Then we took a weekend, for parental bonding

Since those parents of mine were in town, I figured I'd better spend some time with them as defense wore into weekend.

After that small season of dissertation crazy, after all, some bonding and some soul singing were seriously in order.

Hence, Friday morning found us leisuring our way to a Waffle Shop breakfast before wandering through downtown's farmers market, 

where this lovely little lavender called my name. 

[My soul was singing, do you even need to ask?]

Then, we climbed in a car and over a mountain,

to continue the bonding and to find our next moment:

A little country store designed for 

the mother's leisurely [long] browsing pleasure,

where she could gather up "little things" to her soul's content.

[See? Singing.]

Not forgetting the [patient] father, 

the outside drew him to some singing of his own:

Give the man some crops to analyze and his soul can sing for days.

We climbed back into the car, 

my favorite kind of lunch whipping its way through my aforementioned soul, and returned home, for leisurely being, dinner making, and movie watching.

The next day provided more opportunity 

for the bonding and the singing,

in the form of broken blinds,

[Give him something to fix and forget days--he's set for life...]

 my precious NJ bagels,

food preparation,

and a variety of dear ones gathered around my table.

And, just in case you're starting to think that there was a ban on laughter in all of this bonding and soul business, you should know:

in the Kooistra way of doing things, it's all inclusive.