random reflections

Me on Monday: Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! The meteorologist wasn't sure if we'd have a white Christmas, but it looks like we're well on our way. I took this photo about three hours ago, and it has continued to snow ever since.

It was a busy weekend. The highlight was celebrating Christmas with Betsy, Matt, and the girls on Saturday night. Ella and Maddy were particularly excited.

After our gift exchange, the rest of Betsy's family arrived for dinner.

The only "fail" in this photo, was forgetting to pull Maddy's highchair out so she could be seen! 

Sarah's gifts for the girls didn't arrive in time for the gift exchange, but arrived yesterday. After wrapping them, I took them down so they could open them this afternoon. Sarah had made each girl a beautiful book pocket pillow. Maddy had hers turned backwards, but on the other two you can see the lovely quilted patchwork on the pockets. Off course, there was a book in each pocket.

Tonight, the table is set for tomorrow's dinner--fourteen strong, and Tracy and I will go out to eat. That's been the tradition for many, many years. Once the house is ready for company, off we go. It makes for a relaxed evening, but not an early one. We'll be attending the Christmas Eve service at 11:00, and this year I am one of the readers. It's an opportunity I enjoy fulfilling. I hope your holiday is also relaxed and fulfilling!

Me On Monday

It was a busier weekend than usual---not surprising considering the season. Friday was a pretty calm day, but we were greeted by a spectacular sunrise when we left the gym. We had to go to the gym earlier than usual since Tracy needed to pick up a friend who was having some work done on his car.

Saturday morning Skylar and Ella came to bake and decorate sugar cookies. Thank goodness for their interest because I had not started any holiday baking and getting the sugar cookies out of the way is a big help. Baking the rest is clearly on the top of the agenda this week.

Speaking of help, both girls were great this year:  rolling out dough, using the cookie cutters, and decorating them. Last year Ella lasted about 20 minutes, but this year she maintained her enthusiasm for the whole 2 1/2 hours they were here. Skylar was more interested in decorating than in the baking process, although she enjoyed all the measuring and mixing of the dough.

Yesterday morning our fabulous church choir (some 50+ strong) and a small orchestra performed Vilvaldi's "Gloria." It had been some time since I heard it performed, and it was wonderful. I don't, however, take photos during church. I looked today to see if any photos had been posted to our website, but not yet. The rest of the day was spent preparing to host our three-table bridge group last night. I did  take some photos of the food and the house before everyone arrived.

Last month we came in dead last in scoring, but last night we ranked second which is always a big surprise since many of the people in the group play bridge regularly, while we play only when this group meets. Four of us in the group have been playing together for 45 years now. Hard to believe.

 

Me on Tuesday

Joining in with Mary-Lou a day late. We had a busy week last week, but yesterday was even busier so although I got some photos ready for a blog post, there wasn't an extra minute to write the post!

The mid-term elections were held a week ago today. Many of us were hoping for a Blue Wave, and although we didn't quite see what we hoped for, an unusual number of women and minorities were elected to the House of Representatives, and many states turned to Democrats in the governor's races. One race that particularly interested us was in Wisconsin where Sarah now lives. A friend of mine (who did not get elected) was running for State Assembly, and I made phone calls to get out the vote for two afternoons. A friend and I also participated in a postcard writing blitz organized by a group locally. We've been writing postcards for specific issues for some time now, but for the two months prior to the election focused on getting out the votes. I've never been particularly active politically, but the negativity and lack of cooperation between parties here has driven me to it! Here are a group of us at the Monroe County Democratic Office. I missed the big congregation of all the democratic candidates including an appearance by Kirsten Gillibrand, one of our current Senators.

The day after the election we headed to Canada for two nights. I was quite surprised to read so much in their national paper about our elections, and equally surprised at the frankness with which they expressed opinions about our government. We talked to several people who had stayed up much later than I did on Tuesday night, curious to see the election results. Needless to say, our government policies effect their trade with us in very big ways. 

We had a lovely two days, starting with an elegant breakfast in front of a fireplace on Thursday morning.

From there we headed out to visit a couple of wineries. Two were favorites of ours, but one was new to us. We learned that the Marynissen Winery was one of the first wineries established in the Niagara-on-the-Lake area, and we had a lovely time chatting with the woman doing the tasting. We've never been to NOTL mid-week in the off-season so we pretty much had the wineries to ourselves. I loved the beautiful mural behind the tasting bar.

