End of August

After coming home from Rhode Island, the next two weeks have passed pretty quickly.  I've been working my retail job, even with pain in my Achilles tendons--especially by the end of the day.  Jake continues to make messes in my kitchen...

...the end-of-summer spiders created their masterpieces around the outside of our house...

...and then Thomas called me.  (I'm blogging this way after the fact, since we kept the following information under wraps until events actually happened.)

"Hey, Mom, you know I was hoping to find a job at a BMW dealership in Florida, right?"
"Yes..."
"Well, what do you think about Texas?"
(Um, wow.  And where is this going?)
So I let go.  "Thomas, I want you to go where God leads you.  If that's Texas, and you go there, I'll be happy that you're following the Lord."
"Okay."
"Where in Texas?"
"Austin."

So there it was. BMW of Austin would fly him in to visit the dealership, give him a tour, and interview him.  As the weekend approached, my ears perked up at the mention of Hurricane Harvey.  Hmm.  I Googled it, then widened my eyes, took a screen shot of the map of its patch, then texted Thomas...

"You're flying in to Austin tomorrow, right?"
"Yep, in the morning."
"What about the hurricane?"
"What hurricane??"

I texted him this:

So, he flew in that Friday morning, August 25, and Harvey moved in that afternoon.  Thomas spent the entire weekend either at the dealership or in his hotel, with torrential rains.  I think he said they got 17-19 inches overall! 

 Danny chatting with Thomas (in Austin) on the house phone.  Yes, a corded phone.

Thomas flew back to Orlando on Monday to finish up the last week of the BMW STEP training program.  I took the long Labor Day weekend off so I could fly down for his graduation--more money spent.  Y. company was going to fly Fernando home that same weekend, for his one weekend home per month, so they worked together to fly him down to Orlando instead of Chicago.  Now that our weekend was planned, I finished harvesting some things in the garden, mostly carrots.  I fermented them with some of the rosemary I grew.  Yum!

Tomorrow, next stop:  Orlando!  And Thomas!!


Back to life,
Christine

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It Actually Snowed This Year!

March 14.

So, it snowed!  One of the few times this winter, we actually had snow on the ground.  I threw on a coat and headed out to the garden to see what was hiding under the white blanket.  Here's what I found...

I'm so glad spring is coming!


Back to life,
Christine

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January

Fernando traveled a lot the rest of January, so here is my personal January, in mobile phone pictures (sadly, I hardly touched my camera the rest of the month).

January 12.  Riding home from Dad's and Mom's house in Danny's car, I felt a sniffle and realized--bloody nose!  It was a spectacular gusher, and I managed to get blood everywhere except not on my clothes!

January 13.  I was missing Fernando, so took a selfie to text to him.

And then I made some popcorn, using a smaller bowl that I thought would work.  It didn't.

January 17.  We walked--yes, walked--to Chick-Fil-A for a free lunch!

January 21.  Thomas' car had died this past week, so this Saturday, we decided to get it towed to Laurel BMW (yes, he bought a BMW!) so that he could get it repaired under warranty (his used car got a 60-day warranty!).  I took a photo of me lounging on the stoop to our back yard patio.  What a beautiful afternoon!

We ended up calling Westmont Towing, and got Charlie on the phone...

Charlie:  I'm streaking toward you as we speak!

Me:  (In my head)  Is he naked??

Thomas:  Hey, the flatbed tow truck is here!

Me:  Is the driver naked?

We shared this back-and-forth with Charlie, who was extremely extroverted and friendly, showed Thomas around his car, and got everything set.  When he asked if someone was going to accompany him in his truck to the dealership, Thomas jumped right on it, and into his truck.  The two of them had a blast!

After we got everything taken care of at the dealership, we were walking back to the Suburban, which I drove (and Dad rode in), when my mobile phone rang.

I answered, and a voice:  Hi, this is Charlie the Streaker!

What a riot!

January 24.  I met sweet Sarah for breakfast at Honey Jam Cafe, and we spent the morning talking, drinking coffee, eating, drinking coffee, and talking.  I was w-i-r-e-d the rest of the day!

