Wrap It Up and Put A Bow On It

 A few of the local trees are beginning to show the first inklings of fall, leaves fading from green to early shades of yellow.  And it smells like late summer--a distinctive smell I recall from childhood, a scent that followed me home from school on those first few weeks when you raced home in a hurry to change out of the Catholic School uniform into shorts because it was still warm and light enough to play outside until dinner.  The shadows on our deck are growing longer.  The squirrels scamper around with nuts tucked between their jaws.  

Yep, it's time to wrap summer up and put a bow on it.

We had such a blissful summer, leisurely hours spent with those we love, wedding celebrations for family and friends, reunions and reconnections, time spent on the road and in the air.  Primarily for myself, but also for your reading pleasure, I thought I'd recap May through August.

Following our return drive from Florida April 28, we flew to Chicago for the wedding of my Goddaughter, Sondra Parys, to Austin D'Amore, on May 4. It was held in the Loop and we very much enjoyed being in downtown Chicago again.

We managed to get a family photo, something that doesn't happen very often, primarily because we're so enjoying being together we just don't take that many pictures.  from L--He Who Must Not Be Named; Molly; Maggie; yours truly; Bridget; the Dan-O

We moved into our new-to-us townhome May 13 and we continue to love everything about it.  One of my favorite aspects of the house is its large deck overlooking a walking path and creek.  We are fortunate that song birds routinely visit the feeder, including this goldfinch and house finch.  They will be missed when they head south for the winter.

The Jacuzzi has been a most welcome addition to the household.  Here we see the Dan-o and grandson Ethan enjoying themselves.  The younger grandkids call the Jacuzzi the pool.  I've always wanted a pool in my backyard.  Now I guess we have one!

Our dear friends Jeff and Jackie spend April-October at their cabin on Deer Lake near Grand Rapids, MN, which is where, by the way, Dan and Jeff have coffee every morning when we're there in Jeff's Jacuzzi overlooking the lake, testing each other's songbook memories.  This summer we were fortunate to spend a few lovely days with them.  One day we drove over to Duluth where we toured the Glensheen mansion--quite a property with a sordid history. (The tours don't tell you about that.)

June 15, Dan married his niece Karyn and her long time partner Wayne on Wayne's family's farm in Waterford, Wisconsin.  The gathered assembly all enjoyed and appreciated that Karyn walked down the aisle, escorted by her older brothers, to Etta James's "At Last."

June 22 a group of Beta Alpha of Alphi Phis from the University of Illinois gathered in northwest suburban Chicago for a 50 year reunion.  So many great memories and stories and the joyful experience of sorority sisterhood.

June 28 the extended O'Smithskys (O'Brien/Smith/Rowinsky) clan came together for the wedding of TD Smith to Juliana Valdana in Tanneytown, MD.  I literally took NO PICTURES but someone captured this image of Ethan, Kitty, He Who Must Not Be Named, and Millie on the grounds of Antrim 1819, the venue for the weekend.

What a beautiful bride!  (and thank goodness for the ability to capture images from other social media sites)

July 12-14 was Opera Weekend in Des Moines with my friend Jeanie.  I have no pictures of that, but if you're interested in what shows the Des Moines Metro Opera had this festival season, click here.  Salome left us breathless and if you've never seen an opera, I would highly recommend The Barber of Seville as a great introduction.

Cro-A-ti-A blogs documented our two weeks in Croatia.  I posted the daily traveloge on Facebook and you can find them archived on this site.  It was hot and sunny (my kind of weather) almost the entire trip and we returned to what has been typical Minnesota weather this sunny--rain, rain and more rain.  I attribute the constant cloudiness and abundance of moisture to what has been the least productive garden in my gardening career--so disappointing because fresh veggies straight from the garden are very much a joy for me.  

On August 4, we celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of my high school bestie, Felicia and her husband, John Przekota, in Park Ridge, a first ring Chicago suburb very near where I spent the final 7 years of my life before moving to Minnesota.  It was a wonderful afternoon with high school girlfriends, some of whom I've known since we were in third grade.

Don't we look great? (rhetorical question)

Our family moved to this house the summer between my sophomore and junior year in high school, so the "new" house is now well over fifty years old.  So little of it, and the neighborhood, has changed.  My dad was very proud of his shrubs.

Difficult to see, but the number plate over the garage; the garage lights; the mailbox and the concrete slab driveway are originals.  Truly a trip down memory lane.

On August 6, our dearest, darling Rotary Exchange daughter, Claudia Theisen Mogg, and her family--husband, Andy, German granddaughters Olivia and Eleanor, arrived for a visit.  It was the thirtieth anniversary of when Claudia arrived from Sehlem, Germany for her exchange year in Minnesota.  It had also been ten years since their last visit to Minnesota.  

There were a couple trips to the Mall of America, including a visit to Nickelodeon Universe with a few American cousins; family dinner where Eleanor and Millie made plans to do an exchange visit next summer; a tour of Paisley Park (which I live 10 minutes from but have never visited) and, of course, joyful moments simply being together.  Five days was too short.

And, using another metaphor, the cherry on the sundae is a visit to the Minnesota State Fair.  This is a tradition Molly and I began when her oldest, Jackson, was a baby.  This year she, Beau and I spent a not too hot day sampling French Fries, corn dogs, midway games and rides.

So, that's about a wrap for the summer of 2024.  We're rolling into Labor Day weekend and I'm getting itchy to pull out the fall bins, see what's in there and how the decorations will work in the new house.  I'm noticing mums already at various stores and markets; might be a little too early to switch out all the planters.  This weekend I'll buy can tomatoes.  I just used the final two jars from last summer in a spaghetti sauce I made for a birthday lasagna last week--Dan, Kitty, Darin and Ethan's birthdays are in a 5 day span at the end of August.  We've had a more than market share of celebrations this summer that kept us busy, on the road, in the air, navigating without the benefit of English, wandering foreign byways, reconnecting with those we love and will love long time.  

Back to school photos will pop up in text messages beginning tomorrow.  The youngest grands go to kindergarten, a definite milestone in terms of end of an era.  How fortunate are we to be healthy and energetic enough to travel along with them as they are healthy and energetic enough to encourage our involvement.  

Blessings abound.  Thanks for reading.