We drove to Jordan for lunch and a visit to one of our favorite wineries, Vineland, and then headed back to NOTL to sit by the fire and read before having an elegant dinner which was part of the package deal we signed up for. 

Friday we drove home in a steady snowstorm, and by the time we arrived home the ground was covered. Fortunately, it didn't stay around too long. I had been invited to a dinner party for a group of folks who organized a fabulous concert at our church to benefit two refugee centers in Rochester. I volunteer at one of those centers, and made a small contribution to the planning of the event. The star performer was Ayman Jarjour, a professional classical guitarist who was born in Syria. (The man in the red sweater.) He now travels around the world performing for free to raise funds to support refugee settlement. He was joined by three doctoral student in the classical guitar program at the Eastman School of Music. They played both at the Friday night dinner (an intimate gathering) and at the formal concert the next day.

The woman playing the hammer dulcimer is a local musician who has performed professionally in the area for many, many years and was one of the organizers of the concert.

The concert was very well attended, and we raised over $2,000 dollars.

On Sunday we attended a family celebration---Ella's fourth birthday party for her friends. Her real birthday isn't until the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but since so many families travel over the holiday her party was held earlier. No one is more excited than Ella to celebrate a birthday. She chose "Night" as her theme, so Betsy figured out that a space-themed party would meet her expectations. And it did. Here's the birthday girl, "pleased as punch" to be the center of attention. Check out the pattern of her dress!

Our local grocery store, Wegmans, produces the best birthday cakes. They are a lot of fun, and better yet, delicious!

Ella's big sister, Skylar, is on the left, and her very best friend, Olivia is on the right. The party was a big hit with Ella's friends as well. 

I did get some creative time on Sunday before the party and caught up with the 25 Tags of Christmas project. I'll be back with the next installment soon. Today, I need to do more catch-up for yesterday's tag and today's. Hope your week is off to a good start.

 

 

 

 

 

Me on a Monday

I'm joining in with Mary-Lou with a Monday update. My blogging has certainly been erratic this summer, and when I look back at our schedules I can see why. I thought by the end of July things would calm down, but it just got more complicated. However, I'm here to share a lovely little interlude--although exhausting! In April, two of my friends announced we would celebrate my 70th birthday with a trip to New York City. It's been over 15 years since I've spend more than one day in the city, and I was as excited as they were to plan for it. 

This is a long and photo-heavy post, but Lady Ella asked if I would get a post up. I still want to do one for our stop at the Hancock Shaker Village as well.

Last week the three of us left on the 5:19 am train from Rochester to Grand Central station, arriving in time for a late lunch. We stayed at the Hilton Times Square on 42nd St. The area is anything but luxurious--rather seedy and loaded with tourist attractions and shops selling NYC souvenirs. Stepping into the Hilton, however, is like finding an oasis in the desert. Lovely and calming. We had made advance plans for our full day in NY, but hadn't made any for Tuesday night. Luckily, it was a gorgeous evening and after an excellent dinner we were able to get tickets on the Circle Line's evening tour of the New York Harbor. It started at the pier on 42nd St. and was an easy walk from the restaurant and the hotel. The two hour tour went down the Hudson River, around the Battery, and up the East River as far as the United Nations. I took most of the following photos with my Olympus mirrorless camera until it got dark, and then relied on my iPhone because I'm just not sure how the Olympus would do with night photography. On my agenda is to watch some tutorials and learn more about the camera. On automatic, it takes wonderful photos that need almost no editing. 

There are several (many?) photos of the Statue of Liberty because I couldn't choose a favorite!

The Brooklyn Bridge on our way back down the East River.

On Wednesday we had booked a double tour---first of the High Line, an elevated railway that has been turned into a mile+ park and walkway, followed by a food tour of the West Village. The tours are limited to 8, and we had just 7--the three of us and a lovely family from Texas. Our guide could not have been more knowledgeable or personable. It was very hot and humid, but no one was complaining because the forecast had been for thunderstorms, and we had none! Here are the three of us on the High Line.

As we walked, we learned lots about the surrounding area---its history, the architecture, and the art that has been installed along the trail.

