They happened to have a used copy of a book that a colleague had recommended to me, The Shoemaker and the Tea Party, so I bought it. It's about historical memory (in this case about the American Revolution), a topic that interests me.

I met my friend, and we walked through the streets, where there was some kind of street fair going on. He showed me a quirky store that sold various animal skulls and taxidermy items, as well as a few fossils. The employee assured us that everything was ethically sourced—the taxidermy was all secondhand, and all human specimens (!) were retired educational specimens, but I didn't notice any human items.

We went to a Mexican restaurant where I got butternut squash tamales, since butternut squash is almost pumpkin (even though it's not pumpkin season), but the corny outside drowned out the flavor of the squash.

Then I had to get on BART again before it quit running for the night, and I had my last evening with the niblings. 

I said goodbye before they headed to school Friday morning. I don't know the next time I will see them again, or Pudding, sadly. It was hard to visit when they lived in Tennessee, and Taiwan will be much harder. But at least they're older now, so I'm not worried about them forgetting us.

If you want to help out, you will not vote for MAGA candidates, so we can restore some sanity to this country and they can come back.

Anyway, that's all for the trip.

You might have noticed that my most recent posts haven't included the AI dreams, because my dreams weren't that interesting, and I'm getting a little bored of the concept. But I did have some interesting dreams this week, including one about a grocery store that had a lot going on.

there are four large moths stuck together in the bathroom, and two of them have pictures of Spiderman on the wings

the woman is annoyed by the Rosh Hashanah decorations for sale at the grocery store

Mark pets the friendly orange cat in the grocery store

the middle-aged man wants a free sample of the pickle deviled eggs at the grocery store

a man drives a van full of people backwards to the shore of the Great Salt Lake

It's hard to come up with titles after fourteen years

In the last few years, there have been lots of new trails built in Bountiful and North Salt Lake, and it has been fun to be able to branch out and try new things. Some of the new trails haven't intrigued me enough to return, but some have.

In Bountiful, there's the Mueller Park trail, which is lovely but busy and overrated. But just past the Mueller Park trailhead is the Mueller Park picnic area, which says you need to pay to use it "for any reason," but I am still unsure whether that means just the picnic sites or the trails as well. 

Anyway, on Monday I went on the new trails in that fee area, but I didn't pay the fee because the rules are unclear. (You can access them via the free trails anyway.) There are many new lower-elevation trails there that are very popular with mountain bikers, which can get a little annoying. I think I have now been on all the new lower-elevation portions. Sometime I will have to try out the upper trails.

Cutleaf balsamroot is in season!

And so is arrowleaf balsamroot.

In Mueller Park, there is a paved road that turns into a dirt road that turns into a trail. This trail meets up, awkwardly, at this new bridge on one of the new trails. But east of the bridge, the trail is a downhill bike trail.

But I was more excited for my Saturday run. I went on the new trail in North Canyon that I have tried a few times recently, which goes to Cave Peak. This time, I went on a different spur of the trail and followed it, not knowing where or how far it went. After I had been running 5.2 miles, it finally met up with the main North Canyon trail, not far from Rudy's Flat, and I knew exactly where I was. This new trail was less steep, but it was longer and less shady. One of the things I love about North Canyon is the shade. But I'm glad there's an extra trail now so I can vary my routes. I can make it more of a loop, but only on days where I don't care about shade. To take it as a loop is a little over eight miles.

Glacier lilies are still abundant at the higher elevations

When I got to the main North Canyon trail, there were branches blocking the trail. I'm guessing they put them up while they were still building the new trail last year and then never took them down?

There were still a few snow passes

I don't like sharing trails with horses

Sadly, everything looks less pretty in late morning than in the evening

The gambel oaks have been removed from the natural gas pipeline, but it looks like some are growing back. And there's sagebrush on the south-facing slopes.

The trees still don't have their leaves, so it was not shady at all

May is just a wonderful month. It's peak wildflower season (at least in lower elevations), and there are lots of pleasant smells, and it also is light late. I'm going on two trips this month, and I'm nervous for them (especially leaving my sweet Reggie behind!), but they should be good experiences.

I don't know, I don't have much else to say. Sorry if this was boring. This week I finished the candy from my Easter basket. One of my oldest memories, probably when I was four years old, is eating Easter candy one morning while watching cartoons, and I noticed that if I ate the ears off my Peeps Bunnies, they looked like snowmen. So now I think of that every time I have them.

The seasonal food bible

I started my blog on May 1, 2011. In the last fourteen years, I have blogged every Sunday and every May 1! I could theoretically have a fourteen-year-old child, but instead I have a fourteen-year-old blog. For each anniversary, I like to do some kind of reminiscent post.

I thought I would do something a little different this year. You likely know my obsession with seasonal foods, so I thought I would elaborate on some of my rules and thought processes. (I did something similar in 2012, though that wasn't for an anniversary post.) So here goes.

