Relatively Speaking

This past week has been one about relatives, biological and spiritual. By way of a catch-all post (since our internet is down and I'm having to blog from the library, there will be no pictures as I'd like), I'll recap. Might be refreshing for those who like to read soundbites instead of novels.

1. My mom's "son in the faith" and his wife from Birobidzhan (far east Russia) came here 2 weeks ago. We had them over for dinner Tuesday night. I fixed some orange roughy (yummy simply seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper) plus boiled red potatoes, green salad with tomatoes and cukes, fruit, and sourdough bread. Andrey peeled his potatoes at the plate; guess he's not a Skins fan:). Valeria thanked me profusely for cooking a Russian meal; I told her I had been missing Russia and was more than ready to serve one. I thanked her for refreshing my memory of the Russian words for various colors found in the salad. Funny the little things that make us happy.
The highlight of their evening was our re-visit to Broom's Blooms (took them there 2 years ago). This time was the first ever they had seen lighting bugs and they videotaped it. There must have been 400 lightning bugs out that night.

2. My dad could use prayer. He has been having sharp, recurring headaches for a couple months. Yes, months. He is less social than he used to be, seems more preoccupied with other things while visiting. It's sad for me. Actually I could use prayer. I am fighting a lot of fear over the whole headache thing and the fact that he just looks and acts so much older now than he did a year ago. Granted it's a challenge having house guests for three weeks, guests who have very little money (Birobidzhan is poverty stricken) and eat meat (my folks are vegetarians and diabetics) and only one of them speaks English. But these folks are missionaries and like my parents' fifth set of kids.

3. Sarah is HOME! Not for long. She came in yesterday and we went to the beach wedding. Loveliest imaginable weather on earth. My favorite scene was watching Danny (the groom, my nephew) and his groomsmen in shorts and t-shirts setting up the bridal hut an hour before the ceremony. It was a simple lean-to of bamboo and tulle. You could definitely tell guys had assembled and decorated it, which it made that much more memorable. I had never seen a guys-only wedding set-up team. The reception was on the top floor of the Henlopen Hotel overlooking Rehoboth beach. Gorgeous. Food was amazing. It was also wonderful seeing all of Paul's brothers together at the same time. I only regret that they have to return home and won't get to celebrate Paul's b'day with him this weekend. I'm hoping we get a little more time w/ the relatives who are still here; I was expecting house guests but that didn't transpire. Oh, well. My house needed a good cleaning and got it anyway!

Time's up. That's my post. Oh, my husband wants me to quit WW. Says I can do it on my own. The jury is still out (ie I'm trying to convince him I need weekly acct'y and personal encouragement which I don't get at home. My family isn't great about that. I shouldn't need it, but I'm human. Thanks to y'all who provide it from the outside!

If you have an urgent need to contact me, you'll have to call. Don't know when I'll get back online. But it's not all bad. My house got cleaned while I wasn't online!