 

This mural is another entry for A Trilogy of Three for the SPSH. And here is another entry---for Mellow Yellow:

One last photo from the High Line. At one point it was possible to line up the Empire State Building with the tower of an historic building near the Village. I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

When we left the High Line near the Chelsea Market, we began an incredible food tour. I was expecting small bites at the different establishments, but by the end of the tour almost none of us (with the exception of the two teenage boys) could eat the Italian sub we were offered. Between the different bakeries, confectioners, restaurants, and delis, we learned about the history of the West Village which was a rural area with homes originally built to escape the epidemics that afflicted the city which at that time was much further south centered on the Battery. It's almost impossible for me to imagine that NYC was once so small that the West Village was the "country."

Our first stop was at Aux Merveilleux where they create a century old, gluten fee, low calorie meringue pastry. They are beautiful to behold, and so delicious. This store is the only one of its kind in North America. It's hard to believe they are low calorie. We were treated to a mini which you can see in the lower right had corner of the photo.

The next stop was Li-Lac Chocolates. We were given a salted chocolate caramel, and a bag to take with us of chunks of both milk and dark chocolate. We purchased more at a small Grand Central shop on our way out of town. Delish!

 

Bleecker Street Pizza has won the first place award for pizza in the NYC area for three years in a row. This may not look exceptional, but it truly was the best pizza I've ever had. Usually I like some meat and/or veggies on my pizza. No need here---the homemade sauce, perfect crust, and fresh mozzarella is all you need.

I knew I shouldn't eat the whole thing, but I couldn't help myself. And I was right, there were still three stops to go. Next up, Bantam Bagels which makes mini bagel balls filled with cream cheese. They have a wide variety, but I went with the everything bagel filled with veggie cream cheese. Supposedly, every Starbuck's in the US carries these now, but I've yet to check it out.

Our next stop was an Italian deli where we were offered an arancini and then a small Italian sub. That is my favorite kind of sub but there was no way I could eat it. They wrapped them for us, but it was so hot and humid, we thought better of eating them after carrying them back to the hotel. What a disappointment! If I lived in the Village, I'd be buying sausages here as well as subs.

The last stop of the day was for a cold drink (or coffee) and an Italian cannoli. These cannoli were delicious---made with fresh ricotta---not too sweet. As full as I was, I managed to eat half of mine.

Needless to say, we did not need dinner. We had tickets to The Book of Mormon that night. It was pretty raunchy, but it certainly kept us awake.

Our train didn't leave until 2:15 on Thursday. Debbie had never been to NYC, so we walked through Times Square and up to Rockefeller Center. 

And to the Lego Store where we saw an amazing replica of Rockefeller Center built from Legos. Check out the little girl in the lower righthand portion of the photo to get  a sense of perspective. This was huge.

Right across the street is Saks Fifth Ave. In my high school and college days, it was an elegant, and somewhat affordable department store. No more. Nothing but very high end designer items, and a very modern interior. I was so disappointed to see what had become of it. Next door is St. Patrick's Cathedral which never disappoints.

We had just a bit of time left so rode the subway to Central Park so Debbie could get a sense of it. I didn't take any photos there. The train to NYC takes about 7 hours, and it is vastly improved since the days I rode it back and forth to Poughkeepsie to visit my dad. It's very comfortable, and on the way down, very prompt. On the way home, we were a bit over an hour late. We had a great time. It was our first "girls out" trip, and we've decided it must become an annual event. It certainly was the highlight of my way too significant birthday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday Musings

Officially, it's the last day of winter although you'd hardly know it by looking out my window. It's a bright, sunny day but our yard is still blanketed by nearly a foot of snow. It's been way too cold for the snow to melt from most lawns. Given that tomorrow is the first day of spring, I must get the last two photos up for the Winter Scavenger Hunt---the two I neglected to take in Morocco, but fortunately, captured at The Container Store in Chicago before we left.

Number 6 was "wrapping paper" and #15 was bow. The Container Store always has a wonderful selection of wrapping paper.

This giant bow was on sale after the Christmas rush.

Tracy's birthday celebration turned out more festive than we anticipated. Betsy's sister from Boston, as well as her niece, joined us for the birthday dinner. I couldn't get everyone in the iPhoto picture so I popped the two into a digital template.

