The year is flying by!

I swear the time goes by faster and faster. I can hardly believe that summer begins this weekend and I haven't updated this blog since Christmas. Oh well, better late than never.

January : Made some delicious Brazilian Black Bean Stew - and pretty too!


I also attended a workshop for the singing group I joined last December - Star City Sounds. It was my first trip to Virginia Beach and it happened to be the coldest period of the entire winter. My first night in the hotel the temperature never got above 58 degrees. Apparently they set the thermostat and it needed to be reset in order to function properly. Other than that it was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed the singing and meeting new people.
February: Jeanette and Carl came from Delaware for a visit. Carl got sick and ended up in the emergency room. The good news is that they stayed with us for an extra day. Carl now has another story to tell. We also went to Florida and visited Marlene and Ken. We had some great meals took in a movie and enjoyed some quiet time looking out over the Gulf waves. Ahh... We drove home via Melbourne to visit with Barry and Cody and see their new house. It was bright and inviting and will certainly make a warm and welcoming home.

Joe and Tania came with Aimee and Jason the last weekend in February but their visit was cut short due to the forecast for bad weather.

It turns out that they made a good decision to leave early because otherwise they would have been snowed in here for a few days.

March: The month started with the worst snow storm of the year, although it was quite beautiful.

April: We met Greg and Alli in Greensboro to help celebrate Greg's birthday. We had a leisurely dinner at the Macaroni Grill and visited some more over coffee at Barnes & Noble's cafe.

May: We had planned a visit to West Virginia to see Gene's mom. The day before we left, she fell and broke her arm. Unfortunately we had to visit with her in the hospital instead of her home. She is a trooper and was having dinner in the dining room and going for therapy only a day after her fall. She is recuperating well at a nursing facility and like everything except the food. I'll have to have Arlene send her some chocolate chip cookies!

June: We just got back from a trip to Cape Cod where we rented a house along with Sarah & Joe and some of Joe's family. Even though it was rainy we managed to enjoy some outdoor activities like going to the beach, visiting Heritage Plantation Museum and Gardens, and flying a kite with Ethan. We ate lots of good food, played games, and had many, many laughs.

Check out more photos:

Miscellaneous2009