Oh the notorious green jello with shredded carrots! My aunt Mary Jo responded to my facebook page inviting people to share memories of Utah. I think she summed it up rather well.
"Green Jello! Funeral Potatoes! Canned Peaches! Homemade Bread! Majestic Mountains! Good People! Home! Family!"
For my non-LDS friends the green jello thing is a bite (literally) of Mormon culture. When I was growing up anytime there was a potluck of any kind (and there are a lot of pot-luck oriented activities in the church) at least one person would ALWAYS bring green jello with shredded carrots. My own mother was guilty of this on more than one occasion. I don't know why it was such a staple, but the jello showed up as faithfully as manna in the wilderness. Alas, it became such a staple that everybody began to laugh about it and it became such a joke that nobody dares to bring green jello anymore. I haven't seen it in years. I know! In honor of the travel envelope, I really will bring the jello--there's sure to be a Thanksgiving dinner this month!
As to the rest, it makes me feel right at home---the funeral potatoes still arrive at all funerals--for good reason, they're really delicious (think cheese and sourcream). My mom and all my friends moms were always canning peaches and tomatoes. The mountains really are majestic and the people really are warm and wonderful.
A couple other comments were:
Hiking in the mountains!
Chapped lips--very true, especially if you're coming from a humid state.
Sleeping on my best buddies floor---Kaitlyn you're welcome back anytime. Your comment made me remember some good floors that I slept on too.
