Two blogs back to back.

Last Saturday I went out with my friend Jennifer.  She has always been my friend that comes up with great ideas.  It makes me laugh thinking about the things we have done together, we took a quilting class, a haiku writing class, we went to hear a jazz band, we went to a local park to hear African drummers play, we met John Updike and listened to him read excerpts from his writings, we have been to reading groups together, and Nyc trips. We saw an early showing of  Life is Beautiful before it went to the movie theaters and it felt like we were the only people who were not Hasidic Jews in the room of hundreds of people.   My life is so much more colorful with her in it!

This time we went to hear lectures at the university.  The first lecture was on the role Emerson played in Abraham Lincoln being nominated the second time.  The second lecture was called "Effects of the abolitionist movement on slavery laws" and the last one was about the underground railroad.  I was fascinated by this last topic I have been reading about Henry "box" Brown and how he mailed himself to freedom, by being shipped to Philly in a wooden box.  The trip took over 24 hours.  Eti was also fascinated by this story, he begged me to find a box and give him one biscuit and a small container of water (what henry had) and then put the box upside down so he could feel what Henry felt.  He stayed in the box for much of the afternoon.

I loved my time with Jenn and was so happy we got together because we do not see each other enough, I was also happy that I was coming home earlier than I thought, everything was done by one and I had told Steve three. He was at a local ice festival with the kids.  When I came home and saw the house empty I ran to the computer because I knew he would have the schedule of events up, and I saw that at 1pm there was sword fighting.  So I raced over to find him, my heart was racing, like it did when we were dating, all excited about surprising him. 

There were so many people and so many other attractions that when I arrived I thought I would not be able to find him.  I had Chloe's stroller and one of her dolls, a little diaper bag filled with goodies for her baby, and my camera bag slung over my shoulder and was almost running through the crowds trying so hard to find him.  When I got to the where the sword fighting he wasn't there.  I was just about to turn and go when I caught site of him.  You know in romantic movies where two lovers see each other and they run towards each other in slow motion with the wind in their hair and their arms wide open and then when the reach other they swing each other around and around?...it wasn't like that at all, but it felt like that inside, he was so surprised and it made my week how happy he was to see me. 

Before I got there one of the sword fighters said to the crowd "I am going to fight for this little girls honor" and then he went over and gave Coco a flower. 

I walked past her numerous times and she must have been getting hot because this time when I walked past the head was off and it cracked me up.

Steve and I went to see a juggler in an old church and this statue of doubting Thomas was in the foyer.  It felt like it brought scripture to life.

 I do not think this is that great of a picture if I did not have this little ditty of a story I probably would not even include it, but now I like the photo because it makes me laugh.  Steve saw this "knight" and said "Hey try to get a shot of Jeff in the reflection of his suit."  Well pretty soon a crowd started to gather behind me and I could hear them behind me "I think she must be a professional photographer."  "Yeah look at what she's doing, she is getting his reflection"  "Hey come over and look at this photographer, wow that's amazing" and all the while steve's chest is getting bigger and bigger, I could see it on his face "That was MY idea" he was thinking.So afterwards we left and a while later when we passed the same way people were STILL talking about it, Steve was just beside himself.

We gave Chloe our old digital to use , below is the picture Steve took of the fighting

And here is Chloe's shot of the same exact thing.

Her eye level.