A Little Light Seasoning on Life

Jeff grew a a beard and mustache and decided to shave off just the beard to see if he really resembles his dad. SCARY! Believe it or not Jeff has some of my DNA. I think I see it in his eyelashes.
In my hands are some Gnome earrings I made and gave Flora who is in the picture with Kadie. Flora returned to Brazil on Monday. It's fun to think that my art with be seen and worn in Brazil.
The bottom picture is of my art fair shirt. I love that Kadie said, "It's like art and science."

Bows

We have seen many rainbows right out of our front door over the years. The power lines are a source of frustration as they obstruct our view. Still, the lines teach us to develop strength in ignoring those things that might spoil a wonderful moment. However, it's important to see that the lines are there so when the opportunity arrives to enjoy an "uninterrupted" moment of wonder you are able to recognize, appreciate, and embrace the perfection of it.

THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY SUMMER!!!

YAY!!! My nephew Dave made the trip home, from California, to go to the family reunion!!! He looks WONDERFUL! We had the best time! I couldn't stop starring at him and got teary eyed more than once just seeing him. I was a having a "cup runneth over" moment.
The center picture is of a recent ramp ad he promoted in a skate magazine. YEP! He's a skater dude.
The bottom picture is of Dave and sisters Andrea (left) and Kristy. My heart is swollen with love and joy. The big regret is that my other nephews and my sons weren't there to see him.

Girls Get Away

The road and bridge we take to get to Kim's was washed away. I look at these images as metaphors for the summer. I feel like I am being detoured and needing to take a different path to where I want to go. Not that this is all bad, but there has been some degree of inconvenience.
Have you ever grilled with gasoline? Didn't hurt the flavor of the steak at all.
This was my favorite meal. Elizabeth made creamed corn with left over corn on the cob, we ate salad with avocado, grilled peppers with cheese, perfectly ripe musk melon, and washed it all down with mojitos. Yummm.
Feeling tipsy we went over to the neighbor's cottage. His renter makes these awesome, purses from canteen gourds. Cool!

Number Thirteen

Kadie's All Star Game was last week. Senior's from around the county participated in the event. KD scored 8 pts, and her team won the game! Alas, it was the last opportunity to see her in her Madison number 13 jersey. It was another bitter sweet moment.

July Days

Top picture is of Gwen's Horses displayed at the Ann Arbor Art Fair. First she made the head of wood, Styrofoam, plaster, and paint. Then she beaded the extraordinary masks.
The middle picture is of Sarah who moved so far away, but who came back for baby L's first birthday. Aren't they just radiant with love?
The bottom pic is of the annual trip to Kimmy's. MOJITOS!

COOOL

I have been busy making signs. I made signs for the ice cream booth at the fair called The Frosty Cow, and for the church's 5K Son Run. I had help will the Son Run signs, a few friends came and helped write Bible passages and Randy made professional braces so they could be propped up easily.

The Frosty Cow's ice cream is the best because it is full of fat.

The Son Run went well on 7/12, but the storm came ahead of schedule and the sky splilled out rain and it even hailed a little. Someone asked where the Bible verse about the flood was. Only one runner (my friend Ross) got dumped on pretty bad. Normally he would be one of the first ones in, but he was running with his kids who found the race a little much. Ross's children ended up hitching rides back to the church, but Ross wanted to finish out the race. Kadie and I had a good laugh over the whole thing. Ross was near the end so it was pointless to offer him a ride. In the end he said he enjoyed the dousing. I suppose he felt something cleansing.

On Wednesday I made a sponge cake with lime zest in the batter, homemade lime curd filling, and coconut seven minute frosting for Valorie's belated birthday celebration. Yummm I love it when the cake is cold!

A lovely surprise last week was the blossoming of two buds on my scented clematis vine. I love late-bloomers, I understand their motivation.

I got new glasses so I'm ready to read. I let you know what I tackle first.

Trophy People

Don't ya love my plant stakes? They make me smile.

July Fourth Parade

We took Arianna to the parade. We had a lot of fun seeing friends.
There's Kadie with the baby, and friends Jenn and Jason.
There's the hubby, and our friend Gary on his cool tractor.
Actors from the Croswell play "1776," walked the parade, the city band played in a wagon, and plenty of folks were out who are running for County Sheriff.
The craziest float was a wrestling wagon. I was laughing and gaping so I didn't take a picture. The large flat bed trailor was decorated like a wrestling ring and there were all sorts of masked and costumed people inside acting angry. HO! HO! I was having a Nacho Libre flashback. I'm not a wrestling fan, but I kinda enjoy the absurdity of it. I like inventing wrestlers names and characteristics.
Hungry Hugo - prone to biting
Triple D - A woman with really big breasts who, on occasion, flashes her "wears." The crowd chants "BOOM! BOOM!" during matches encouraging her to swing around and knock down her opponent with her rack like the boom on a sail boat.
Grandpa-ator - A really old guy in a gladiator suit who occasionally naps through the match.
Mighty Wind - A gassy guy

The Last Wedding Supper

I'd been drinking at Joel and Jennie's wedding and got talked into participating in an adaptation of the season four last supper-esque promo for Battlestar Galactica. I yi yi. I've done worse. In case your wondering, I'm the President Laura Roslin (who begins as Secretary of Education) in this scene.