Friday/Food Processing/Friends

When you have a fancy food processor,

you should probably learn to use it.

Ginger came to this conclusion recently,

and hence Amy & I descended on Friday

bearing ingredients to be processed into delicious.

We made Ging do the work,

but we were there by her side

the whole time.

The dough for dessert being her first success,

we gave her a test to assess her putting-it-all-together skills.

Then, Amy took the lead

and we moved on to hummus.

The taste test proved:

the appetizers were ready.

The night moved forward as Ging learned 

to grate massive amounts of cheese,

as the men--having arrived to eat--

weighed in on the workings of the machine,

and as I rolled out

 the beautifully processed and thoroughly chilled dough.

Then, we gathered around the table and ate the fruit of our labors,

laughing together in the fruit of our friendship.

A Friday well-spent, indeed.

This is my Cottage Summer

.

Celebration, Farm-ward

Not too far from our wedding adventures

was the family farm of one of our own,

and so Saturday evening a clump of us 

made our way there,

for just a bit more away & refresh.

We arrived, played some games, drank some beer.

We crashed into bunkbeds and slept our cares away

(some of us more than others...)

The next morning we slowly unrolled ourselves,

to this view.

Taking our slow and leisurely time

we ate some breakfast,

just dwelling ourselves together.

Eventually we found ourselves by water,

ready for adventure.

Our brave Kendra swam across the river with John,

Dorothy and I circling nearby to retrieve her when she was through.

This, of course, is easier said than done 

when one is dependent on a tippy canoe,

and tip we did, right into that water.

Through some mighty teamwork 

(of those both in and out of boats)

we righted ourselves, 

better for the experience.

After a bit more exploration

we arrived on shore,

feeling accomplished, refreshed, alive.

The inevitable upon us, 

we packed up cars,

said good-bye to the beauty and each other,

and headed home.

Having celebrated to the utmost.

We're pretty good celebrators

Give us a wedding and a weekend,

and we will make the most of it.

Saturday morning found us gathered in the hotel lobby 

over coffee and books and breakfast,

wondering what the weather would bring.

And eventually we decided that, though it would not bring us to lounge around on the beach (as we had originally planned), it could still bring us to the boardwalk, and so that is where we went.

Let's let these pictures speak for themselves

of the fun and the free, 

of the stormy sky and my terribly wind-blown hair:

 When all was said and done,

we gathered our winning tickets 

[to which I contributed nothing

and this man contributed more than a few...]

and got our bride and groom some treats.

Then we made our way to cars and left our beach-side 

for dinner nearby with the rest of the wedding guests.

We were so tired,

there seem to be no pictures of our evening, but imagine:

Rows and rows of tables on a covered porch

overlooking the boats-docked water,

breeze blowing through the windows

and happy joyful people all around.

When the hour got late(ish),

I climbed in the car of my faithful driver 

and we made our way farm-ward...

because nobody can say we don't know how to make the most of it.

We are pretty good celebrators indeed.

To celebrate

Last weekend I gathered 

with some of my nearest and dearest

to celebrate the marriage of these good friends.

 We witnessed their commitment to each other,

 and gathered around food

 listening to those who know them best 

speak of blessing and joy.

 We took the time to enjoy the scenery,

 to be a little giddy

in time to reconnect.

Before we knew it, 

paper lanterns appeared out of nowhere 

and we worked together

 to figure them out,

 to light them up,

 to lift them into the sky,

to send them off
[praying for the right direction...].

Speaking of sending off,

 soon enough we gathered in a line

leading down to the water

 and lifted sparklers high,

to send the bride and groom

off into the night.

We made more use then,

 of our fancy dresses

and time together,

heartfelt

and fun,

full of the glow that is brought by walking through life,

in all its beautiful seasons.