I’m A Cheap Date
Ignoring our cholesterol together.
It Still Holds
This lovely man and I are about to celebrate 24 years of marriage in just a short month. And I’ve been reminiscing with him on our long walks this week–it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come.
Just today, in one of those random moments of serendipity, we ran into the inn keepers of one of our favorite Bed and Breakfast places on Whidbey Island while walking along the Riverfront. We had been guests in their home 20 years ago, in the very early days of our marriage. They were on a cruise excursion and we all stood around being amazed at how small our world truly is. I couldn’t help but think about all the anniversaries we spent at their place — who we were in those days. Who we are now.
Today, I would probably rewrite the first line of the post below (which originally ran on Evidently in 2006!!) but the rest still holds. It’s still the most fitting description of our marriage that I can find. So, as we approach the month mark: with the realization that I’ll probably have much more to say on marriage and love in the coming weeks — I thought I’d share this with you.
This, and the nutty photo of my adorable husband mocking me for taking our photo on our date night. Never let it be said I don’t keep it real.
Enjoy!
Worth the Endeavor
Last night, our son was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa — an honor society for scholarship. We’re utterly proud of him, of course. Part of the ritual is to give each inductee a white rose — the symbol of purity. His is now gracing our home and it makes me smile.
It’s hard not to love a society that uses flowers as a symbol of success and aspiration. PTK’s call to wisdom, aspiration, and purity seems almost old fashioned in this world of text messaging and tabloid media.
Such lofty goals to aspire to: such worthy goals to achieve. Watching my son, oblivious to his parents in the audience, say his pledge and receive his rose surrounded by his peers– reminds me how important it is to have these sorts of aspirations. No matter what it is we do, reaching for something beyond ourselves while in the company of others with the same goals is important.
We need all need community. Finding a community that can sing your song, dream your dream, well–that’s the hard part.
And it’s worth the endeavor.
Tonight
Tonight, Geo was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa. So proud of this kid.
Stargazers
It’s not the best photo–but I love the look on our son’s face. The weather here has been glorious this week. And we spent most of last evening outside–hanging out on the porch with our telescope. The sky was perfection: the moon, Jupiter, and Mars all clearly visible.
It’s these things I hold on to. I love these two people, so much.
Walking With My Sweetheart At Sunset
Went for a walk tonight in this lovely weather with my sweetheart. Just as the sun was setting.
My sweet neighbor’s house.
Roo wasn’t too sure about having his photo taken.
Stopped by Nadine’s garden to see her progress! She’s amazing.
This is Pip. She’s Nadine’s cat and a neighborhood favorite. She’s part Maine Coon, so she’ll talk to you.
The pretty little bungalow down the street is for sale.
Moonlight.
And home again.
A Watercolored World
It’s pouring rain today. We’re expecting a half inch. So, think deluge. But on my way into the house from dropping Geo off at class, I spotted this bloom. The first Cecile Brunner of the year. I climbed into the hedge to snap a photo — and decided to bring this pretty thing inside.
I’m sopping wet, but it was worth it.
Over Achiever
Our clematis bloomed early!
Surprise Date
Happy Hour at The Supper Club (the bar… so cozy!)
This guy… is really sweet! I came home from a trip to Goodwill this afternoon… parcels in hand and he says, “Hey, let’s go out for happy hour.” The upside of having a kid at college is dawning on me.
You really don’t have to ask me twice…
I still haven’t figured out how to take a selfie with this iPad. Where the heck is the camera lens? Why is this so hard? Why is my eye listing? Look at the blouse, look at the blouse.
Any reason to get dressed up, am I right? Or at least wear something pretty. Rumor has it we’re supposed to hit a balmy 80 on Wednesday and I had run to Goodwill in hopes of finding some shorts.
So, of course I came home with a silk blouse. (Hey, you would too. It’s brand new and $7. You really can’t look at the shorts rack and not peruse the rest of the store. ) I also scored a bag of vintage and 2 pairs of shorts = a pretty decent Goodwill run.
But his invitation completely validated my splurge purchase. It’s like the universe said, “Here, buy this… trust me, you’re going to need it soon.”
I popped off the tags on my new blouse and hit the lip gloss hard. Ready.
This is the upside of sitting in a dark dreamy bar. The lighting works in your favor. That’s totally my “romance tip” for the week. Probably not the best photography tip, though.
This is such a non-post. There really aren’t any other photos. I didn’t want to spend our date staring at a screen when this adorable guy was across the table from me. But if you get a chance to come to Astoria, we highly recommend T. Paul’s Supper Club. Their bar is so cozy and romantic. The staff is amazing. And you can’t go wrong with anything off of their menu!
The Goodwill, on the other hand, is top secret.
Sometimes, I Forget Things
It’s like Where’s Waldo. Except I’m on the page over and over and over…
Today in worship, we had an intergenerational service. So, my kids were up front at craft tables for the whole event. Their job today was to draw portraits. One self portrait and then pictures of other people in the church. Geo created a great poster with all their pieces that our congregation then used as part of our community prayer time.
They did an amazing job! I just snapped this photo in very poor light this afternoon. I should go back and grab better pictures: because they did such a lovely job creating their self portraits and drawing members of the congregation.
But, sometimes I forget things. And in the process of leading the service today ( a service that was going to run WAY OVER!), I completely forgot to suggest that they not ALL draw portraits of me.
Um, yeah, so according to our poster there are at least 6 people named Wende in our church. Though, none of them look alike!
D’oh.
It’s was really sweet — and touching to see my reflection from so many different hands and my name spelled so many different ways! This usually happens with the littles: all the little kids want to give something to the teacher. But I was shocked to see my teenagers had also made a big deal of putting up my picture. (tho, I’m not completely certain about their motivations: teenagers, you can never tell.)
There were also duplicates of several parents: and one “family portrait” drawn by a middle schooler who omitted her older sister and younger brother. After church when I said, “Um, you seem to be missing siblings,” she gleefully said, “I KNOW!”
I’m kicking myself for having us glue these things onto paper. So, I’m going to have to find a new way of doing this project again so we can make presents for our parents. Maybe next Christmas?
Let’s hope I don’t forget that too.
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