Memorial Day

We went to Chris's parents' house for the long weekend and just relaxed. We saw "Indiana Jones" in the theater, ate delicious brisket, and swam. Mostly, we just wanted to get away and have fun with Marlow. He is such a good swimmer.

Lost & Found

The last 5 days have been awful. We lost Marlow while hiking on the Greenbelt last Saturday. He got spooked by a biker riding fast through the trail and ran off. He's done this before, but this time he didn't come back. We searched for him that night until it got dark. And all day the next. And all day the next. Long story short, he backtracked all the way to where we had parked, then hung out in that neighborhood until we found him yesterday. What a stressful week it was. Honestly, I didn't think I would see my sweet pup again. But God is so good and so many people were praying for us. Thank you to all. Those prayers sustained us and got us through it. He returned to us, safe and sound, with nothing worse than fleas and being matted down with burrs. We are so happy. He is our Miracle Marlow. Thank You, Jesus!

Can't Stop Won't Stop

I got three great, new books recently and couldn't wait to share with you:

1. The Art of Simple Food--Alice Waters
2. The Silver Palate Cookbook--Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins
3. Mastering the Art of French Cooking--Julia Childs

I have a hard time going to bed at a decent hour because I can't stop reading!

Turning Twenty4

So many people blessed me this week by loving on me through cards, emails, phone calls, gifts, meals, and attending my party. THANK YOU TO ALL! I felt really celebrated. The entire week was full of fun and it just built with excitement until my party Friday night. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked to, but these will have to do.

JRF and I enjoyed almond croissants for breakfast at Enoteca. They are dangerous!

I finally used my gift certificate that I got at Christmas for a massage. It was wonderful!

Then, I met Lydia for lunch downtown before running to the mall to buy an orange shirt.
I sort of had an orange-n-black color scheme for my party.
And I had to match, of course, but didn't have an orange shirt.

Here, the remaining few couples at the end of the night.

Nature is All Around

One of the first things about this house that I loved was the unmaintained backyard. It almost feels like a mini state park. We feel very lucky to have so many trees for living within the city limits. I just watched a baby blue jay outside my front window. It was perched outside on the window sill, mommabird close by. And I've seen many baby birds in my life, but never a blue jay. This one looked very sweet and adventurous, even though it hadn't yet conquered the whole flying thing. I brought Marlow up close to look at it, and then he flew away a few feet until he touched down again. Also, right now there is a squirrel on our rooftop. It is caught inside the trap that was intended for the raccoon. It's loud, bouncing around the inside, trying to escape. Chris has come home everyday, having to release whatever non-target animal is inside then resetting it. We've caught doves, cats, and now a squirrel.