Trevi Tossings

Here's the two of us at the Trevi Fountain. (Yes, Ed tossed a coin too, and promptly covered his face with his arm in the photo...no fun!) The story goes that you must toss a coin into the fountain with your right hand over your left shoulder to guarantee your return to Rome. So we did. In fact, if you look carefully, my coin is still frozen mid-air just beyond my hand... good shot, Ed!
The real story of the fountain is almost better... notice it has a building with windows sort of RIGHT behiind it. Well, apparently there was some ancient dispute over land and water access to this particular spot and the family which owned the Palazzo was forced to share. So they decided to make it something that would sort of show the grandeur of their family while they were at it. The result, they built the fountain right into the backside of their Roman Palazzo.... the Trevi! One pretty upscale watering hole, for sure!

Rome and St. Peters Basillica

I know one is expected to say "wow" a lot when in Europe, but there is no spot on the planet more likely to cause you to say it than Rome... particulary Vatican City. Yes, I know... being a good Lutheran I should be immune to all the trappings of Catholicism, but I'm not. I stood utterly amazed at what incredible monuments of art and architecture were build hundreds of years ago out of the devotion that men felt for God. That is the biggest "wow" for me of all! And when I think that they did it all without the use of electricity and modern technology.. I am amazed even more. Rome was WOW!

Travel Adventures - Part One

As most of our family and friends know, Ed and I spent June 8-18 touring Europe with 9 of our students and 3 of their parents. It was an amazing adventure. We traveled with EF tours and saw so many beautiful things! The tour began in Rome and ended in Paris with stops in Florence, Pisa, Siena, Monaco, and Nice in between. Since I'll probably be posting photos from this trip for quite awhile - I shot over 1300 photos (don't panic.... they're not all keepers), I thought I'd share just a couple here for you to enjoy. One is a fun angle on the Eiffel Tower... which I actually rode to the top of.... despite a serious fear of open heights. It wasn't too bad, even though it was pretty breezy at the top. The other was shot along the coastline of Monaco... Heaven will look just like this someday! We had 12 solid days of Mediterranean sunshine and great fun. Not a bad way to start a summer!

The New "Baby"

We arrived home from Europe late Sunday night. After seeing SO many small, very fuel efficient cars there (I am personally in love with Fiats and the "Smart" Cars - more on those later), we were convinced it was time to have an alternative to driving the truck as our 2nd car. Not that we don't love the truck.. we do, but it sucks gas like there's no tomorrow! So we went car shopping bright and early on Monday morning. We decided that if it was going to be small, then it was going to be FUN to drive. After several hilarious attempts to stuff Ed into some very snazzy smaller foreign cars.... we went to our VW dealer and test drove the new Beetle convertible! The result... we loved it... bought it .... and brought it home. It's such a spiffy little set of wheels, loads of fun to drive, and hey, it goes well with Ed's gray hair! What more can you ask of a car!

Summer Officially Begins

Everyone knows the "official" first day of summer is Memorial Day, and this year was no exception to that rule. The day dawned hot and steamy. Ed and I went out to the vineyard and got our garden planted. We were home by noon and around 1pm Gret, Leon, and Bailey arrived. The rest of the day was total relaxation. Ed spent much of it doing up a GREAT barbecue for dinner... chicken in the smoker, Eggplant, corn on the cob, sausages, the works! All of us swam, but the most enthusiastic swimmer was Bailey who could barely wait to get into the water! Over and over he would dive in and paddle about, then step out and SHAKE like crazy! He must have gone in and out over 20 times! What fun! We topped dinner off with a delicious lemon cake... we didn't eat the daisies! Yum! What a good day!

Graduation day

Last Saturday was graduation day at Lutheran High, and the day was hot and sunny. I just had to post a few photos of the day. Ed was the graduation speaker and I introduced all the academic speakers. We had FOUR valedictorians this year so I did a lot of introducing!. The rest of the day was spent going to parties and generally celebrating an end of a good year.

Two more photos

For those of you who haven't seen our beautiful new stadium... here's a shot from behind homeplate.


Also here's a great shot of Gretchen and Katrina enjoying the game together.

Great Weekend - Part 2 - GO CARDINALS!

Mother's Day 2006 and Lutheran Day at the New Busch Stadium a.k.a. Baseball Heaven. We made a total day of it by riding downtown on the MetroLink. Gabe got a kick out of all the tunnels. Sat right behind homeplate in the new stadium. Have to admit the new digs of the Cardinals are gorgeous! Gabe did the whole game day thing... hot dogs, cotton candy, 5 trips to the bathroom, cheering, the wave,....EVERYTHING! It was an absolute blast! We sure made some memories today! Oh, by the way, the Arizona Diamondbacks won 7-6, but we had a great time anyway.

Great Weekend - Part 1

This weekend brought a visit from Kate and Nathan and the boys... so we all had a great time hanging out together and doing fun things. First, we celebrated Leon and Nathan's 30th birthdays with a great Burger Bash on Friday night. A little belated, but lots of fun.
Saturday morning, bright and early, Ed took Gabe fishing for the first time at the Fountain Lakes Pond. I went along to document the outing. The new "Spiderman" pole Papa bought Gabe worked beautifully. No fish to keep on this trip.. but one that got away whose story got larger each time it was told!
On Saturday night we took both boys to the band concert at LHS. Gabe liked all the percussion and the number from "Joseph and Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" the best. Asher just liked the lights and the noise.

All Grown Up

Just last weekend we had the final play of the season... "You Can't Take It With You" was a huge success. Gretchen directed it and Jesse was a major role in the cast. Hard to believe that just 10 years ago he was the little ring bearer in her wedding! He's graduating in about 2 weeks here... and we are all VERY proud of him. So this blog is for Jesse.. the little boy who grew up and who we know will do great things someday!