His cake was his favorite, a chocolate raspberry torte from the neighborhood Jewish bakery.

Of course, he had help blowing out the candles. (Actually, he did it twice---once with Skylar and once with Ella. No one captured the second one.

We had planned a quiet day at home for his actual birthday on St. Patrick's Day. But I got an email a couple of days prior from one of our favorite wineries on Seneca Lake announcing Customer Appreciation Day. It was another bright, sunny day so we headed down to the Finger Lakes late in the afternoon.

Silver Thread is an (almost) organic winery we've been visiting for many years. They have a gorgeous setting overlooking the lake.

We had a little time before our dinner reservations, so we stopped at another winery---one we hadn't visited in years. We had a fun time at the tasting bar, and ended up taking home some wine from both wineries. As you can see in both photos, they have a lot less snow than we do. We get a lot of our snow from a phenomenon called "lake effect" being just east of Lake Erie and right on Lake Ontario.

I'd made reservations at Dano's on Seneca Lake. It had been highly recommended by friends of ours years ago, but we'd never been. It was a charming place---great views and even better food!

We both had Irish bangers and mash. It's one of our favorite dishes at an Irish pub in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, but this was the best bangers and mash we'd ever had. 

When we got home we had a great FaceTime call with Sarah and her family with lots of birthday singing on the part of the six year old. All in all, a fine way to celebrate a big birthday.

 

 

Memo, Mail, and Me

The first Monday in November---how quickly October disappeared. We arrived home from Chicago on Friday. The trip didn’t turn out exactly as I planned or hoped. I was sick every. single. day. we were away. First a cold, then a virus that put me flat on my back for 2 ½ days. Fortunately Tracy and Adam soldiered on with not only two children to care for, but me as well. Yesterday was the first day I felt 90%, although I did muddle through the first few days we were there, and the last several days. The project box I so carefully packed was never opened!

Being with Hannah and Caleb was a delight, however. They both have changed so much since June when we last saw them. Caleb is the perfect big brother, entertaining Hannah, and thoroughly enjoying his first year in public school. He has a fabulous teacher in a wonderful elementary school located at the end of their street. He was the Star Student of the Week while we were there.

Here he is dancing for Hannah.

Hannah was crawling everywhere when we arrived, and by the time we left had figured out how to get up the stairs. It’s amazing how fast she is.

Caleb and I made Halloween cookies.

Halloween turned out to be totally awesome for Caleb. He couldn’t wait to get to school. We were invited to his classroom for the party and then to watch the school parade. Hannah’s day care also had a parade.   Caleb appeared as Flash, and Hannah wore the same pumpkin costume Caleb wore for his first Halloween. Although Hannah smiles constantly, she only napped for 24 minutes on Halloween so was absolutely exhausted by the time we took photos.

Caleb went trick or treating with friends before dinner, and was just thrilled with his stash.

As usual, the stack of mail was huge when we returned. Most of it was holiday catalogs, but there were two pieces of happy mail. The first was the November Simon Says Card Kit. It’s particularly beautiful this month with elegant embossed papers and an oversized stamp set with an accompanying die. I have lots of cards to make in the next few days so I was happy to see it.

Botanica also arrived. I preordered it months ago, and am so delighted to finally have it in my hands. Janine Vangool, who is also the publisher of Uppercase, is such a talented woman. Her creativity knows no bounds! I’m quite sure this will be a source of inspiration for both papercrafting and sketching for many weeks to come.

The one outing I had before the virus hit was to the Botanic Gardens. I posted a few photos from there for the 5 in 5 meme, but I’ll be back shortly to share some more.

Monday Memo: The Chicago Grandchildren

We arrived in Skokie on Friday, and have been enjoying time with Sarah and her family before she leaves tomorrow for a week-long retreat outside Little Rock, AR. Once she leaves Tracy and I will be busy helping with Caleb and Hannah while Sarah is away. It's hardly a chore as both are happy, cheerful children most of the time. We hadn't seen them since June, and I knew Hannah would have changed a lot, but even Caleb has grown at least an inch taller. 

Hannah is crawling everywhere (and she is fast!). This weekend we put up gates so that she can't beat any of us to the stairs! She's pulling herself up and inching along the edge of tables and couches. Today she was playing with Grandpa's phone and having the best of times.

