Chris Millard's World

Grandpa took Jeff, Kristin, and the kids out for the first boat trip of the year.

We have a new water weenie and it will hold 5.

Reed is only 2, but we are getting him used to the water.

Kristin is driving the boat and Reed got tired. When a guy is tired he just goes to sleep wherever he can crash.

Today the Hurst Center for Lifelong Learning was officially opened at Weber State University.

I sat at a table with Brad and Camille, which was fun. Lunch was delicious. Campus catering has come a long way.

Alan Hall was at our table as well.

To my left was Laird Hartman, Dean of Continuing Education, also housed in the new building.

The cheerleaders were there. They are the national champions this year.

In the parking lot I met up with Dale Ostlie, Dean of Science.

President Millner made a speech.

Brad made a speech.

We are lodged in the lower left corner like the three musketeers.

Little plaques are for little donors! :)

My friend, Rebecca, provided a recommendation for a website to understand the whirling dervishes. Click here to read what it has to say. It is very informative. I wish I would have read this before I went to Istanbul. In fact, I have found lots of stuff this week that I wish I would have read before I saw things. Just like me to put the cart before the horse.

So you know, my next adventure will be New Zealand. Anyone have recommendations on what I should study?

Esther Montgomery Buchanan, M.D.
Dr. Esther, Es
July 15, 1914 ~ May 19, 2009

Esther M. Buchanan M.D. passed away on May 19, 2009 at the age of 94. She was born July 15, 1914 in Claysville, Pennsylvania to parents John Nelson Montgomery and Grace McClain Clarke. Esther graduated from Claysville High School in 1931 at age 16. During her high school and college years Esther worked as a postal clerk, gas station attendant and in the library. She earned a B.S. at Muskingum College (New Concord, OH) in 1935, at age 20. She was also the grateful recipient of a Senatorial Scholarship which permitted her attendance at Temple University Medical School in Philadelphia, PA, Class of 1939, at the age of 24. Esther first established a practice in Souderton, PA. On Dec. 23, 1945, she married G.A. Buchanan, Jr. (Later divorced.) She received her postdoctoral diploma in Anesthesiology from New York University and completed an anesthesia residency at Bellevue Medical Center, NY in 1949 while residing in Lake Success, Long Island. She inspired her husband to attend medical school, which brought the Buchanan family to Utah and the University of Utah Medical School. Esther practiced medicine at LDS Hospital (1950-1955), Richfield and surrounding communities (1956-1960) and Holy Cross Hospital (1960-1984). She retired while serving as Holy Cross Hospital Anesthesiology Department Chair. Dr. Esther maintained lifetime membership in the American Medical Association and American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Dr. Esther valued education and those that enabled others to attain it. Although independent, she was always generous to others with her time and money. She was an avid traveler, visiting nearly every State in the U.S. and over a dozen foreign countries. Esther enjoyed cruise ships, crossing the Atlantic on the QE II, through the Panama Canal, to Alaska and the Mediterranean. She loved the arts and was a Utah Symphony season ticket holder for years. Dr. Esther was often found in the desert looking for rocks & fossils or antique stores collecting early American glassware & antiques. Yellowstone National Park was a particularly favorite retreat. She loved reading and surrounded herself with good books and periodicals. Unfortunately, wet macular degeneration closed her view of the world and rheumatoid arthritis limited her mobility in later years. Dr. Esther exemplified doing and seeing what you can while you are able.

Esther was preceded in death by parents, a brother, John N. Montgomery III, sons H. Merrill and Grant M. Buchanan, and granddaughter Elizabeth Buchanan.

She is survived by daughter Dana A. Buchanan, Sandy; sons G. A. “Buck” Buchanan III, Heber and Alan M. Buchanan (Cynthia) Sandy, UT; sister Flora Green, AZ and a special niece, Christina (Rick) Millard, Ogden; grandchildren Sharon, Scott, Karen, and Becky Buchanan, Collin, Josh, Zach, and Tim Perschon, and Katy Leigh Buchanan, and two great grandchildren, Howie and Brendan John, sister-in-law Mabel Montgomery and many nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank the employees of Sunrise of Sandy and CareSource for their care and understanding during Esther’s last years. In lieu of flowers please donate to the National Park Foundation, the Utah Symphony or your favorite institute of higher learning.

