Wedding Weekend (Jen and Diane)

My first cousin and Brian's first cousin conveniently scheduled their weddings for the same weekend, so we made our annual summer vacation to Indiana for the July 4th weekend so we could joyously take in both ceremonies.

Both were a lot of fun, catching up with most of our relatives and enjoying witnessing other people being brought into the "married people" club. Some of the pretty pictures:

Jen and Ben say their vows at an old country estate in South Charleston, Ohio, on July 3. (his two little girls are in blue).

Everything was simple, modern, and beautiful-nothing too fussy. I expected no less from Jen, who has really great taste.  I discovered this years ago when she hosted our bridal shower at her home. This was our table's centerpiece.

A beautiful selection of cakes. Brian and his siblings.

All of us.

Just us.
We stayed in Ohio for the night, after driving all morning to get there, and then ventured on to Indiana on Saturday.

Diane and Justin had their wedding on July 4th in Huntington, IN.

Their huge wedding party. 6 kids (under 13), 10 attendants

Leaving the church amid bubbles (and a little rain). Pretty cake, and lots of pretty lighting with the candles.

Me with Diane (I think she borrowed my veil-and it didn't fall off her :)

A quintessential picture of Justin.

Our family.


Brian and I. I made Brian do the dollar dance. This was the result. I don't think I'll make him do it again.  But I definitely hope we can make more cousin weddings in the future.

King Tutankhamun Exhibit (and other Indy treats)

So while we were home in July, we took in the King Tut exhibit at the Indy Children's Museum. We missed the exhibit when we were at the Field Museum in 2006, and were always disappointed about that, so we took the opportunity this time to see the Egyptian treasures.

For $25 we were slightly disappointed, we thought there would be a little better selection. Overall, it was interesting to see my anthropology and art history classes come to life in the information about the artifacts. There were lots of scarabs-which I hate for some reason. The canopic jars were interesting, as well as the sandals that were on the king's feet and the wrappings that were around his fingers.

I was most excited about seeing RUPERT from Survivor. It's been an random hobby of mine for the last six months or so to netflix old Survivor seasons and watch them. And of course Rupert is one of my favorite characters to watch. I was shocked when he walked right beside me when we were buying tickets for the exhibit. I didn't think it would take going to Indy to see someone famous!

We also tried a new place to eat in Indy while we were there, YATS. I'm not sure which location it was, but it was close to downtown. Brian's older brother Josh introduced us to this cajun/creole/southern/soul place. It was different, with a tiny menu, but pretty good stuff for a quick informal lunch. I think if we lived near there we'd like it as an occasional place. I had the white chili with chicken.

Guest Post: Brian Introduces You to Coriander and Our Other Pets

Shannon has been bugging me about doing a post for a while now, so I figured I'd do the official post about our new dog.

We acquired Coriander on June 11th. She is a mixed breed, probably somewhere around 25-40% Beagle (her sire looks like a Beagle, but is quite a bit larger and lankier, with smaller ears) and her dam looks kind of like some kind of Collie, but not in coloration. Cori is about three months old and well behaved for her age, obeying commands about 60% of the time. Despite being a fairly calm puppy, the cat is not happy about having a new animal in the house.

So far I've learned that our dog likes:
Being near Shannon and me
Eating sticks
Drinking water
Chasing and chewing on tennis balls
Chewing on ropes
Sleeping in the cat's bed

She does not like:
Treats
Ear medicine
Baths (although since she discovered she could drink the water she doesn't mind as much)
Being growled at by the cat

Dog breeds that scare her include:
Staffordshire Terriers
Bulldogs
Golden Retrievers
Miniature Poodles
Papillons

The last two are particularly embarrassing.

In other critter news, I also put a Percula clownfish in my tank. There is a local breeder that has been supplying them relatively cheap to the fish store across the street, and Shannon has been wanting me to put a fish in there for the last few months, so I thought I'd surprise her with one when she got back from her "Girls" trip. In the background of this picture are my colony of Aiptasia, which is kind of like the dandelion of the Cnidarian world.

The other thing that may not interest people as much is that I also have a red alga that has been growing vigorously, and looks pretty cool. As near as I can tell, it looks like some kind of Laurencia sp. but I'm not 100% sure. Other things in this picture include a red anemone and about a dozen little white feather-duster worms.

