the holly & the ivy: 6/9/13

During the spring semester, Steve teaches a course to our own church fellows class of young post-college students. He enjoys it a great deal and gets to know the students pretty well. They usually have a banquet at the end of the year of their "fellowship," but since we no longer have a church building, it's more difficult to plan and implement. This year a man in our congregation offered the large conference rooms of his office for the event which had morphed from a banquet into a reception. The room, with a large outdoor balcony, overlooked directly the U.S. Capitol--a beautiful sight! There was rain earlier in the evening, but by the time of the reception, clouds were clearing and everyone was getting pictures from the balcony. We were no exception!

Can't believe it's been two weeks already since Memorial Day! But it has. A lot has been happening and some of the most fun things, I forgot to take pictures of. However, I think that's good. One should be able to enjoy life without taking pictures too :).

Memorial Day was the day after Steve left for Paris. I thought I might be staring at a busy but lonely week ahead. It turned out to be--yes, busy--but full of fun time with the (big) kids as they popped in and out for various reasons.

David and I spent Memorial Day evening seeing "The Great Gatsby" in 3-D. I liked it better than I thought I would, though it is still the despairing story we all know from past literature classes.

I took this picture THROUGH the 3-D glasses for this AMAZING effect! They won't be writing me up anytime soon in Popular Photography.

We saw the movie at this relatively new theater in Falls Church called the Angelika Film Center. It's part of an interesting new development close to my school with mixed-use spaces of residential apartments, upscale stores and ordinary ones, and entertainment.

The fountains outside the theater with the huge multi-story Target store lit up across the street.

On Wednesday of that week, I got to take a friend whose in 3rd grade to her band concert at Trinity Christian School because her parents were on a trip to Israel and her college age sister was going to her brother's choral concert at a different school that night. I hadn't been back to Trinity since Jessica graduated from high school there. There is a huge new building on campus where the concert was. It was fun to see the changes.

On Thursday, Charlie (my soon-to-be new son-in-law) came out to spend the night. He'd been locked out of his house by a negligent land lady. Nice to have the company in the house!

On Friday night I went to see "The Mikado" at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts with Eden, Charlie, and a couple other of their friends. We sat on the lawn, and it was the perfect evening. The weather was glorious and the operetta was fun and entertaining. This picture is afterwards when the audience had largely left. We weren't really there alone.

Eden and I there! I guess you could say she doesn't get her skin tone from me! (fortunately!)

The next morning, Eden and I had an appointment at The White Swan Bridal Shop. We enjoyed a couple of hours of on and off gowns...and really loved one, which we put on hold for a couple of days in order to compare. After all the trying on, we ate Mexican food out before heading home--me to pick up Steve at the airport and she to be picked up by Charlie and head back to town.

On Saturday, Steve arrived home in the mid-afternoon, rested from his trip in business class from Paris. Jonathan and Erika came home in the late afternoon after spending the afternoon at Erika's family's house to help her twin sisters get ready for prom night. She enjoyed the fun by putting on her wedding dress again for photographs with them in their senior prom dresses. They invited a good friend and high school classmate of theirs over for dinner. I went all out and ordered Chinese while Steve headed out to the McLean Presbyterian Church Fellows banquet, as the professor in their first semester course.

Though awkwardly articulated we decided that this was probably a good "fortune." I am useful, despite the fact that I may not be bringing in much money.

Later that evening on a dusky walk, I snapped these honeysuckle not because their physical beauty is so great but because I wanted to remember how beautifully they scented the air all around them.

And the hydrangeas are just beginning to bloom...each little flower opening individually to form the gorgeous and richly colored flower. It's just in time for Becca's visit :), reminding us all of Elliott and Becca's January wedding, decorated with potted hydrangeas.

Late that Saturday night, Jessica came home to spend the night after a college friend's wedding on the Eastern Shore. She came to worship with us the next morning and had our typical pancake lunch before heading back to Charlottesville to work the night shift.

Monday morning, though with feet dragging a bit, Steve headed out again to Chicago to his cohort of D. Min. students for their semi-annual get-together. This time they were meeting at Trinity Deerfield, though they are Covenant Seminary students, because their other professor, Don Guthrie now works there.

A typical dinner-time while Steve's out of town--tonight: oatmeal with raisins.

For the first time this spring, it got warm enough to induce me to turn on the AC. It didn't work! :( I called out neighbor two houses down who runs a heating/AC company. He agreed to come the next day to have a look. The night wasn't as sticky as it might have been. Grateful for ceiling fans!

And...remember the replacement backpack I'd been waiting for? It came this week!