When it comes to sweet things (dessert, candy, etc.), I generally only eat things that are holiday themed. (I also allow myself desserts made from produce we grow ourselves, but I won't get into that here.) Each holiday has its designated season. In 2018, I began allowing myself a grace period for leftovers, which is a much better way to handle it. (I used to make myself sick on Easter because I couldn't eat the candy after the holiday.)

If it's regular food, I can have it any time of the year, but some foods are especially suitable for certain times. (I have toyed with the idea of only eating holiday-themed meats, but that is difficult.)

I divide seasonal foods into different categories.

Category 1. These are foods that are iconic to the holiday, such as jelly beans, pumpkin pie, candy canes, etc. A comprehensive list follows.

Category 2. These are foods with special seasonal flavors. Category 2A consists of foods flavored like items in category 1: candy cane milkshakes, red velvet cookies, etc. This is my favorite category, and it's the driving factor behind my annual Pumpkinundation Roundup. Category 2B consists of foods with a flavor made specially for the season, but the flavor itself is not seasonal. These are often associated with colors. A good example is McDonald's Shamrock Shake. The minty flavor itself is not connected to St. Patrick's Day, but because it's green, it comes out seasonally.

Category 3. These are foods with a special shape or color, but the flavor is the same as their regular counterparts. Sometimes category 3 foods can become category 1. (Sugar cookies are iconic for Christmas and Valentine's Day, but they are category 3 for other holidays. Chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs are category 1, but chocolate turkeys and chocolate Santas are category 3.)

Category 4. These are candies where only the wrapper is seasonal. You know the iconic Hershey's Kisses commercial with the ringing Kisses in red, green, and silver wrappers? Those are category 4.

I try not to buy categories 3 and 4, but I will eat them if they are given to me.

Here is a listing of the nine holidays I formally celebrate and their seasons, along with the regular foods and sweet foods that I classify as category 1. Also, I am always considering if additional foods should be counted, so I'm including ones that I haven't formally admitted.

New Year's, December 26–January 1. I actually allow myself to eat anything this week (for several reasons), but there are some specific New Year foods. The South has more New Year food traditions.
Regular foods: black-eyed peas
Sweets: sparkling cider, sparkling grape juice
Considering: cornbread, ham, turkey, confetti cake

Valentine's Day, January 15–February 14.
Sweets: red velvet cake and cupcakes, conversation hearts, chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate cherry, chocolate raspberry, chocolates, sugar cookies, cinnamon candy, rose
Considering: cheesecake, Black Forest cake, Valentine's cupcakes, strawberry milk

St. Patrick's Day, February 15–March 17. I can eat anything green. Green food coloring alone is fine, but I prefer it if there's a flavor to go with it: mint, pistachio, lime, apple, avocado, etc. I can also have candy that comes in gold wrappers (like Rolos). I also count Lucky Charms as category 2B.
Regular foods: corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, Irish stew, colcannon
Considering: potatoes, Irish potato candy (meant to look like potatoes, not made from potatoes), chocolate coins, mint shakes (currently 2B)

Easter, March 18–Easter Sunday.
Regular foods: roast ham, Easter eggs (hard-boiled eggs), carrots
Sweets: chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs (various kinds), marshmallow chicks (Peeps), carrot cake, hot cross buns, jelly beans
Considering: Jordan almonds, chocolate crosses, lamb, lamb cake

Fourth of July, Friday before Memorial Day–July 4. I have added a lot of Fourth of July foods in recent years, but most of them are not specific to just the holiday.
Regular foods: hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, watermelon
Sweets: ice cream, rocket pops, popping candy, lemonade, apple pie, s'mores, flag cake
Considering: strawberry shortcake, fried chicken, potato chips, potato salad, cotton candy 

Pioneer Day, July 5–July 24. Since I'm the world's leading expert on Pioneer Day, I get to make this up! I'm still figuring it all out.
Regular foods: watermelon
Sweets: saltwater taffy made in Utah, ice cream made in Utah, lemonade
Considering: sunflower seeds and sunflower butter, pie (generally), Utah foods: Utah scones, Jello, pastrami burgers, fry sauce, honey, funeral potatoes, frogeye salad

Halloween, September 15–October 31. 
Regular foods: chili, pumpkin (as a vegetable)
Sweets: pumpkin (pumpkin spice, pumpkin pie), caramel apples, candy corn, candy pumpkins, popcorn balls, apple cider, apple cider donuts, Halloween candy (I'm still figuring out the difference between Halloween candy and regular candy)
Considering: colcannon, gummy worms, apple (generally), donuts (broadly), dry-ice root beer (but I don't really drink soda)

Thanksgiving, November 1–Thanksgiving.
Regular foods: turkey, stuffing, rolls/biscuits, cornbread, squash, pumpkin (as a vegetable), cranberry sauce, corn, sweet potatoes, gravy, pomegranate, green bean casserole
Sweets: pumpkin (pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice), apple pie, pecan pie, mincemeat pie, sweet potato pie, cranberry orange, candy corn, spiced cider
Considering: candy pumpkins (currently category 3), mac and cheese, pickles, olives