Caleb is really enjoying kindergarten. We picked him up at school today (just two blocks down the street) and got to peek into his classroom. We'll still be here on Halloween and will get to go to the Halloween party and parade. Here he is at dinner tonight, enjoying a bit of ice cream.

It was nice over the weekend, but today turned chilly and rainy. The forecast is for much the same for tomorrow. Hannah is home on Mondays, but goes to daycare Tuesday-Friday. We're planning a trip to IKEA and The Container Store tomorrow, and hoping for one nice afternoon to visit the Botanic Gardens. On Friday we're having lunch with a friend who lives just north of here. We'd given some thought to trying to get into Chicago for a day, but I don't think we really have time for that. Both of us brought projects to work on, and we need to be available if one of the kids needs to be picked up. I brought some card making supplies, and hope to get a head start on the Christmas cards. 

Monday Memo

It's been awhile since I posted a Monday Memo, but I did have some great mail this week, so I thought I'd do a quick recap of our weekend which was a particularly busy one. Friday night we attended a wedding for a good friend's daughter. It was held in a barn, and was absolutely lovely!

The bride and her father

The bride and groom--sadly not the sharpest of iPhone photos

The barn before dinner

The favors: a Mason jar mug with chalkboard labels---used for our beverages and ours to keep

The bride did all the decorating and planning. She's a wonderfully creative girl, and the wedding invitations were spectacular and all handmade. 

On Saturday I helped a friend who is moving to New Mexico pack up his library. We packed 30 boxes of books, and he still had two more bookcases to go! That afternoon, our street had a neighborhood picnic. I only took one photo, and got only a fraction of the folks who attended. It was pot luck, and the food was great. It was also a good chance to meet some new neighbors and connect with those we don't often see.

Sunday, after church, was a bridal shower for Betsy's sister who is getting married in Boston over Columbus Day weekend. Once again, I didn't take many photos, but I did get one of the table where all the gifts were placed. 

I do, however, have a couple photos of the card I made for Karen.

I started by using the "Falling Hearts" stencil by Simon Says with three different shades of pink ink from Altenew. I stamped the umbrella from Papertrey Ink's "Dress-up Dolls: Rainy Day" (I knew this little $5 set would come in handy), fussy cut it, and colored it with Copics. The sentiment was computer generated and cut with banner dies from PTI. I added a silver heart and a few sequins at the end.

 

And then there was the mail. In one day, I received a pretty new skirt that was 70% off (no photo), this gorgeous hand-decorated envelope and card from Nan, and three items from the latest Altenew release.

Today was a busy day. I went to the gym before breakfast, and it's a good thing I did because once I left the house, I was only here for a few minutes between one event and the next. I finally got home about 8:30 tonight. Tomorrow is much the same, but Wednesday is clear and I'm hoping to put these new Altenew products to good use. 

Lastly, today is September 11 and a day to remember all those who lost their lives 16 years ago as well as remembering all those who worked so hard to rescue and provide help to the victims. Like most Americans, I know exactly what I was doing when I heard the news. Sadly, the world was forever changed, and I fear not for the better. In addition, I'm thinking and praying for all those in Houston who are trying to rebound from Hurricane Harvey and all those who have been in Hurricane Irma's path. Not a day goes by that I'm not aware of my many blessings, but days like these remind me how very fortunate I am.

Memos, Mail, Me: Weekend Road Trip

Waving to Sian and other Monday Memo Makers! Today’s post is another long and photo heavy one as we spent the holiday weekend on the road to visit my brother in the Hudson Valley. He recently moved from the east side of the Hudson to the west side. He purchased a condo in Highland, NY and it’s a great location, just five minutes from the Mid-Hudson Bridge, and only 10-15 minutes to the golf course where he plays several times a week.

Just a short walk through the condo development brings you to the Hudson Valley Rail Trail which now runs from Highland to Hopewell Junction. We walked to the Hudson Valley Walkway on Friday afternoon, about four miles round trip. On Sunday we walked in the other direction for about 1.5 miles and then into the village to purchased some homemade sausages from a local butcher.

