Garden update

The garden is doing pretty well. I can't remember exactly what these are called, but they look great, and we even pulled many out this spring to keep them from totally taking over. I'll give 50 Zimbabwe dollars to the first person who can name them.

The vegetable garden is also starting to produce, including these onions. They are drying on a rack make for drying clothes, which I got in trouble for. They are not huge but they are strong!

And we have entered Zucchini Season, which lasts from mid July to the end of August. We celebrate by eating zucchini with every other dinner, as well as some breakfasts. Zucchini pancakes, anyone?

Dana and Craig's wedding

Dana and Craig held their rehearsal dinner at the Great Dane Pub on Thursday, July 17. Dana made these really cute bags for her wedding party.


Labib and Lisa:
Dana and Craig met before the ceremony for pictures at the Capital.

They chartered a trolley to help guests get around town.


The ceremony occurred at Our Lady Queen of Peace. The service was very modern and open-minded. The minister referred to The Wedding Crashers after they read Corinthians 1, and reminded us all to apply the Traits of a Good Wife reading to husbands as well.

The reception was held in a beautiful space at the Monona Terrace.


Emily will turn one-year old on Monday. Bryan and Lori should be very proud of their adorable little girl. Plus, she stayed in a great mood all the way through the ceremony and dinner.

Europe trip, part 7: Amsterdam (July 13-16)

Jeff, Brad, Michelle, and us toured Zurich by foot on Sunday morning. We caught the biking part of the Iron Man. We took a train from Zurich to Basel in the afternoon, and then we took a plane from Basel to Amsterdam. This is Dam Square:

We walked through Anne Frank's home. We tried to avoid the crowds by going at 8 pm, but the number of people was just barely tolerable. Obviously, the secret apartment was not a large space, and it was filled emotions. Scott walked through at a decent pace while Liana whimpered slowly through. They had a great interactive outreach area at the end of the tour.

Amsterdam contrasted strongly with Zurich and Grindelwald. Everything goes in Amsterdam. The streets are more crowded and dirtier, and people are less punctual. All public spaces are tobacco-free. It's hilarious to see the cigarette smokers outside while people pull bongs inside the coffee houses. We liked their free policies on dogs.

The canals and old architecture give Amsterdam a very romantic feeling.

On Monday we went to the Van Gogh museum. The artwork is striking; it's amazing how much he painted in such a short period of time. The crowd and audio-tour were both overwhelming. Practically every-other picture in the 100+ collection had a thorough essay to hear, and it was too much to take in at once. We caught our breath in the museum park.

Next we brought lunch to Vandal park. We napped and read in the sun.

On Tuesday we took a bike tour out of town. We rode to an old-fashioned windmill.

We also rode to a cheese farm and wooden shoe factory.

The weather turned rainy, but it was still fun.

We also rode by the Hilton Hotel where John Lenin and Yoko Ono held their naked press-conference to protest the Vietnam war. You can sort of see the drawings on the second-from-top windows by John.

We found this funny garden with iguana statues.

Our hotel was right on the edge of the red-light district.

On Wednesday morning, we went out for breakfast and walked around town one last time. Then we took the train to the airport and headed home. After all our train and plane travel, that sweater is about 2/3 done!

We got delayed in customs, and we missed our connection in Detroit. Luckily we caught seats on the 10:30 pm flight to Madison. We spent the extra time riding the airport train.

Europe Trip, part 6: Zurich Party (July 12-13)

Bessie drove us back to Zurich to another celebration in Jeff and Simone's honor. This one had a lot of friends from all over Europe. It was special to see Michelle Kramer (Jeff's friend from NCHS), whom I haven't seen since about 1995. For some reason, we didn't take a lot of pictures. The hotel was beautiful and had a gorgeous view.



We enjoyed getting to know Bessie (Simone's friend) and Hami (Bereket's fiancee).


Jeff and Simone hosted part two of the party at their apartment. Simone's friend catered it with a delicious spread. For the third night in a row, the evening ended with a serious game of Rummykub. Jeff's friends from HBS (Gonzalo, Charlie, Wally, and Natascha) shake their head in disbelief as Brad and Simone come from behind for victory.


It's almost not fair for Brad and Simone to team up. Alone they are fierce, but together they are invincible.

Europe Trip, Part 5: Wedding Celebration (July 11)

After a nap and a shower, we celebrated Jeff and Simone's marriage on Friday afternoon. Jeff and Simone are each wearing outfits that they had made in Vietnam during their Around the World journey. Here are two handsome guys:


The ceremony took place at Berghaus Bort (the chalet where we stayed). Bereket officiated over the service. You can't beat the setting!


Ellie read a poem about two Leos uniting as both Jeff and Simone have late summer birthdays.

Ute wrote a poem comparing marriage to tending a garden. She read it in German and in English.


Jeff and Simone exchanged rings and vows that they wrote.


We took pictures after the ceremony. First the parents:


Then the siblings (Scott, Liana, Jeff, Simone, Brad, Katja, and Peter):


This one is especially cute:


The weather held off nicely, and we had cocktails outside initially. Here Wally and Charlie stand next to the Swiss flag on the balcony:


Once the rain started, the cocktails moved indoors. (Scott, Bereket, Charlie, Walley, and Jeff)


Ed made a toast as dinner started.


Jeff and Simone offered us an afterdinner schapps digestif. We all took it in the spirit of the evening, but not many of us finished it...


Saturday morning was dreary and chilly. The clouds filled the valley and moved up the mountain.

Europe Trip, part 4: Wedding Day Hike (July 11)

On Friday morning, we all took the gondola up to the top of the mountain to First. A little restaurant and launching pad for paragliding sat at the peak.


We split into two groups to hike for the day.


Both groups aimed for the lake, but we traveled at different paces. Just as our group reached the lake, it started raining. Here's Wally, Scott, Charlie, Jeff, and Liana at the lake:


And the three siblings:


The scenery was spectacular!



We ran into some very nice Japanese tourists. They shared their soy beans, candy, and anchovies.


We stopped at a lovely restaurant in the mountains for lunch. Notice that we were outside AND shaded by the umbrellas...


We assume this is where one takes one's hound to drink, but there may be something lost in translation... Either way, it made us miss our hound.


We returned to our hotel happy, but quite tired.