More Spring Pretty Things

Things seem to be blooming everywhere I look! Thought I'd bore you with a few more.... I don't care how many times I see flowers in the spring - they always seem like a brand new miracle!

Pool's open!

As of 48 hours ago, our pool is open. Freezing cold, but open! It doesn't look quite this good yet, but within another day or two it will! I am so glad summer is almost here. I love it when the pool is open and even if I don't always get in it... I love to sit by it with my feet in the water or lie on a chaise lounge and read a book beside it! Ahhhhh summer! Only 10 more days of school... counting finals! yahooooooo!

Easter, Socks, & Grandpuppies!

Since Easter, which was a strange day by the way, I have been a total bum! I have been doing only the things I enjoy doing... which is pretty much the perfect way to spend an Easter break! Today I told myself, "Self, you better get busy and get some things done around here!" My self didn't listen too well. However, the break has not been without it's accomplishments... see the following....

Ed made a magnificent rack of Lamb for dinner on Easter Sunday!

Our Easter table looked awesome!


I have been making socks! Check these spiffy ones out!!!!




These greyish/purple ones are my first pair of socks... they are made of Merino wool... very soft and cozy. I love the color!






These are the ones I am currently making... with this very cool yarn that makes the stripes as you go! I think they are quite cool!




Bailey Jameson, our grandpuppy, is staying at our house while his parents are off playing in Hawaii. He's a good dog... and he likes watching me knit socks!

Happy Easter!!

Okay.... time to start with a confession.... I totally stole this photo from my daughter Kate's blog! That being done... aren't my grandsons the cutest little guys you've ever seen???!!!??? I couldn't be with them this Easter, so I decided to post a photo of them on my site instead! Gabriel called me at 8am this morning to wish his Papa and I a "Happy Easter" and to tell us all about his basket full of goodies that apparently was hiding under a coffee table! He had the task of finding Asher's basket too this year which made the job twice as much fun, I'm sure.

We went to breakfast at church and then to the 9:30 service. The orchestra and choir were absolutely fantastic and brought tears to my eyes several times during the service. We came home, opened all the windows and set the table for Easter dinner which will be a rack of Lamb, asparagus tips, roasted potatoes, green beans almondine, waldorf salad, and a lemon chiffon cake. (don't worry, I'll take a picture!) It's presently 82 cozy degrees outside and headed for the near 90's... so we've jumped from spring right to summer without much gap between!

Happy Easter to all of you who read this... He is Risen Indeed!

Everywhere you look... Beautiful!

I am hopelessly wrapped up in spring fever! Everything is bursting into bloom and it's a wonderful time of the year. Just wanted to share some of the pretty things around my home and yard. This is such a beautiful season. I am counting the days till Spring/Easter Break when I can actually just sit back and ENJOY it! The smell under this apple tree is heavenly!

What a difference a week makes!

As you can see... spring is here! And while it's cool and more cloudy than we like, we are seeing definite signs of the change. Our apple tree in the front yard is ready to burst into pink, and out at the vineyard the vines are trimmed and ready to start anew. In fact, the sap is rising in the vines... which if you look carefully, you can see in one of the shots.
I went a little crazy shooting photos of vines on Sunday. I love the texture to the wood and how interesting it looks under different lighting conditions. So here are the definitive signs of the new season in my world.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Today is the first day of Spring... really! And yes, Ed & I are home enjoying our first snow day of the now past winter season! Gotta love Missouri! Strange and exciting weather. And only this state would let approx. 1.5" of snow result in area wide school closings. Not that I am complaining, mind you; it's wonderful to get the gift of a Tuesday all your very own! But when you see how much snow actually was on the ground, you have to chuckle. So put your feet up, keep the fireplace blazing, it's a SNOW DAY! It's good to be a teacher!

Snip, snip, trim trim trim

Spent all of this weekend at our vineyard giving 1200 vines a "haircut" so to speak. Ahhhh.... spring! Time to trim all the vines in a weird sort of annual ritual that involves cutting away about 75% of what they grew last summer. People drive past and look at us hacking away at our vines... thinking, "What are they doing?! Are they trying to kill that vineyard, or what???!!" But we do it... every spring. And they grow... every summer. In a way, it's a nice cycle... one you can count on. And that's why I love it.
But for right now, it's time to go soak my right hand... I have a monstrous case of "clipper's cramp!" :-)

My students amaze me!

Okay, it's time to admit something I don't say very often.... my students amaze me! Tonight I spent 2 blissful hours reading their thoughts on the English Romantic poet John Keats. They were grappling with some pretty huge ideas like life, death, unrealized potential, and whether or not poet's could detach themselves from their personal pain and just immerse themselves in their poetry. Big ideas!!! And amazingly, they did it... and they did it beautifully! They make me feel so hopeful when that happens. I must admit there are times in this technological era in which we find ourselves, that I worry about whether or not anyone will continue to contemplate Keats' words, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty-that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." But every once in awhile, my students give me cause to marvel... and for a moment, I know the words will live on.

Spring on the Brain

It's March... so Spring can't be too far away, can it? Must admit to having the early stages of Spring fever.... so I decided to post a crocus. I know it's a bit early, but all my bulbs are up at least 2 inches in the garden. If it snows now, it won't be good for them!
Got my copy of "Pride and Prejudice" this week.... I love that movie. Watched it twice already. I was hoping that it might garner an Oscar for Keira K. but no such luck. However, it will always rank as one of my top picks to watch!

Think Spring!