Sunday afternoon we spent several lovely hours with family. We got a chance to meet Rowan, only five days old, and get acquainted with Finn, a happy and very active two year old.

My niece, Stephanie with Rowan

My niece, Julie, with Finn

When I was a sophomore in high school, my family moved from rural Ohio to a small college town in New York. Both Dane and I graduated from New Paltz High School.

It had been quite a few years since I’d been back to visit. Since this was Memorial Day weekend, we started at the cemetery where both my parents are buried. My mom died in 1969 and my dad in 1998. It’s hard to comprehend how long they’ve been gone.

Then we did a little tour of the town---past the two houses we lived in, and the church where Tracy and I were married---44 years ago this July.

We were only the second couple to be married in the newly reconstructed church. As you can see, it’s very small so there is no organ. Instead my father arranged for a harpsichord and recorded. My only regrets about the wedding are that we didn’t record it, and we didn’t have a professional photographer.

On Saturday, Tracy and I took Metro North to New York City. The railroad runs right along the Hudson River almost all the way from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Station. This is a photo of West Point across the river as we sped along.

Our first stop was the Guggenheim Museum to see the current exhibit, “Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim.”

It’s the first time in years that the Guggenheim has showcased their permanent collection. Arranged chronologically from an early Pissarro (1867) to a late 1940’s Pollack, it’s a fascination look at some wonderful art as well as an opportunity to learn how Guggenheim amassed this fabulous collection. Some of the works were familiar to me, but I discovered others I loved, but had never heard of before. I loved the colors and geometric shapes of this painting by Bauer.

After a delightful lunch at Table d’Hote on 92^nd Street, we stopped at The Strand ("18 Miles of Books")to kill some time before our timed tickets for the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

Luckily we had no wait at either the Guggenheim or the 9/11 Memorial Museum, although the latter got very crowded before we finished the exhibits. It’s a sobering experience, made even more sobering by the recent tragic events in Manchester. You quickly realize how profoundly the world has changed following this attack. Understandably, no photos are allowed inside the main exhibits.

This photo is of a fascinating display hung in an outer hall. It’s made up of 2, 983 individual pieces of watercolor paper representing each of the victims of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and those killed in the 9/11 attack. It’s entitled “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning.” The artist, Spencer Finch, painted each square in a different shade of blue.

The color of the sky remains one of my strongest memories of that terrible day. I heard of the attack as I walked my fifth grade class into an assembly. It was determined that we would not tell the children about the event, believing that their parents would be better able to handle sharing that horrible event. It was truly surreal to continue to teach on that bright, sunny day as if nothing had happened.

We’ve spent today, Memorial Day, driving home. Like those who sacrificed their lives the rescue efforts after the 9/11 attacks, this is a day to remember the sacrifice and service of those who have worked so hard to defend a free world.

The photo taken from the train, and this one of the flag flying on the Mid-Hudson Bridge were taken with my iPhone. All the rest were taken with my new mirrorless camera. Although I'm frustrated by the fact that my version of Lightroom can't read the Raw photos from the Olympus, I'm quite happy with the camera. The color and sharpness are good, and it was certainly a delight to have a camera that weighed a fraction of my other cameras during a long day in New York City as well as on our walks. I still need to figure out some of the options on the camera, but overall, I'm very please with it.

And what about the mail?

Well, mostly junk and bills. But the new Simon Says Card Kit arrived with a wonderful stamp set geared toward weddings. Perfect timing, as we have three weddings to attend between now and early October. I also got a book I ordered before we left from Amazon by Patterson Freeman. When I was at the Strand, I picked up a book by the same author that had gone out of print. I read some of it on the trip, and had determined it was a good buy. Imagine my surprise to arrive home and discover the book I ordered is an update version of the same book! Well, now a friend will get the book from the Strand, so it won't go to waste.

 

Mail, Memo, Me: Musings

It was supposed to be a quiet weekend after a very busy week once we returned from Chicago. Somehow, it flew by, and here we are at Monday evening already!

Friday night we had dinner with Tracy’s sister and brother-in-law at a new-to-us Asian restaurant. Tom had a Sushi platter, but the rest of us went with a hibachi plate. There are a lot of family events this summer, and we got a chance to talk about logistics among other things.