January 27.  I took a mobile phone photo of a scrapbook page of little Jake, whose birthday was today.  Isn't he just the cutest, sweetest baby you ever saw?

January 28.  I actually cooked!  I made berry banana baked oatmeal for breakfast.

That was my January in photos.  Nothing special, mostly without Fernando, just my ordinary life this month.


Back to life,
Christine

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December in Photos

Here's the entire month of December up until Christmas...

Thomas and I went to Trader Joe's to stock up for Christmas prep, and we found a chocolate bar.  A really huge chocolate bar.  Two kilos, to be exact.  Of course I bought it.  It was, after all, just one chocolate bar.

For my work Christmas party at the beginning of December, I had promised on multiple occasions to bake my cake.  So I did. Here's the recipe, in case you wanted it.

December 4 -- our first snow!  The first snow is always the most exciting.  (The last snow is the second-most exciting.)

Fernando left for Knoxville, Kentucky on December 5.  He spent two weeks there in training to be a full-fledged field service technician.  No-- is really loving him so far, and I know Fernando will quickly pick up the technology in the high-speed lamination industry.  He has such a big, sexy brain!

I brought home the rest of my cake from our work Christmas party.  Yeah, my co-workers complained.  But my guys were complaining more loudly, and I have to live with them.

December 9 -- Manicotti Day!  Mom and I kept things simple and made a beautiful batch of Christmas dinner manicotti.

December 11 -- at a Christmas party that I attended where my parents and my younger brother were also invited.  I missed Fernando, but we had a blast together with the other guests.  Two piano guys (Duelling Pianos) played music all night, and dancing broke out; I got Dad and Mom to dance together!  It was awesome.

Random photos of me while Fernando was gone.  I like to have the guys take my picture so I can text them to Fernando so he doesn't forget what I look like.  Or that he has a wife.  :)

I throw some goofy ones in for good measure.

December 18 -- Once Fernando was home, we really just wanted to relax together, because we knew he was flying right back out on Monday.  But, friends invited us to a restaurant for dinner and they wouldn't accept a no, so we ended up having a great meal with them.  It was bitter cold that Sunday, too, and I ended up taking a picture of our frozen car, dirt-spattered and icicle-hanging, in the restaurant parking lot.

December 19 -- At an ungodly hour, I drove Fernando to O'Hare for his next trip.  On the way home, I saw, in person and for the first time, a sun dog!  I took an exit before my usual exit (and one that saves time--Fernando's trick!), since it goes by/through a forest preserve.  I pulled over in a parking lot, positioned the tree in the sun's line of sight, and got this beautiful image of my very first sun dog.  They generally occur shortly after sunrise and at super cold temperatures--it was about 11 below when I took this, I think--and they are much more magnificent in real life than in a photo.

December 21 -- New hair style day!  I got my hair cut, colored, and styled by the daughter of our beauty specialist.  I had it done in the morning, then drove up the street to work in the afternoon.  Andrea (our beauty specialist) took these pictures of me.

A lady gushed over my hair, so I gave her Ali's number and she made an appointment on the spot!

December 22 -- Fernando came home from his most recent trip, and Thomas and I drove to pick him up.  Thomas forgot to fill the gas tank, and we ended up circling around and around and around...  So once we picked up Fernando, we drove to the O'Hare Oasis on I-294 and filled up the tank.  It's so good to have Fernando home for just a little bit at Christmastime!

December 23 -- Fernando was coming to pick me up from work when Arabelle (my BMW) had a radiator burst and overheated.  The night ended up being a time of me shopping in my store while Danny and Thomas drove to meet Fernando, then Danny driving to my work to pick me up and bring me back to the parking lot of Our Lady of the Woods where Fernando pulled in.  Then, it was a tow truck pick-up and driving home, and trying to figure out how to get our BMW repaired.

Finally, the day before Christmas came and I found myself baking bread!  I had made a double batch of cinnamon rolls, which also means making two loaves of bread (my recipe makes enough dough for the equivalent of four loaves of bread).  Mmmm, warm bread with butter, all melty and delicious!

