Denise and I decided to put a new porch on our house, a project which ended up taking most of the summer since our friend who did the renovation could only work on it for 2 days each week. Once the old floorboards were torn off, we discovered decaying joists and cracked concrete blocks, so it was a good decision to replace everything.
Old boards being replaced with new.
The finished product (from the street)
Side view
Standing near the front door
The annual RASH (first letter of the family last names) reunion was held this year at a park in Kendallville. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed hanging out, talking, eating lots of good food, and going for a long walk.
I attended a family reunion in Maryland/Pennsylvania at the end of July. It was a good time of connecting with family and seeing some familiar sights.
This is the Casselman Restaurant and Hotel in Grantsville, MD. Just over the hill behind the restaurant is the farm where my grandpa grew up.
My mom (in the pink) in conversation with some of her cousins. I think they are solving the world's problems. :)
These flowers were blooming in my back yard in early August and I didn't know what they were. A Facebook post revealed that it is tiger lily. There are continual flowers blooming in my back yard all summer and I have enjoyed seeing what they are. This was my first full summer at this house which gave me an opportunity to see everything from early to late (last summer I was in Nicaragua).
Denise and I took a day off work in July and took the train to Chicago to Taste of Chicago in Grant Park. Taste is an annual event where you can try a variety of food from a wide variety of Chicago restaurants. You purchase tickets and then each dish costs a certain number of tickets. They have smaller "taste" portions, and larger lunch-type portions. I tried about 6 different taste portions - pizza, empanadas, frozen banana, Chinese, and more that I can't remember anymore. The weather was beautiful and the crowds weren't too bad. It was a fun experience and something I had been wanting to do for a long time.
One of the food booths - Connie's pizza
Crowds of people with the Chicago skyline in the distance
Denise at one of the entrances
Another place I had wanted to explore this summer was a prayer garden at a church near Dunlap. Denise and I explored it one Sunday afternoon and enjoyed our time there. It was small but very nicely done. They also had a labyrinth you could walk on.
I have shared before about the pipeline that is going through The Hermitage property. I was at The Hermitage twice in August - once for a work day and two weeks later for board meetings - and saw first hand that the work has begun in earnest.
Looking down the pipeline in early August.
Equipment at work on the pipeline
A huge pile of dirt is along both sides of the work area.
The trail leading away from the pipeline area looks normal.
Pipes laid along the pipeline two weeks later.
More pipes
This shows the pipeline work cutting through the neighbor's property - Gilchrist Retreat Center. Flower garden in the foreground and cabin in the background.
Here is a recent picture of my nephew Joel. Happy after climbing on his rocking chair.
My aunt celebrated her 70th birthday with an open house. Her four sons did a presentation/roast of some of her favorite sayings.
More posts coming soon. I promise!
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