Long Hopscotch

Tuesday 13 July 2010

This should be in the Guinness Book of Records or something. Now this is using your summertime appropriately.

Mushroom

Monday 12 July 2010

Cutest little mushroom ever, right in our backyard.

Pier

Sunday 11 July 2010

Goodbye, Grand Haven!

Mom and Dad on the beach

Saturday 10 July 2010

Sailboat

Friday 9 July 2010

Yep, loving the lake.

Prospero

Thursday 8 July 2010

Saw an awesome community theater production of The Tempest tonight.

Dune wood

Wednesday 7 July 2010

We went out for a dune buggy ride today. Not nearly as scary or thrilling as I remember them being when we were kids.

On the beach

Tuesday 6 July 2010

Wine racks

Monday 5 July 2010

Decided to tour a couple of wineries in the area, get some tastings. Yum!

Grand Haven Lighthouse

Sunday 4 July 2010

On a little vacation to the west coast of Michigan. Ah, Lake Michigan, how I've missed you.

P.S. Happy birthday, Love!

Congrats!

Saturday 3 July 2010

And speaking of weddings . . . congratulations, you two!

Carrot Cake

Friday 2 July 2010

Cake-tasting is the absolute best part of planning a wedding.

Summer meadow

Thursday 1 July 2010

I wish I were having a picnic with Dawnelle. Happy Birthday!

Awesome new earrings

Wednesday 30 June 2010

Went to see the fireworks in the next town over tonight, with a group of friends. The two little girls had glow sticks, so I attached some to my earrings.

By the lake

Tuesday 29 June 2010

On the deck

Monday 28 June 2010

I'm guessing there is a bottle of wine somewhere just out of the frame . . .

Hamburger cookie

Sunday 27 June 2010

They served these at the church picnic today. I was so excited, because I used to love them so much as a kid. Then I was a bit disappointed, because they weren't nearly as good as I remember them being.

Summer dessert

Saturday 26 June 2010

Plain yogurt, almonds, raspberries from a neighbor's garden, mulberries from the tree behind the library, and honey we harvested in Bulgaria. Let me tell you, dessert doesn't get much better than this.

Nice day

Friday 25 June 2010

It's so nice being home for the summer.

Yarn Store

Thursday 24 June 2010

Accompanied my mom to the little knitting store in town.

Leaf and dew

Wednesday 23 June 2010

Milkweed

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Leaves of . . .

Monday 21 June 2010

. . . grass.

Carousel horse

Sunday 20 June 2010

At the Stafford, NY festival.

Linda's shower

Saturday 19 June 2010

We're in Leroy this weekend for Linda's bridal shower - my cousin Jimmy is getting married to this gorgeous girl.

Finally on the blog

Friday 18 June 2010

Aunt Sue and Uncle Jeff told me they've been hoping to be featured on my blog, so when we stopped at their house on our way home from New York, it was a perfect opportunity to get a nice shot of them!

New York with kite

Thursday 17 June 2010

Goodbye, New York!

Brownstones

Wednesday 16 June 2010

Bridge to the Bronx

Tuesday 15 June 2010

I like that they have a gong on this bridge somewhere!

Skyscraper

Monday 14 June 2010

Puerto Rican Weekend!

Sunday 13 June 2010

Caught the Puerto Rican Day Parade today.

Times Square

Saturday 12 June 2010

Fuerza Bruta

Friday 11 June 2010

Ryan and I saw the coolest show tonight! It's called Fuerza Bruta, and it's this awesome dance and performace spectacular from Argentina. The audience (only maybe 50 people) stands on stage, and the show happens around and above and among us. Girls hanging from harnesses dancing and running on the walls, a man on a treadmill being shot at, dancers hitting audience members with confetti-filled boards. And this bit was the coolest - they lowered a plexiglass ceiling full of water over us, and the performers danced and slid in the water right over our heads. Such a neat theater experience.

Audubon's Grave

Thursday 10 June 2010

This is the gravestone of John James Audubon, founder of the Audubon society. You know, birds?

It was cool, the whole stone was covered with carvings of animals and birds. Unfortunately, none of the pictures of that part turned out - ah well!

Katz's

Wednesday 9 June 2010

On our way over to The Moth (an awesome story-telling event), Ryan and I grabbed dinner at Katz's, a very famous old deli. (It was also, by the way, where they filmed the famous "I'll have what she's having" scene in When Harry Met Sally.) Got a pastrami on rye, and it was pretty good . . . . still not as good as I remember pastrami sandwiches being when Aunt Sue and I used to come into the city, though. Maybe due to childhood rose-colored glasses? Or she just knew a better place?

Brooklyn Graveyard

Tuesday 8 June 2010

My wonderful friend Mac took us on a mini-tour of his neighborhood in Brooklyn today.

Harlem 2

Monday 7 June 2010

Harlem

Sunday 6 June 2010

In Jenny and PJ's neighborhood, Sugar Hill. And yes, you take the A train to go there.

Back in the U.S. of A.

Saturday 5 June 2010

Back home again, and it feels good.

And what's the first thing we do on our first day back? Why, go see a show, of course! (Ryan's very first Broadway show, in fact!)

Skyline

Friday 4 June 2010

Goodbye, Istanbul!

Cistern

Thursday 3 June 2010

The old cistern under Istanbul. This was where the Romans stored water for drinking and irrigation. In those days, the water would have been right up to the top.

Fisherman

Wednesday 2 June 2010

We took a short cruise around the Bosphorus today.

A fisherman in front of an old Ottoman house.

Train station

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Wandering around on the Asian half of the city today, we came across this train station. It was a gift from the Germans.

Instanbul in the morning

Monday 31 May 2010

Back in Turkey for the last few days of the trip.

Our hosts

Sunday 30 May 2010

Nicola and Boyana, our couchsurfing hosts.

New bees

Saturday 29 May 2010

Here is Boyana's aunt, catching a swarm of wild bees. They were all gathered on the tree branch, so she rubbed the inside of that basket thing with lemon verbena, which they love. You hit the branch with a stick, the bees are dislodged and fall into the basket. They stay in there, I guess, until you put them into the hive.

We spent the day helping them gather honey from Boyana's grandmother's hives, which was both interesting and very informative.

Daisies

Friday 28 May 2010

Our couchsurfing hosts, Boyana and Nicola, took us out to Boyana's family's village for the weekend. Two days of good fresh farm food, hmmm!

Oooh, feathered hair

Thursday 27 May 2010

This guy's posters are all over Varna - handsome, huh?

Field of poppies

Wednesday 26 May 2010

We spent the whole day on the beach today, getting a little sun. So, here is a photo I took on the train on the way here. A whole field of poppies - they're everywhere right now.

Varna Cathedral

Tuesday 25 May 2010