Things I Love - From This Week

This has been a crazy week, just like so many others in my life. There have been some wonderful things.

Early in the week we gathered to celebrate my father's 72nd birthday. We had a nice dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. It was great. My Aunt Rosemary was the one who organized it. My dad is not much for talking, but we had a nice chat. I think he had not seen Ethan since he was about 14 or 15, so I was especially pleased that he was able to join us.

Speaking of Ethan, last night he stopped by the house and shared some of the bagels he made earlier in the evening. He and a friend had bagels, cream cheese and lox for breakfast. It was pricey and not very good, so he gave it a go. I love that he is like that. It is gratifying for me to see that he enjoys cooking.

The kids had gone walking earlier in the week and brought home these flowering branches for me. I don't know what they are, maybe flowering plum, but I love them. I want to draw them. I am thrilled that they brought them home for me. I am certain that carrying them back was a hassle.

On Wednesday, Kohlton successfully defended his thesis. He and Ellie worked very hard to make sure that he would give an excellent speech and he looked so handsome in his new suit. He has come such a long way from the angry young man who joined the school in his 8th grade year. I think his parents were especially thrilled. I loved watching his dad watch him. I don't think Mark had seen Kohlton do a presentation like that before.

And of course there was Victory Pie at Village Inn once it was declared successful. This is a long standing tradition where the non-family members wait for the private deliberations about the potential graduate's credentials for earning his/her diploma. There are usually about 15-25 of us taking up an entire section of the restaurant. We the graduate arrives, we erupt in applauses.

Kohlton is our 30th graduate.

And, as if all of that is not enough, Ellie bought her first vehicle. It is a green 4 Runner with a super turbo something. Larr, Ethan and Kohlton are all suffering from a little truck envy. Larr suggests that we call it the Green Dragon. (I will post a photo of it as soon as I have one.)

I hope you have a lovely weekend. We are going to spend ours moving plants from my mother-in-law's garden to ours. I hope and pray that I can keep most of them alive. It is a big job, but one that has to be done since we are having to sell that house.