An Injury, A Birthday, A Wedding, And A HEART!

We have been enjoying beautiful, record setting weather for the past couple of weeks (including two very rare thunderstorms)!  We have had all of our windows open for the entire time.  We finally got around to putting up a clothesline outside, and just in the nick of time, because our dryer has decided to go on strike and stop emitting any heat.

Phoebe went out for a run with her friend Tristan on Tuesday night, and when they got back, she bounded up the stairs outside of her house and tripped on the top step.  The steps and walkway are made of metal grating, perfect for our snowy winters and ubiquitous all over hilly Juneau.  When she fell, she slid along the walkway and sliced her leg open below the knee down to the tendon.  (I will spare you pictures!)  Tristan took her to the Emergency Room, where they spent four hours getting the wound cleaned and stitched up (17 stitches).  She was put on two powerful antibiotics because the wound was so deep.  They gave her a leg brace to keep her from bending her knee.  She was in considerable pain for the next few days and stayed home from work.  Thank God for her friends and housemates, who watched over her, and especially Tristan, who gets a gold medal for helping her!  She is much better, and was able to attend and even dance (albeit carefully) at her friend Heidi's wedding (more about the wedding later)!

Charles' birthday was last Friday.  He has been enjoying working on the Mary Garden, so I gave him a copy of Gardening in Southeast Alaska, a book that is a local favorite.  I will admit that I have wanted a copy for years, so it was a present for both of us.

We went to a potluck on Friday night at the home of the John and Nancy, parents of Phoebe's friend Molly, who was in town with her boyfriend for the wedding of Phoebe's and Molly's high school friend, Heidi.  It was so nice to see Phoebe enjoying her friends, who also came to the potluck.  The weather was incredible, and the food was great, in particular a mango/avocado salsa that I am dying to try!

Saturday, Phoebe and I went wedding gift shopping.  We bought two beautiful wine glasses, similar to a pair that Charles and I received as wedding gifts 30 years ago!  Phoebe bought a beautiful bottle of wine to go with the glasses.  I found a perfect card, with a picture of two Adirondack chairs with glasses of wine on the arms of the chairs.  The chairs were facing a sunset.  Lovely, except, when it came time to sign the card, Miguel discovered that it was an wedding anniversary card rather than a wedding card.  Oops.

We went to the wedding at Chapel by the Lake, which looks out on Auke Lake and the Mendenhall Glacier.  I don't know how the members of that church can pay attention to the services, the view is so stunning.  Nonetheless, we were able to focus on the lovely wedding of Heidi and Dennis,  her groom. There were little flower girls, one of whom was just a toddler, who dropped her basket of petals and waddled up the aisle in her little taffeta dress.  The wedding was so beautiful, and it was so nice, again, to see how all of Phoebe's friends from high school have all grown up into such nice young men and women.  The parents were beaming and the bride was radiant.

Charles had to preach at the evening Mass, and so he and I stopped and got a bite to eat and I picked up another (more generic and not nearly as pretty) card, which I signed and tucked into the ribbons on the gift.  Charles went to the Cathedral and I met the kids at the reception.  Everything was beautiful and they had a lovely buffet.  The cake was decorated with flowers and topped by figurines depicting Dennis cross-country skiing with Heidi getting a piggyback ride!

I ducked out of the reception early and left Phoebe and Miguel to have fun.

Phoebe and Heidi

On Sunday evening we went to a potluck across the street at the home of our friends Ed and Betsy.  I brought a cheesecake (Charles' favorite) so we could celebrate his birthday (finally)!

We all sat in the sunshine, including Ed and Betsy's dog, Ella.

The only picture of the birthday boy I was able to get.  He is squinting, the candle has blown out, there are dirty dishes and a beer bottle in the background...obviously, I am showing you this picture to ensure that I remain humble.

And finally: yesterday, I received a wonderful gift from one of my favorite bloggers!  Carol from Art and Sand set out on a quest to create 30 Pinterest projects in 30 days!  For one of the projects she created lovely felt hearts.  I admired them and she kindly sent me this one:

It looks like a Forget-Me-Not, Alaska's State Flower!  Check out her blog - she has the loveliest home and amazing sense of color.  Plus, like me, she is married to an amazing artist!

Whew - busy weekend and a very long post!