Father of two Brides

Two daughters. Both now married. Mixed-feelings. Thankful they are responsible young adults making their way in the world vs. missing the little girls I use to give wheel-barrel rides to. Today was the wedding of our 2nd daughter. A summer wedding, done in orange and hot pink against white, it was a pretty affair. Married by the Bishop of our Ward, accompanied by his good wife, our ever-constant friends, the ceremony was, like them, warm and kind. Our granddaughter was the cutest flower girl I've ever seen. The centerpieces, gold fish swimming in rose bowls of pink seaweed, were fun. The meal after the wedding was, like the wedding itself, small in numbers and intimate, but very, very nice. I enjoyed our eldest daughter's Matron of Honor toast a great deal, it was sweet and from the heart. And I especially enjoy her husband's comments at the end of the meal wherein he suggested that given the fact that we all have the cell phone numbers of the newlyweds, we call and wish them congratulations, say around 10 p.m. to midnight. He was not only fabulous help before, during, and after the ceremony, but he brings to our family a sense of humor and goodness that I cannot imagine being without. Our own son was likewise a big help and we enjoyed having him home albeit for a short time. And so, we're thankful for family and friends whom we can depend upon, whom we lean upon, and whom we love. I hope you enjoy the photographs.
Be well. Do Good.

Monet's Kitchen

Monet's Garden is well known. Those of us that like landscape design and architecture are well aware... But, less familiar is Monet's Kitchen. Google it. Image it. I'm a fan of the delft blue tile and copper. So.... for the longest time I've had plans to build a small weekend-get-away cabin/cottage. For years I've begun collecting things for this place.
Years ago, in the small Danish town of Dragor, just outside of Copenhagen, I stayed in a great old farm Bed and Breakfast. A retired couple from Minnesota was staying there. Daily, at breakfasts, we began talking of their weekend cottage that they had build in their retirement years. That experience, coupled with the great little ochre colored cottages of fishing-village Dragor, overlooking the Baltic Sea toward the west coast of Sweden, gave rise to this dream. Some of my future posts will be devoted to the fruition of this dream.
Be well. Do good.

River Walk

San Antonio, Texas has a wonderful River Walk. Great place. Indianapolis, Indiana has one as well; it's great fun to run along it, even in the winter. I like both places well enough. But I remember reading The Pueblo Chieftain years ago. One elderly lady, a mover-n-shaker kind of gal in Pueblo, was spear-heading this dream project of converting part of down town Pueblo, Colorado into a sort of mini-San Antonio, complete with a River Walk. Pretty ambitious for a city as small as Pueblo. But I watched with interest because I really like anything related to landscape architecture. (Frederick Law Olmstead, designer of Central Park and scores of other civic parks, campuses, etc., has long been a personal hero of mine.) I don't remember her name, but now as I walk or run along this amazing little River Walk area, I always think of her with appreciation. The Pueblo River Walk, an area where the Arkansas River is briefly diverted, is one of my favorite places. I regret that we have to drive 2 hours to be in a city, but, once in Pueblo, I always enjoy going to the River Walk. It's peaceful. Olmstead would have approved.
Be Well. Do Good.

Summer Nights & Summer Reads...

On Independence Day I like to take in a city Symphony Concert followed by a great city fireworks display. But this year we opted to stay home, watch A Capital Fourth on PBS, live from DC; Macy's New York City Fireworks on the Hudson River Parkway, a great place in and of itself, on NBC (and no one, except maybe Disney, does Fireworks like Macy's); and the 1812 Overture by the amazing Boston Pops on the Charles River (a GREAT place to run) in Boston, on CBS. With surround sound, we've enjoyed great music without the crowds and traffic. Our first "empty-nester's" 4th of July Cookout was fun: brats, fruit salad, deviled eggs, etc. We're also really enjoying a surprise find this summer: Fine Irish murder mystery books and British Television's "Midsomer Murders" on dvd. From the library we check out 5 at a time and watch one nightly. Take Agatha Christie, Murder She Wrote, and Diagnosis Murder, tweak 'em together and put it on a bit of steroids, and you've got this really great series, "Midsomer Murder". We began watching them before our Ireland trip, but while there British t.v. channel "TV1" showed episodes, so we felt at home.
For fellow history buffs.... David McCullough's latest book "The Greater Journey: American in Paris" deals with American's in Paris from 1830 thru 1900. Charlie Rose interviewed him tonight on PBS. Great next book to read. If anyone else plans to read it, let me know: let's plan on doing book talk emails, chapter-by-chapter
Be Well. Do Good.