An informal open-house in honor of Dr. Esther will be held on May 31, 2009 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Sunrise of Sandy, 2130 East 9400 South, Sandy, Utah. Interment at Larkin Sunset Gardens, Sandy. Online condolences to the family at www.larkinmortuary.com/cond.php

Here is our breakfast every morning along with the majordomo. We got used to having veggies and yogurt.

Since our car didn't leave for the airport until 10:00 am, we headed out to the Grand Bazaar for one last purchase. We bought silk scarves.

We arrived at the airport, exhausted and exhilarated by the wonderful things we have seen. We don't know if we will ever get back to Istanbul, but we know that while we were here we had a ball.

Looking back at Istanbul from the air.

This morning we decided to go to church. Aunt Joan has a friend who has a son who lives here and he said that church starts at noon. We found the address on the internet, but when we got there, it was just an office building and it was closed. We couldn't figure out where meetings were held, so we gave up and tried to walk to Taksim Square, but we immediately got lost. After walking in circles, we finally got a Taxi to take us back to Sultanahmet, where we kind of know where we are going. We had lunch and bought more silver jewelry.

We read in a book about their "elastic ice cream" so we had to try some. We didn't like it so we threw it away. It tasted like cold chewing gum.

Everywhere you look there are corn vendors. We decided that we should try that too, and we ended up throwing it away. It was dry and starchy, just like something you would feed to horses. However, everyone here eats it!

This morning we went to the Spice Market and then on a cruise down the Bosphorus.

Here are some pictures of another famous mosque.

Pictures in the spice bazaar.

Here is Aunt Joan buying another rug.

Here are some pictures of the cruise down the Bosphorus.

After the cruise we decided to go back to the Grand Bazaar. The minute we hit the street, you know what happened.

Of course a man wanted to sell Aunt Joan a rug.

Here is the entrance to the Grand Bazaar.

Here is our lunch. For some reason, I got really sick and barely made it to the WC.

Back at the hotel, we spent some time on the terrace and you can see the spectacular view from the Ibrahim Pasha Hotel.

Later it was off to Sultana's Restaurant for dinner and the belly dancing show.

Here are the appetizers.

Here is the main course.

On every table they put the Turkish Flag and the flag of the guest's country, which was very cool. Next to us there was a couple from Iran.

Here is the entertainment.

This morning we got up and left the hotel and got lost in 5 minutes. As usual, Aunt Joan found a boyfriend who walked for a couple of blocks to make sure we were on our way.

Then, he tried to sell her a rug!

Our first stop was the traditional turkish bath. This is not for the faint of heart. We went to the Cemberlitas Haman. First, you strip down and then lie on a big marble slab where a lady (without clothes herself) dumps water on you and then scrubs you with a goat hair cloth. Then, she washes you with lots of soap suds and then dumps more water. At the end, you sit in a hot tub. No one told us that you get dehydrated really fast and Aunt Joan and I got dizzy and practically fainted, but the other lady brought us orange juice so we survived.

We found a place for pizza for lunch. After lunch we took the tram and went to the Dolmabahce Palace.

This palace was completed in 1856 under Sultan Abdul Mecit. It became a museum when Turkey was made a republic in 1923.

Here is one of several reasons that Grandpa did not accompany us on this trip. Dinner tonight was (again at the Pudding Shop) spinach and eggs, eggplant with some kind of ground up meat (maybe) with mashed potatoes on top, with Turkish rice on the side. We knew he would never survive this!

For dessert we split a chocolate cake that weighted about one pound.

After dinner we went to the Whirling Dervish show. They are a special brotherhood of Islam, that we totally don't understand.

There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven that no matter where I sit at any event, the biggest man in America (or Turkey) will sit in front of me. See the picture? I rest my case.

They wear a black cape and a long felt hat that kind of makes me think of the cone heads on Saturday Night Live. They remove the capes and they are wearing long white dresses, and they spin and move in a circle. The spinning is supposed to represent being one with God. This is a religious thing.