Shannon also wants me to not forget to mention the cat. I think Kiki feels a little neglected because she can't come sit at the dinner table with us anymore due to the dog, but she's been coming out and roaming the house again, so she isn't completely anti-social, just bitter.
Now, I've been a good boy so I'm going to help myself to some ice cream.

Miss Me, But Let Me Go

A week ago, my great grandmother passed away. She lived a long life, full with family. Read her obituary below...

Margaret M. (Poulson) Knight 1916-2009
Friday, June 19, 2009 11:46 AM EDT(H-ponline.com)

Margaret M. (Poulson) Knight, 92, of Warren, passed away at 7:10 a.m. Thursday, June 18, 2009 at Heritage Pointe in Warren. She was born on Saturday, Oct. 28, 1916, in North Grove. Mrs. Knight was a charter member of the Idle Hour Club, a member of the Home Extension Club and a member of the Sigma Phi Gamma. She had also been a representative for Avon and Dutchmaid. She was a 1935 graduate of Warren High School in Warren. She worked at Coolman's Drug Store for 15 years. She enjoyed quilting, gardening and playing cards with family and friends. She attended the United Church of Christ in Warren. She married Mark Charles Knight on May 29, 1936 in Warren. She was the daughter of the late Grover Poulson and the late Edna (Rennaker) Poulson. Survivors include daughters, Carol (husband, William) Byrd of Huntington, Cindy (husband, Tim) Fitch of Warren and Janet (husband, Dean) Schmidt of Warren; one son, Waldo (wife, Margaret) Knight of Warren; sisters, Hazel Ruth Brooks of Warren, Freda Finley of Huntington, Mildred Gilbert of Warren; brothers, Daniel Grover Poulson of Warren, Harold Poulson of Warren, Ira "Bob" Poulson of Liberty Center, James Poulson of Poneto and William Poulson of Liberty Center; 14 grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Mark Charles Knight; father, Grover Poulson; mother, Edna (Rennaker) Poulson; sister, Lois Eltzroth; brothers, Howard "Everett" Poulson and Ralph Kenneth Poulson; and also a great-great granddaughter.

Arrangements are being handled by Glancy-H. Brown & Son Funeral Home, 203 N. Matilda St., Warren, where the family will receive friends from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday, June 21, 2009 at the funeral home. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 22, 2009 at Glancy-H. Brown & Son Funeral Home, with Pastor Scott Nedberg officiating.Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Warren.
Memorials to United Church of Christ in Warren, Parkinson Foundation or Family Hospice of Northeast Indiana.


I was lucky to grow up near my great grandmother, and have special memories of holidays at her home and trick-or-treating there every October.  She passed on several of her interests to me.  She was an avid quilter, making quilts for each of her grandchildren.  She collected family recipes and published a family cookbook for us.  And she also completed family genealogy, completing photo albums for each of her great-grandchildren including photos of both sides of their family histories.  Most of my starts in these hobbies came from her. 

20,000

Our car hit a big milestone yesterday. On the way to the mall the odometer hit 20,000 miles. We have had the car for less than a year (about 11 months). It's a casualty of living on the East coast, and closer to home.

Three years of matrimony

We had our three year anniversary on June 17! It actually seems like we've been married a lot longer than that.

We chose to celebrate at Ole Tapas Lounge and Restaurant in Newark. Brian has been there a few times with work, and we also went a Wednesday months ago (half priced tapas on Wednesdays at the bar).

This is possibly our favorite place in Newark-it's delicious and a real dining experience.


We tried the following:

• a castillo monesma wine


• unnamed chef's complimentary starter (!!free!!) of bread and tomato


• a trio of pork tapas (pictured above)


• Empanada del Dia


• Montadito del Dia


• Alcachofas Gratinadas: artichokes with Idiazabal cheese


• Patatas Bravas: fried potatoes with spicy mayonnaise


• And for desert: Churros con Chocolate: crisp churros with hot chocolate and Espresso

Girls Trip

So on the last day of school I met my mother, girlfriends, and their mothers up in Philadelphia for a quick weekend trip around the cities around here.

I'm not going to give the whole play-by-play, because Ashley does such a good job recapping the trip in her own blog, but I do want to post a few of my favorite pictures.