Saturday, it was my Dining Room Ministry team's turn to serve lunch. We were short-handed, but managed to get a hot lunch for nearly 70 on the table on time. But it was a lot more hectic than usual. Matt, Betsy, and the girls came for pizza. I only got one good photo---of Madelyn once again. She sits still the longest, and hasn’t developed an aversion to Grandma’s phone or camera.

Yesterday after church, I went right to the craft room to make sure all the cards for May were finished. It was a marathon session, and I finished 12, but still would like to make two more before the weekend when we’re off to visit my brother for a few days. It’s been well over a year since my brother and I have been together. And there’s a trip to NYC planned for Saturday---haven’t been there for 16 years!

I finished a book this weekend (well, actually this morning,) and thought I share three books I’ve read recently that I can highly recommend. Two are nonfiction, and one is a recently published novel that I put a hold on at the library.

The first is Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippa. Many years ago, Sarah asked me if I listed to Tippa’s podcasts, “On Being.”  Sadly, I never did. Based on many years of interviewing scientists, novelists and poets, theologians, and philosophers among others, Becoming Wise distills wisdom from these interviews in five sections: "Words: The Poetry of Creatures," "Flesh: The Body’s Grace," "Love: A Few Things I’ve Learned," "Faith: The Evolution," and "Hope: Reimagined." It is a fascinating and thought-provoking read. My To Read list grew a bit longer as I added books written by people Tippa has interviewed.

The Women in the Castle was the featured novel in the Indie Book List pamphlet I picked up in Nashville in March. I had to wait a few weeks for it to reach my name on the hold list at the library, but it was worth the wait. I’ve read more than my share of Holocaust novels over the years. This was no less devastating than many of the others, but the points of view were dramatically different. It is a compelling read, and the current political situation came to mind more than once.

I think I’ve read nearly all of Thomas Friedman’s books. His ability to tell a story to teach a concept is unparalleled. I’ve learned so much from him. He’s latest book, Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Acceleration, is no exception. The New York Times calls him an “exploratory journalist,” and in this book he explores the rapid change of technology, and why it’s nearly impossible to keep up; climate change and the impact it’s had on our political and cultural institutions, and the spinning market so connected to the acceleration of the internet. It’s a long book, but a fascinating read.

I also wanted to share a few thoughts and links on “Choosing Joy” and gratitude. I recently joined a new interfaith book group---Christian, Jewish, and Catholic. We’re planning to read theologically interesting and thought-provoking books. Our first selection was Marcus Borg’s Convictions which I’ve now read twice, and could easily read again.

One of the members of that group sent a link to a piece she wrote on Mother’s Day. It’s beautifully written, thoughtful, and compassionate. When I read it I recognized, once again, that I am blessed beyond measure. Gratitude is something I recognize daily in many large and small ways, but for some reason I’ve never been able to keep a gratitude journal for more than a month or two. It’s always bothered me, but this week I read a blog post by Anne Butera (who hosted the Handmade Joy Exchange) in which she reflected that when “life is more joyful, it’s easier to see the joy. It doesn’t take the practice of writing . . . to be able to see it.” Her observation was very comforting, and I’m very grateful that my life is joyful enough not to need a written list.

Enough of rambling. The mail brought my birthday gift (partially funded by generous gifts from my mother-in-law and my husband.) I’ve been eyeing a mirrorless camera for several years, and in January got to see one Adam had purchased. It does most of what my big cameras do, much more than my phone camera, and is less than half as big as the big camera. It won’t replace my big camera, but it’s small enough to fit into a larger purse for a day in the city or a long walk. It’s the first Olympus I’ve owned, and I’m just beginning to figure out the controls. I'll be testing it out in New York City on Saturday. Also in the mail was the stunning Build a Flower: Magnolia stamp by Alenew and a charming pair of scissors from Etsy.

I’ll leave you with two of the cards I made with the new stamp set yesterday for two upcoming May birthdays.

I watercolored this image, and mounted it on a smaller A4 card from The Paper Source.

This one I stamped with a combination of inks from Papertrey Ink and Simon Says. The Altenew layering stamps are pretty amazing. It's adhered to an A2 card from Memory Box and I added a few rainstones from PTI.

Hope your week is off to a good start. I'm waving (a bit late in the day) to Sian at From High In the Sky and the other memo makers!