Since we are Mormons, who are we to think that someone's religious ceremonies are strange? That said, we are totally baffled by this demonstration of religion where about 400 people paid $25 USD apiece to see, so someone is going to the bank.

I can get up on a given day and say I don't really feel like getting on my knees and saying a prayer. But, it would be quite a different thing to get up in the morning and say, well, I just don't feel like putting on a white dress and spinning around for half an hour.

Anyway, we were fascinated and we were really glad we saw it. Tomorrow night is the belly dancing so stay tuned.

We got up early in the morning and a driver picked us up to go to the airport to catch a flight to Ephesus. We like it when a driver comes because we have no chance of getting lost or ripped off by a Taxi.

Ephesus was breathtaking.

This is believed to be the house that Mary lived in after Jesus was crucified. We are told that the house was where John cared for her in her last years.

This is our guide, Ilker. There were 7 in our group, which was much better than the other groups we could see where there were 50 or 60 who had just gotten off the cruise ships. We loved Ilker who got all our tickets and took us to the front of the lines. We recommend him to anyone who travels to Ephesus: ilker/eti@yahoo.com.

The Romans made going to the bathroom a social activity. Connor would like this! There were rows of potty places with a great view of the ocean.

Aunt Joan demonstrates. I have to say it felt really weird to sit there.

This is the theater where Paul preached to the Ephesians just before he was thrown in prison.

Stopping at another museum. In America this stuff would be behind 6 inches of glass, but here I get to actually touch it.

Okay, there was one little incident when we we getting on the plane to come back to Istanbul. As we were boarding, 6 fat Turkish men who were thinking that women should be at home cleaning as opposed to flying about on airplanes, decided to crowd ahead of me in line. Aunt Joan got ahead of them, but I didn't quite make it and 2 managed to shove me aside. I was too quick for the other 4, and squeezed back in place, and just to show them what happens when they mess with a Millard girl, I decided to take my good old time strolling down the isle looking for seat 17F. I just had to stop and look at my ticket and then the seat numbers and be all confused. I don't think I'm allowed back on Atlas Airlines again. In my defense, I was tired and cranky.

Today we went to a museum first. I have lots of pictures which I will post later. Then, we went to Taksim Square and walked down the promenade when disaster struck--I ended up with the dreaded migraine--walking down the street in Istanbul!!!! Yikes! It was one of those ones where I can't see and don't know where I am (or even who I am) and I have to deal with the flashing lights. Aunt Joan was a little troubled. And, I wasn't carrying the migraine meds because I am an idiot. I'm better now. We went into a restaurant and sat until I could function. Poor Aunt Joan. How would you like to be walking down the street in Istanbul with someone who suddenly starts acting like they are having a stroke?

Bad news. My Aunt Esther died. I'm too far away to do anything and she was imnmediately creamated according to her wishes and there will be a celebration of her life (no funeral for her!) on the 28th. That's what she wanted. And, she wouldn't want me to stop my trip. Still, I'm sad.

Tomorrow we go to Ephesus. We will be picked up at the hotel at 5:30 am. This vacation will get better. I promise.

On the bright side, the men here really like Aunt Joan. They really flirt with her and look at me like I am chopped liver. I think it has something to do with that glare and the way I am holding on to my purse. Anyway, today she was called Honey, Sweetheart, and Darling. Honestly, if she just liked Arab men she could pick up a boyfriend in nothing flat!

Here are the pictures.

This museum is the Pasha Museum, which is right next door to our hotel. The museum is split into several parts. After the first part, we went out on a terrace and had a beautiful view of the Blue Mosque.

We took the metro and got off at the Karakoy stop to walk up the hill to Taksim Square. We didn't really know where we were going and the maps are more like suggestions rather than specific streets. Can you tell? This started to look like Cairo to me.

I thought this was an interesting street.

Here is Aunt Joan at Taksim Square. This was 15 minutes before the dreaded migraine struck.

