Weekend fun

We had a great trip home to Minnesota in the middle of March. We literally enjoyed every minute, but wished for many more minutes in order to spend more quality time with friends and family. We vowed to make it a longer trip when we're back in July for Elizabeth & Eric's wedding. Here's a photo from the party Jon & Debb graciously hosted for us in their basement. This is Silas, clearly worn out from singing Michael Jackson songs on the karoke and looking for refreshment at the basement bar.

I made a new pledge of sorts to do at least one fun "New York thing" a week, just to make sure to take advantage of the city. Some recent highlights included:

* Walking on the beautiful Brooklyn Promenade after brunch with friends Ada and Troy (see great view of Manhattan in the background).


* Going to galleries then dinner in Chelsea with friends Avery and Heidi (everyone but me spotted Ted Danson leaving the restaurant as we waiting for our table, drat!). In this photo, we're making fun of a new series of subway posters for some TV show, maybe on the Lifetime network?


* Eating at a super-touristy diner off Times Square last night where the waitstaff continuously sing Broadway hits. The reason we were there? Our friends George, Julie, and their kids Sam and Ella were in town! We had a great time with them - sorry I neglected to get a photo. We look forward to staying with them in Syracuse in June on our way to Sena's wedding.

In other news, Jeremy passed his big mid-year review and is really motivated to keep making work. He has an open studio night April 17th to look forward to. My job continues to get better every week as I get to know more about the place and make more of a contribution. The commute -- 2.5 hours a day -- takes a toll; although I love all the reading time, it wears me out and I don't feel like doing much in the evenings. After all my years of being self-employed, it is hard to get used to a "normal" person's schedule!