Whirl Wind Weddings!

Don't freak out!  None of them were my wedding.

I recently returned to San Diego from a week off of work during which I attended a couple of weddings.  The first was in Georgia where all of my immediate family gathered.  This was the first time I had seen most of my family since January.  It was a lovely airport welcome.  Many Aunts and Uncles and Grandma Raver were in attendance at the wedding, also.  It was great to see everyone.

The Georgia wedding was my cousin's.  An Italian-Catholic wedding officiated by an Irishman.  It had the first official "cocktail" hour before dinner that I have been to where wait staff actually walk around with food and drinks on trays.  Picture 1 is right after the ceremony.

Look at these good lookin' people!  These are my brothers
and sister.  (Shoes were removed here for a height
comparison.  Some of the people I work with think
I am tall...I may be, but...)

The second wedding was for a couple of friends who I met at church in Columbus, Indiana.  They are one of those couples where you just can't help but be delighted for them.

Some of my favorite people, Chris and Jenny, were
also in attendance.  We danced the night away.

And look, who else!  Sam and Darcy.  I first met them when
they came on the Mexico Family Camp trip with Amor this summer!

It was also a great week in between.  I was able to say hello to several friends and neighbors, attend a Starr's house cookout (another of those great Columbus families), take a trip to the Indiana State fair, play a few games, and read a few books.  Vacation at it's finest.

Irony

Sometimes I wonder at the irony of things.  They don't even have to be big or life changing.  For example, I went to a Catholic elementary school and consequently wore uniforms.  I loved the uniforms.  You didn't have to put a lot of planning into what you were going to wear and what you did wear pretty much always matched and fit with what everyone else was wearing.  My sister did not like uniforms.  She wanted to wear her own things.

Now, my sister is a nurse and wears a uniform (scrubs) to work and my jobs, post high school, have not had a uniform.  The dress codes have ranged from business to casual.  Currently, at least, I get to wear a work shirt  when I am working in the field which is close to a uniform.

 Through college I also moved a lot.  Do to a work study program I was in, I was moving every 3 to 4 months.  I looked forward to not moving for a while.  I took a job, settled in...and after 4 months my job was cut.  So what did I do?  I eventually ended up at Amor working with a "field" focus which so far has had me sleeping in places other than "my" bed sometimes 3 out of 4 weeks in a month.  I suppose since I have had some clothes hanging in the same closet since February though, that this is a step toward what I was looking forward to.

Dinner with Friends

After having worked in the field for a couple of weeks non-stop in June I was super blessed to get to visit with some friends from home.  Dan and Sara Beth came on Amor's Mexico Family Camp trip (where I was introduced to Amor a couple of years ago) and stuck around for a couple of days afterward. 

They decided I needed to try the Corvette Diner.

In case you couldn't see it in the first picture, the lovely hair style-ings of our waitress are more easily seen in the second photo.  Thanks D and SB for a night with fun for the sake of fun.

The diner also had some profound words posted on the wall to encourage deep thought and contemplation.  Thought I would share.

A New Material

The new material we are trying out for the Apache Reservation houses is called Panel W and essentially creates a steel-reinforced concrete structure with built in foam insulation.  It isn't going to go anywhere when it is complete.  The finished roof is, more or less a concrete slab.  On my last trip out to the "Rez" we poured our first roof.  We hauled buckets of cement up to the roof and spread it out by hand.  It is a long, hot day's work.

Team work to get the cement up to the roof.

Staff Michael and participant Mike getting started with the spreading.

The first San Carlos Panel W roof.