Christmas, day after Thanksgiving–December 25.
Regular foods: turkey, ham, red apples, oranges, cranberry
Sweets: candy canes, mint lozenges, ribbon candy, gumdrops, gingerbread (men, houses), sugar cookies, eggnog, hot cocoa, wassail, spiced cider, yule log cake, fruitcake, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, chocolate orange, chocolate cherry, cranberry orange, peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, cinnamon candy
Considering: toffee, stuffing, nuts, popcorn tins, pine nuts, milk and cookies, archaic foods: plum pudding, figgy pudding, sugarplums

And here is a very long list of some of my most memorable (not necessarily good, but memorable) foods over the years, including their category. You will see that sometimes it is difficult to pinpoint a category. Since this is a blog-anniversary post, all of these foods were either on this blog or over on The Impulsive Buy. The rise of smartphones makes this all possible; I wouldn't make the effort to take pictures of these things with a digital camera (much less a film camera!).

Van Leeuwen champagne ice cream, 2023/24. I am firmly anti-alcohol, but this does not have alcohol. 2A.

Homemade New Year's Day soup, 2024/25. Made with black-eyed peas, ham, and greens. 1 or 2A.

Hot & Spicy Cinnamon Oreo, 2018. 2A.

Baskin-Robbins Secret Admirer (rose) and Love Potion #31 (chocolate raspberry) ice cream, 2022. 2A or 2B.

RubySnap February cookies, 2023: sugar cookie (1), chocolate cherry, red velvet, rose (2A), grapefruit, beet (2B)

Nebo Queen "leprechaun" (Lucky Charms and mint) shake, 2018. 2B.

Homemade avocado milkshakes, 2021. 2B.

Lucky Slice corned beef and cabbage pizza, 2023. 2A.

Homemade Irish soda bread cookies, 2023. 2A.

Normal Ice Cream fairy circle composed cone, 2023. 2B.

Homemade avocado pie, 2025. 2B.

Homemade carrot cake, 2018. 1.

Peeps cereal, 2019. 2A.

Homemade carrot pie, 2019. 2A.

Brach's Taco Truck Jelly Beans, 2022. 1.

Homemade hot cross buns, 2023. 1.

Pie Party carrot cake pie, 2025. 2A.

Pie Party Easter quiche, 2025. 2A or 2B.

Homemade chocolate carrot cake, 2025. 1, 2A, or 2B.

Stewart's Fireworks ice cream, 2018. 1 and 2A.

Dairy Queen Star-Spangled Blizzard, 2018. 1 (for Starkiss ice pop) and 2A or 2B.

Homemade apple pie, 2021. 1. (This is one of my most cherished Fourth of July memories because of the random blob of crust that ended up looking like a turkey. And also my cousin found a spider in his ice cream.)

Homemade flag cake, 2023. 1.

Homemade cilantro ice cream, 2024. 1.

Campfire S'mores Cup Noodles, 2024. 2A.

Utah Taste Off Utah foods kit, 2021: honey (1), Jello cupcake (2A?), fry sauce (1), Thirst beignet (1?), Pioneer Chips funeral potatoes flavor (2A?)

Sweet Rolled Tacos banana cream pie ice cream (for Pie and Beer Day), 2024. 2A?

Caramel Apple Sugar Babies, 2018. 2A.

Zombie Skittles, 2019. 2B.

Last Course cinnamon ants ice cream, 2019. 2B.

Brach's Tailgate Candy Corn, 2022. 1 or 2A or 2B.

Burger King Ghost Pepper Whopper, 2022. 2B.

Baskin-Robbins Spicy 'n' Spooky Ice Cream, 2022. 2B.

7-Select pumpkin pie potato chips, 2017. 2A.

Last Course cranberry turkey ice cream, 2018. 2A.

Brach's turkey dinner candy corn, 2020. 1 or 2A.

Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles, 2021. 2A.

Apple Pie Toast Crunch, 2021. 2A.

Homemade mincemeat cookies, 2021. 2A.

Trader Joe's green bean casserole bites, 2021. 2A.

Cutler's turkey stuffing cranberry sandwich, 2021. 2A.

7-Eleven Thanksgiving turkey sub, 2021. 2A.

Baskin-Robbins Turkey Day Fixins ice cream (sweet potato, cranberry sauce, cornbread), 2023. 2A.

Trader Joe's Turkey Sausage Stuffing Fried Rice, 2023. 2A.

Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts, 2016. 2A.

Brach's FruitCake Nougats, 2017. 2A.

Exceedingly thick hot cocoa, 2019. 1.

Figgy Pudding Spam, 2022. 2A.

Brach's Holiday Heat candy canes, 2022. 1.