That's my December!  It has flown by in a flash, I can't believe it's Christmas, and the coming of a new year!!


Back to life,
Christine

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Another Day, Another Lake

August 1 meant one more month until autumn--for September is an autumn month to me, even if it's still warm out.  And it meant one more month until my birthday month and our anniversary month!

This August 1st also meant a trip into Wisconsin!  I had a family portrait session at a client's lake house, and they invited Fernando and me up for the weekend.  In just a little over two hours, we were at their house and Lauderdale Lake!

The view from their front yard.

Steve and Stephanie took us out on their pontoon boat for a tour of the lake--there are actually three connected lakes--and to scout out possible locations for a portrait session.  We had so much fun talking and enjoying the scenery that we decided to just do portraits in their yard.  Fernando posed for me while the family changed clothes, and I got some good ideas for different spots to shoot in.

The C. family portraits will be put up on my photography website soon; for now, suffice it to say the camera went away and we enjoyed a great meal grilled by Steve, and an evening filled with laughter and fun.  We went back out for a midnight swim; Stephanie and I stayed on the boat while Steve and son Ryan and Fernando went for a swim in one of the bays.

We didn't get to bed until 2:00am!  After a lazy morning and yummy breakfast made by Stephanie, Fernando and I took off for home, making sure we purchased a case of Spotted Cow (Wisconsin brew; we loved our initiation to this flavorful brew!) before crossing the border.

As soon as we pulled into our driveway, I grabbed my camera and started snapping this thunderhead that was looming toward us.  Most of the rain missed us, but the clouds were an impressive sight!

Mammatus clouds as the storm approached.

Back to life,
Christine

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Sky Colors

When people leave our home, it's our habit to follow them outside to their car, or stand at the doorway or on the porch and wave until they're out of sight.  My "little sister" Dee and her family taught us this, and it's entrenched in our family customs.

On Monday night, after a wonderful visit for dinner and fellowship by Jake's Allie and her parents, we walked out to the front lawn with them as they got ready to leave.  But they didn't leave right away--the sky was lit up!

First, it was clouds tinged with blue from the evening sky.

Then, as the sun started setting, and the sky spotted with thunderstorm clouds--rain was arriving section by section--the clouds lit up, reflecting the colors of the sun.  Cell phone cameras--and my Bella (6D)--came out for picture time!  It was amazing to just stand and watch.

After the H. family drove away, Fernando and I stood out on the front lawn for a while, watching the storms roll through.  Most went either north or south of us, so we had a beautiful show of colors.

As I snapped a few more pictures, a car slowed, then stopped in front of our driveway.  The driver rolled down her passenger window just to say to me, "Isn't it beautiful?"  We chatted for a minute about the amazing skies, then she drove off.

As the sun set further, and clouds got darker, I took a few more pictures, stood in admiration for the Lord's creation, then walked back inside.

For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD?

Who among the sons of the mighty

is like the LORD?

Psalm 89:6 NASB

Back to life,
Christine

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Early June in the Garden

Time to check on things in my early June garden, now that convention is over and I can spend a bit of time out here.

I was so excited to see bean plants growing!  I haven't done green beans in a few years because of various issues, and I've done pole beans, not bush beans.  This year, I found packets of organic bush beans (French style), so I thought I'd try those.  I'll thin out these bushes a little bit to give them room to grow.  I tried to not plant them in rows, but do a zigzag plant, but alas, they look like rows still.  Oh, well.

Then it rained.  And hailed.

So, the next day I went back out.  The hail didn't really do damage.  These are Paul Robeson tomatoes, an heirloom variety.

See those green things below?  I'm going to have carrots this year!  --she says with great hope in her voice.

I've mentioned before about the strawberry plants being disobedient.  Here's proof:

They just wouldn't stay inside the wooden raised beds Fernando built for me.  They have no idea how to stay put.  At least we're reaping tons of strawberries from their disobedience!


Back to life,
Christine

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