Looping Back

Sometimes, especially on a Friday for some reason, it's just kinda fun to . . . loop back . . . and check in on past blog posts.

Like . . . remember those Costco tulips I wrote about a couple of weeks ago?

They're at the end of their bloom-time now -- but they were pretty stunning last night as the sun was setting and shining just exactly where they are! Flowers are always magical, aren't they?

And then . . . there's my herb Aerogarden. I first blogged about it at the end of January, when it was freshly set up and looked very, well, new. Now, though? Herbs for days!

I've been regularly harvesting the basil (both types) already. And if I don't start using the dill soon there's gonna be trouble!

And then . . . there's the Great Overall Plan I explained last week. Guess what arrived by special delivery yesterday? (All the way from the UK already.)

So now the lightweight olive denim-or-canvas hunt is ON with a new urgency!

And I think that pretty much catches you all up on blog-loose-ends for now. Except . . . oh! We do have heat again. And the furnace repair was only $276! (There was a water main break in our neighborhood yesterday, though. So our water pressure comes and goes as they continue working on fixing it.) (Can't win 'em all. . . )

Have a great weekend everyone. And I'll see you on Monday.

 

 

Finally

YOU GUYS!!!!!

I'm finally getting around to cleaning out my refrigerator!
(Just thought you'd like to know.)

Have a great weekend, everyone.

This and That

It's Friday.  Let's circle back.

Remember when I told you that Tom's curling team was entering a bonspiel (that's curling lingo for tournament) as the Brews Brothers?  It was last weekend.  They got 2nd in their division (best finish EVER in a bonspiel, so yay!).  And here they are in the official team photo. 

(Maya, on the far right, decided to dress for the photo as the Carrie Fisher character from the Blues Brothers movie.  She played all the games in the standard Brews Brother costume, including the sideburns, though.)

Remember when I told you I dug out the needle felting supplies from the back of my craft closet to make some little pumpkins?  I finished them!

Remember when I told you about the larch tree in my garden . . . and how weird it was to see its golden glow through my living room window?  I explained it was a deciduous conifer and that it would drop its needles, leaving a rather dead-looking tree through the winter.  Well.  We're there.

I hope you have a great weekend.
See you on Monday

Circling Back . . . Late on a Friday

Today is one of those Fridays . . . where I'm just completely taken aback by the fact that it's already 3:30 . . . and I'm just now sitting down at my computer to finish this blog post.  Really.  Where did this day GO?  

Before the sun goes down (which, these days  . . . isn't too long from now), I want to circle back and catch up with you.  

But first . . . take a look at this.  FALL!  Happening now!  Right outside my window.

This may not look so unusual to you.  But for me?  It is super weird to walk into my living room and see this glowing, gold tree through the window.  It's usually very green out that window, so that golden glow really catches your attention right now.  (It's a larch - or tamarack - tree.  They are deciduous conifers . . . which means their soft needles turn golden and then fall off come fall -- leaving a rather dead-looking tree behind for the winter.  Kind of magical. Except in the winter.)

==========

In Halloween news, I'm happy to report that our candy leftovers (surprisingly few -- despite our rotten trick-or-treat weather last night) (kids just don't mind crappy weather, y'know?) are bagged up and in Tom's car . . . ready for delivery to the curling club.

==========

Last Friday I wrote about our former foreign exchange student, Dominik, and how he was marrying a young woman he met while he was in high school here.  The wedding was really lovely!  The setting was the Henderson Castle in Kalamazoo -- a venue I've always wanted to visit, but so far . . . had not.

It was a small gathering -- intimate and romantic and just perfect!

The happy couple!

I'm so glad we had the chance to be at the wedding and spend some time with Dominik and his new wife.  I did have a chance to meet Dominik's real mom, who is just lovely.  She doesn't speak English and I don't speak Czech, but we managed to communicate without any problem.

What was really, really cool . . . is that the Henderson Castle has a rooftop patio . . . with great views of Kalamazoo.  What a treat! It was a wonderful place to watch the sunset.  (And take photos of each other, too.)

==========

In not-really-circling-back news . . . but great news all the same . . .
Lauren got a major treat on Halloween!
She found out that . . .
SHE PASSED THE MICHIGAN BAR EXAM!

Woo! Hoo!
(And, yeah.  That's one of the rooftop photos from the wedding.)

==========

The knitting I showed on Wednesday?  It's Andrea Mowry's Nightshift -- a pattern so endlessly entertaining I'll miss it when I'm finished.

==========

And . . . lastly . . . it's November.  (I know, right?)  So how did I do on my October monthly bucket list?

Meh.
Not so hot.  

I did . . . okay.  I guess.  I did inch ever closer to finishing that Alabama Chanin tunic (like it's 7/8 finished now, probably), so . . .  Progress.  And I'm going to go cut out those leggings right after I hit "publish."  That fridge, though????  (Watch for it to still be there on my November list.)

==========

Have a great weekend -- and I'll see you on Monday.  (No NaBloPoMo for me.  But be sure to join Vicki as she undertakes the challenge again this year.)

 

Circling Way Back

Most of you reading this blog know that I have two kids.  And now two kids-in-law.  But . . . for a 10-month period in 2008-2009, I actually had a third kid!  (Four . . . if you count Tom.)

(And we often count Tom.)

For the 2008-2009 school year, we were the host family for Dominik, a young man from the Czech Republic.  It was a wonderful experience for all of us, and Dominik was a great fit for our family.  Erin was away at college in Ohio, so she floated in and out back then, but Brian (who was a junior in high school that year) and Dominik got along famously.  Dominik was eager to experience life in an American high school with an American family, and we were eager to share it with him.  

Dominik played hockey on the high school hockey team with Brian.  (There he is, number 21.)

He and Brian had a great time together (sometimes maybe . . . a little too great. . . ).  There was a lot of laughter and a lot of joking around that year -- a real sense of adventure for all of us.

We did a bit of traveling -- to show Dominik as much of America as we could.  We went to Chicago and Washington DC and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

There was a skiing adventure in Colorado for spring break.

In the end, Dominik had a full American high school experience here:  football games and pep rallies, the hockey team, exam week, prom, graduation.  All of it.  He even dated an American girl while he was here!

A girl he stayed connected with . . . after he returned home to the Czech Republic.  And all through college.  And then through graduate school.  And even after he moved to Prague to begin his career.

And you know what's happening now?  Dominik . . . and that same girl he met and dated here in high school . . . are getting married!  (Talk about circling back!)  We're so excited!

Brian and Tom and I met Dominik last Saturday for dinner, which was wonderful.  (Here they are together last Saturday at Bells . . . all grown up and everything!)

And today . . . is the wedding!  
(I feel sort of like . . . cupid.)
(But mostly . . . I can't wait to meet Dominik's real mom.)

Have a great weekend, everyone!