Lots of Bs

Last Friday night I got the idea that we should focus on only picking activities for our Saturday outings that starts with the letter "B". Don't ask why, I know it was a pretty dorky idea, but it worked out well during the morning.

First-we Biked into town. My first time on a bike in a while, realized how uncomfortable they are. We ended up going about 7 miles.

We first made a stop at Bing's Bakery. I was in the mood for my first ever Black and white cookie, and we otherwise just wanted to check it out. I loved the shop, and got lots of ideas for Brian's Ph.D. celebration in a couple of years.

Then, we went to a Bistro, for lunch. The Adrian Bistro was a coffee shop at the beginning of Main Street with some really good food. I had a delicious BLT, and appreciated the quiet, personal atmosphere.

After that we thought about going bowling, but the lanes were already packed at 11:30 in the morning due to some kind of tournament, so we did a little window shopping and then headed back home.

Later that day, we aborted the B-theme to attend a couple of festivals. All the shops and organizations of Newark came out for the annual Newark Night, which offered lots of food offerings for my hubby. We then headed up to town for the Wilmington Greek Festival, my first foray into Greek culture. I certainly enjoyed the fest, which had a good crowd of happy people eating, drinking, and dancing. We enjoyed the pork souvlaki, baklava, ouzo, and Aris, and will definitely pencil in the festival on next years calendar right now as a must-not-miss.

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Keeping with the B-theme, I was able to try another bagel place today, and think it was definitely my favorite so far. The Sunshine Bagel place in Middletown has a great turkey sandwich (especially on onion bagel).

Day Trip: Summer Lovin'

When I checked the weather report for Saturday morning (something I almost never do) I automatically decided that "80 degrees, Abundant Sunshine" was code for get-to-the-beach. Brian and I packed up and headed down to Rehoboth Beach for a few relaxing hours in the sun.

It's about an hour and a half drive, so we we got there a little after noon we were already a little hungry. We conveniently parked near this restaurant, and decided it was about time that we finally try it out. The burgers were okay (a little overdone for our taste), and the brews were really good. We ate outside on the patio under the umbrella.

After feeding the meter again (note-they only take quarters, and cost about $1.50 an hour), we then found some empty sand on the beach and commenced reading and relaxing. I finished "The Stranger" by Albert Camus (not at all a beach read, I only read it b/c Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize, I wouldn't recommend the book). We spent just a few minutes in the chilly water, and got a kick out of the retro airplane advertisements that occasionally passed through the sky.
Once we had enough sun, we grabbed some popcorn from this stand (nothing special) and then headed back up to Newark.
On the way, we stopped at this stand just south of Dover. I think it was the 3rd or 4th time we've been there now. It always has pretty good looking produce. We got some asparagus, cherries, and strawberries among other things.

Aquarium Update

The shells are from our trip to Assateague Island. As you can see there are still no fish yet, Brian's still getting the tank set up.

These are the red crabs that killed the snails in these cool shells so they could have them for their own.

This is the newest addition, some kind of little tree. It's closed up in this picture.

And finally the new bubble anemone-it's a little sick right now (it was on sale-and since the tanks still adjusting it seemed like a good idea to try an anemone that is on sale in case there are any problems) but it is still pretty.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009 (including book recommendations)

I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend. We ended up not going camping, and decided to avoid the crowds that are descending upon the East Coast beaches at this moment. We basically stayed around home, and just decided things on the spur of the moment. Nothing was planned.

Friday night we continued our hunt for a good pizza place in DE. We tried Ciao's Trolley Pizza &  Grill based on good reviews I had found. It turned out to be a little more casual restaurant than we were expecting. It reminded us of Slices in Tempe. We ordered slices at the counter (though you can order a whole pizza) and ate outside on the patio in the beautiful weather. It was pretty good pizza to try if you are in the area, which was a quaint beautiful little part of Wilmington. Just be careful what you sprinkle on your pizza. Brian ended up seasoning his with garlic powder that he thought was Parmesan.

We then headed to the nearest theater to see the new Night at the Museum movie. As D.C. and the Smithsonians has quickly became my favorite DE getaway, I enjoyed seeing the familiar sights in the movie. It wasn't quite as entertaining as the first, but definitely worth the time to see.

