LOVE-ly Afternoon

A normal Valentine's Day in our marriage consists of Jim being reminded of the day by my cousin Greg or some other acquaintance and a quick stop at a grocery store for a bouquet of flowers. I accept this reality of who my husband is and am thankful that his love for me is clearly shown year-round in many other ways. My brother does special days very differently however, and so Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a lovely double date with Chobie and Laura beginning with lunch at Thr3e Wise Men in Muncie. Following our meal, Chobie suggested that Laura and I might enjoy a manicure. The nail salon that we stopped at had about a 45 minute wait, which prompted some shopping where we were prime examples of the difference in how men and women buy clothing. Laura and I tried our clothing on, did the mini catwalk, and gathered multiple opinions. The guys just held their item up and confidently proclaimed, "Yep. That'll fit."

We returned for our manicures only to find that there was still a wait. We decided to go elsewhere and left with complimentary gift certificates for our troubles. I laughingly suggested to Laura that she might continue to get free nail service if she just "stopped in for a manicure" each time she noticed the parking lot full. We found a less crowded salon and my first manicure came out quite nice.  I was also able to talk Laura into a "wild" neutral color instead of her usual clear.  I topped off my Valentine's afternoon sharing a Starbuck's with three of my most-loved people. Well, not "a" Starbuck's. I don't love them enough to share a drink with them; I definitely had my own.... It was a lovely afternoon.

Muncie Musings

Undoubtedly, Atira and Tell enjoyed the extra space in the backseat on the journey out to Indiana but Nolan's presence was missed. He had flown out a few days earlier with some friends from the Waldoboro youth group to attend a Biblical counseling conference in Lafayette, not too far from Anthony and Laura's place.

His eccentricity always makes life more interesting so it was nice to have him back with us for the remainder of our vacation.

The Indiana Romanos were enjoying an unusually quiet weekend which still included a Father-Daughter dance for Chobie and Ally and a soccer practice for Nicholas on Friday night,

By Saturday lunchtime, after an Anthony-coached basketball game for Nicholas, our weekend was reserved for complete relaxation.

Whether they are playing games, baking,

creating mini-movies or watching a Back to the Future marathon, I am always thankful that the young cousins treasure their time together.

Cincinnati Museum Center

In my trip prep I discovered that the Cincinnati Museum Center, only slightly out of the way to Anth and Laura's, was hosting an exhibition of Lego art by Nathan Sawaya. It was immediately voted as a "must see" stop.

If you ever get the opportunity to see his work, don't miss out. It was amazing.

The first gallery's floor was filled with the reflection of thousands of translucent Lego pieces hanging high above that recreated the glass window of Notre Dame. The walls held Lego replicas of paintings such as Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Wave, Starry Night, Rembrandt's Self-Portrait and the Mona Lisa. 

The gallery beyond included "The Scream", which Atira sought to replicate , and a three-dimensional version of Whisler's Mother.

Sawaya's renditions of famous sculptures from antiquity were displayed in the third gallery, along with a 1:1 ratio rendering of the smallest "head" statue from Easter Island that boasted over 750,000 Lego bricks.

The remaining galleries contained Sawaya's original artistic designs. 

The exhibit was thoroughly enjoyable and  even provided an outlet for expressing your own Lego creativity at the conclusion. I didn't bother to photograph the bridge that I attempted...

Preferring Smoke Haus to Outhouse

As dawn breaks over Akron, Ohio, allow me to give a summary of yesterday's travel. Items of note about our departure: We were on time, there were no dishes in the sink and Atira, loaded down with three bags and a blanket, stated that she felt like Mimi, as we walked out the door. If you have traveled with my mom, you know exactly what she means.

By lunchtime we were in East Fishkill, NY and stopped for gas. Eager to empty our bladders, we were greeted by a contender for "Worst Bathrooms Ever". With graffiti-filled walls, a poorly flushing toilet, and a wad of green gum in the  sink, the poor lighting may have been a blessing. Our visit also required a family member outside to guard and open the door since the lock did not work and the inside handle was missing. If I had closed my eyes I might have thought that I was in the outhouse of RPH, my favorite AT Shelter, about 20 minutes away. It would have been preferable. When a 10-year old Gilbert boy remarks, "That was gross.", you KNOW it was. Hours down the road, Atira and I were appreciative when the next bathroom had this sign posted:

Up the road from the virtual outhouse was the Smoke Haus & Deli where we had lunch and were waited on by a very friendly lady. Since we were in New York, I thought that was worth mentioning. 

As the sun set, semi trucks and swirling snow accompanied us to the Ohio border and a good night's rest.

Yum Yum Boxes: Turkey and France

A few months ago Atira was excited to discover the website universalyums.com and convinced me to sign up for us to receive their monthly box of international snacks. She is hugely interested in all things Japanese and was hoping that our first box would be from the island that currently hosts our Marine, who is training under the shadow of Mt. Fuji.

Unfortunately we missed it by one month and our January box contained goodies from Turkey.

My two favorites were a sweet sesame bar and Turkish Delight containing real rose petals.

 Each box also contains a booklet describing each snack, sharing trivia about the country of origin and giving clues to guess the next month's country.

We guessed correctly: France

We waited to open this one until the beginning of our trip this morning. We've eaten the chocolate and are saving the stinky cheese to share with the Indiana Romanos.