Nothing says summer like outdoor adventures

Seriously, who's been interested in indoor sports like blogging? Not us. We've been busy

Attending beekeeping talks in West Philly:


(Did you know that harmful hive-mites get helplessly lost just a few inches away from the comb? The strategy is to overcome the problem by cross-breeding all species of bees to carry the mites outdoors and dump them.)

Enjoying birthday injera at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant:



Swimming in the Wissahickon with a friend:


Installing a green wall on Drexel's campus (guess which one of us did this):


Finding eggy evidence of happy vermicomposting worms:


Digging potatoes from the garden:


Making hot-weather suppers of delicious open-faced sandwiches and cold potato & bean salad:


Enjoying no less than 25 independent neighborhood fireworks shows from the roof of our house on the 4th:

(Why brave the crowds at the Art Museum when fireworks shows surround you?)

We've also been doing the usual berry picking, gardening, reading, cooking, and spending time with friends. And here's to more of the same.

Tis the season for road trippin'

Last week we headed to the great white north, braving the frigid rain and downright cold climes of Boston for a birthday party. We packed up a our new little car and prayed that the EZPass would work smoothly on its inaugural voyage and that the car would not decide to surprise with anything (mostly breaking down). I freelanced on Saturday, so we headed out as soon as I got home/ cleaned up, around 4pm or so.

I-95 led us straight into the remnants of NYC rush hour (yes, on Saturday). We sat in traffic for about an hour until we reached the toll booth, where we zipped through with our properly functioning EZPass transponder. It was smooth sailing for a few more hours until the wintry skies opened and dumped torrents of icy rain upon us. We had the customary response to such weather: put the wipers on high speed, lean forward to the windshield, turn the radio off, and follow the tail lights of the car in front of you with 100% confidence that that driver knows where the road is. (She/he did.) We arrived in Bostonia a little after ten and slid into party mode. Good times -- and happy birthday, Maria!

On Sunday we set our sights on getting to know Mary Baker Eddy. She was the founder -- nay, discover -- of Christian Science. Yeah, not Scientology, but it's equally as fascinating. We went to the MBE Library which, along with a Hall of Ideas, houses a really big walk-in inverted stained glass globe that depicts the world as it was in 1935. See below for stock photography of the place because they don't allow mortals to take photos:


Amazing, yes? As you can see, it's pretty big and there is indeed a catwalk through the middle of it. A tour guide led us through this in a group of about 30 and instructed us to be quiet as the slightest sounds can be heard very easily. So, of course when you hear instructions like that you immediately look around for....children. And there he was, about 2 years old. The guide spoke quietly, and sure enough, we heard everything with great clarity: his voice, shuffling of feet, nervous rustling of paper, and oh yes -- "shriek! shriek! shriek! ha ha ha ha ha." A good time was had by all.

At the end the guide let us talk amongst ourselves while we looked around, and I felt like Bruce Almighty when all of a sudden Jim Carrey can hear the prayers of every person in the world all at once. Yes, 30 or so voices all sounding as if they are speaking directly into your ear...plus "shriek!"

Luckily the drive back to our balmy southern home was quick and uneventful, with mostly clear sailing home.

This weekend (aka tomorrow) we head further south to visit some folks we met in an airport in Miami about three years ago. Somehow this couple exceeds all standards of awesomeness and we're super stoked to spend some time with them. We had high hopes of visiting for 1 or 2 weeks and now it has been whittled down to one skimpy little weekend (dangit work, sometimes we hatecha!) but we'll take what we can get. Ben and Alexis, be prepared for a sleep-deprived coffee-fueled good time weekend. Waxhaw or bust!

"No time for cameras / we'll use our eyes instead"

Oh hey, blog...who would have thought that spending two weeks dog/house/garden-sitting for friends and starting a new job would throw things off so much?

So this is round one of what you missed: my little brother got married last weekend (!), and we traveled south to be a part of the fun and festivities. In the midst of rehearsal dinner preparations and wedding day merriment, we also managed to take advantage of Virginia's earlier strawberry season -- and of course eked out a little beach time (it's now tradition during family wedding weekends for the rest of us to pack up the dogs and a picnic and head to the water's edge).

I'm still having a hard time believing that my little brother is all grown up, let alone married, since he has been the ideal kid brother throughout most of my life. I mean, I guess he still is, but going home won't be the same without someone rigging up zip lines in the backyard or taking us out to a cornfield to shoot off rockets or teaching us the fine art of slingball. But here's to new adventures with a new sister-in-law!

 (our best impression of lawn ornaments)