It's National Siblings Days here in the States. I wonder who comes up with these holidays. Still, it gave me a reason to look through some old photo albums, and this one of all my sibs is from bygone days that feel like from a different lifetime.
Here is how Justice Anthony Kennedy, who authored today’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage throughout the United States, closed his opinion.
"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies
the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice,
and family. In forming a marital union, two people become
something greater than once they were. As some of
the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage
embodies a love that may endure even past death. It
would misunderstand these men and women to say they
disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do
respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its
fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned
to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s
oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the
eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit is reversed.
It is so ordered. "
Yesterday the 141th running of the Kentucky Derby, and Derby Day calls for Man-O-Wars. Had to teach two local bartenders in Manchester, Vermont how to make them. Neither place had basil (don't get me started), so we made do with mint. Delish. P.S. Way to go American Pharoah! Cheers.
Here in the Boston are we have had about 9 feet of snow in the past 3 weeks. Kinda crazy. And if that were not enough, we are also having record cold temperatures. Here are some pics from today.
Our driveway is getting narrower after each storm. Pretty soon we'll have to leave the cars behind and snowshoe out.
Another foot and a half of fresh powdery snow. Windchills in the -35F ahead, and the furnace has stopped working. Grateful that we have power. Life could be worse. There could be zombies at my door.
The past six weeks have been rather stressful for my family. My Dad was scheduled for open heart surgery, and at 77 years of age, we were all naturally worried about the procedure.
The surgery on Dec 10 went without a hitch, and a week later my Dad was discharged on schedule to a rehabilitation center. He has been there for over a week, and expects to be back home by the end of this week. He has good days and tough days, but has been recovering really well. Seeing his face and those of my beautiful nieces is the best present I could have gotten this holiday season.
You learn something new everyday, and today I learned about the Electronic Banking version of Monopoly.
Seriously people, how have I not heard about this before? No more paper money, and all the prices are adjusted for the 21st century - though the sheer number of million of dollars I flung around today was a little unnerving. Spent several fun hours today in cutthroat play with my nieces.
My parents are in town for a month long visit, and they have lucked out with our fantastic summer weather this year. Today we took a long walk along the wonderful Harborwalk, and I introduced them to the selfie concept.
Below are some additional pics from our day.
My Dad loves boats, so this walk was especially fun for him.
Those of you who follow this blog know that I'm on a Fitbit kick, so I was delighted that my parents and I got in a 6.5 mile walk today. Pretty better dang good for my old folks [smile].
I am so loving spending time with my nieces. They are growing up so fast, and it is lovely to check in with who they are right now.
One of our traditions is playing with art supplies when I am in town. I always bring along journals for them as well and suddenly everyone is immersed in the act of creation, which also opens up a space for real conversation and connection. I am one happy Aunt.
My 9 year old nephew was over Sunday morning, and we had such a good time with him. The kid is growing up so fast, and I loved getting a chance to check in with who he is right now.
One of the things we did was make cards to mail to family and friends. I am reminded of a Ben Franklin quote: We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!
This is week 48, and I am still playing catch up. In addition to the insert I created for this week, I decided to make two double spreads for the week. We jammed a lot in, and I wanted to capture the sense of how packed it was. Highlights of this week included exploring the Ancient Cities, all UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As always, click on images to view larger.
I decided to capture a hilarious moment with my sister as an insert. As always, click on image to view larger.
Additional freebie supplies used this week: Layout template design by Becky. Love this story element by Ali. Hello and journal cards by Tina. Numbers by Northern Elements.
Musings of an island girl who loves books, travel, art, the outdoors, anything H2O related, chocolate, red wine and bourbon. Not necessarily in that order.
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