On Saturday morning we went for a 2 mile walk in the warm weather, during which we tried Fresh Hot Bagel. The bagels were good, and not too big, but the service needed work (they were out of my desired spread and gave Brian a regular bagel when he ordered an everything bagel). We'd rather stick with one of the Main Street places.

Brian made a great lunch for us-Pasta Carbinara from the Rachel Ray Summer 2009 issue (he suggests adding balsamic vinegar).

We also finished off some cupcakes from Sassy Cupcakes in Newark. Though overpriced, the boutique offers different flavors daily and are good enough to merit a return trip. My favorite is the red velvet variety, while Brian has really liked the Baily's and triple chocolate flavors.

The rest of the weekend has been spent napping and reading and enjoying our time off. I've finished the following books:

"Mrs. Kimble" -is a book about a man told through his three wives. Each wife comes from a unique background and time, with very different expectations for their husband/children's father. ****.5

"American Girl" -a book set in the radical times of the 70s-it took a while for me to even understand the main plot of this book, but it ended up being interesting. It prompted me to wonder about the teaching of the Japanese-Americans internment during WWII in the US (CA and AZ mostly). I found out about this while in AZ-and I wonder how many people remember learning this in school-whether it's found it's way into the history books yet? *** Susan Choi's book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and after describing it to my husband he informed me it was loosely based on the Patty Hearst story.

"The Devil in Massachusetts" -this was one of the books I was assigned back in my Human Event class freshman year of college. I finally finished reading through this non-fiction book, and enjoyed the historical understanding I gained. ****

D & H Jamaican

At D & H Jamaican we  had our first experience with "jerk chicken."  D & H is a little bar that was recommended to us for their good food. Though the service was slowish, and they were out of some of their side dishes, their signature dish was nice and spicy, especially good when followed by a Red Stripe. Their cabbage was a nice side dish as well.

We visited their Chestnut Hill location, there is also one in Wilmington.

(Young Adult) Book Recommendation: Princess Academy

I have slipped in the last couple years with keeping up with the Newberry award winning books (and finalists). I picked up this Shannon Hale book this weekend and whipped right through it. It was a touching story, told well by the entertaining author. Many moral lessons and themes are nicely twisted into the plot as well. It is an unpredictable fairy tale story for older, more realistic girls. I highly recommend it!

Movie Recommendation: Slumdog Millionaire

After all the buzz about Slumdog Millionaire, we went ahead and rented it on demand. I would highly recommend it, with the disclaimer that it is not quite as happy-go-lucky, dancing, musical as it looks in some of the commercials, it is a lot deeper and darker than that. *****

Newest Quilt

This quilt isn't done yet, but I went ahead and hung the pieced top until I have time to finish it. I still need to actually sandwich the top, inside padding, and backing, do the actual quilting, and put the final binding around the outside. My inspiration for this was creating a patriotic themed quilt for the summer season.

Our plants (or My Husband is going to be an excellent gardener when he gets some land)

Brian's got a few fresh herbs and vegetables growing.

Red Lettuce

Arugula

Romaine Lettuce

Oregano

Basil

Parsley

Day Trip: Getting out and Around

I wanted to get out of the area for a little bit, so we drove up north and went on a few shopping excursions. As always, I want to chronicle the places we visited.

Before we even got out of town, Brian wanted to stop for coffee, so we stopped in at Newark (Deli and) Bagels. For a Saturday morning in a college town, it was packed! I assumed it would be deserted, but it was quite crowded. I had a very salty "salt bagel" and they slathered on plenty of cream cheese. I would definitely make a return trip.

Next we stopped at that favorite cheese shop of ours in Gap, PA. We got some Spanish cheese, New Amsterdam Gouda, and the mango dessert cheese.

]Next, we went to an antique mall. It was our first time at such a place. Brian found a lot of cool old books, but didn't get any. I brought home a couple old mason jars, buttons, and quilting squares. It was very interesting, almost like a museum-without all the reading. :)

Then, we stopped at a farmer's market in Bird-in-Hand. It was a little more market than farm-and Brian just grabbed some pie and dismissed the rest of the place. He was getting hungry for lunch.

After getting back to Newark, we grabbed lunch at Jake's Hamburgers. This popular place is order-at-the-counter fast food that is pretty good. We haven't tried their milkshakes yet. We will definitely be back to try them.

And that completed our Saturday.