This is the street we took to go down the hill to the metro. We got lost again. We pretty much get lost every day within 5 minutes of leaving the hotel.

One note: Our hotel is quite nice, but it is right smack downtown in the Sultanhmet District, which appears pretty much safe. Still, we are careful. So this morning we were a little troubled when we couldn't find the key to the room and we always put it on the table where we come in. We searched and searched and gave up. We had no choice but to leave. We opened the door and found the key. It was in the door all night. I don't want any of you to worry about us. For the most part, we sort of know what we are doing.

Here we are on the terrace of our hotel. This is the Blue Mosque in the background.

Yes, we bought rugs. This is mine. We were told that we got really great deals! Good, huh? Yep. We are really smart shoppers.

We found lots of boyfriends in the market. They really liked us because we are such beautiful American ladies. I think they were just smitten!

Aunt Joan's new friend liked her so much that he gave her a really special price on jewelry, so I bought some too. This price was just for us--no one else.

Aunt Joan and I are in Instanbul! We are at the Ibrahim Pasha Hotel, which is very interesting. The electricity goes out once an hour. We can see the Blue Mosque from our room, which is awesome! From the time I left North Ogden, until we got to the hotel was 26 hours of traveling with layovers, so we were pretty tired last night. Our guide, Ali, will pick us up shortly. We are super excited.

Breakfast was tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, bread, and some oat cereal that was delicious. We had orange juice that was freshly squeezed. We will see what lunch brings. We are always worried about what we are going to eat next!

Here we are with our guide, Ali. He took us to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Cistern, Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace, and more. We had lunch at the restaurant called the Pudding Shop made famous by the movie, "Midnight Express."

This is a photo of the oblesque taken from the Temple of Karnak in Egypt. We saw its twin when we went to Karnak a couple of years ago.

The Turks made their own base where the oblesque sits.

Here is the entrance to the Blue Mosque. Below are some pictures of the Blue Mosque.

Below are some pictures of the Topkapi Palace.

Here are some pictures of the Hagia Sophia.

Jillian is five years old.

(By the way, from this angle there is a huge light fixture hanging right in front of my face. It is always Mark's job to hold the light fixture to the side so we can see all the little faces in the picture. Next time we will get a photo of Mark holding the light.)

Dennis is 40 years old. This is hard for me to believe!

He has help blowing out the candles. This is how it works at our house.

Kristin is 35 years old.

She had some help blowing out the candles. Notice Reed's face in this photo!

Ellie lost a front tooth.

Megan gives us her typical camera smile.

Sophie and Abby played a duet (Heart and Soul) that was wonderful! They are both musically talented.

Last night we went to the Eagles concert and guess who was sitting three rows in front of us! Uncle Art and Aunt Debbie!

Uncle Art (I linked his name to his new moving web site where he is doing lots of business and making oodles of money) has lost 80 pounds on Atkins! He looks positively skinny! Well, as skinny as a Haddow can look. We are genetically programmed to carry lots of weight. In fact, to take a family picture you would definitely need a wide angle lens.

It was freezing. Luckily, I wore my winter coat and took a blanket.

They introduced themselves as "The Eagles Assisted Living Tour." Yes, they are old. So was the audience.

The Breakfast Club has a new venue: Pleasant Valley Golf Grill. There is an item on the menu to die for: Dee's Cooked Cereal. It is delicious. We decided that this will be the semi-permanent site for our meetings where we meet for food and discussion of our common enemies.

Brad and Spencer are very dapper. In fact, they are very sharp dressers. Which, is the reason that I think it is hilarious to give them tacky, very cheap, twinners ties that they are obligated to wear.

Not wanting to offend me, they show up in the purple ties frequently. This shows they bleed purple on so many levels! Notice that it looks like Spencer has a pointy little head. What's up with that?

Shamane went to a Bunko game with her girlfriends and so we went to dinner with the Millard boys: Dennis, Connor, and Max.

Because he now knows how to sip through a straw, Max gulped down an entire glass of apple juice and demanded more.

On the way home we saw a fireman's drill. They were apparently burning down a house and practicing how to put out fires. We had a little discussion about why we don't play with matches.