The Talking Heads

"Families are like fudge... mostly sweet with a few nuts." ~ Author Unknown

Clockwise from top right: Rick, Stephen, Dave.

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories." ~ George Eliot

I've been a little busy. Stephen has been home for an extended period to rest (right!) and oversee his building project for a while. Our cousins from Illinois, who are masters at woodworking, came to do the inside trim, beams and some skirting on the new deck as well as build a trellis for the wisteria. They also brought gorgeous walnut furniture that they made for the room. So they have been busy with cutting, hammering, climbing, clear coating, painting and various other woodworking things. I took a break from the decision making for the project and plunged into the chopping and cooking for the workers.

My two cousins are thin and tall. How they remain thin I do not know. If I ate a minute fraction of what they eat, I would gain ten pounds in two days. Since Rick is mostly a vegetarian, we did a lot of rice and stir fry and salads. I chopped celery, carrots, bell peppers (green, red, yellow and orange), purple onions, snow peas, mushrooms, broccoli and cucumbers. Tons of salad greens were washed and spun. Boxes and boxes of brown rice cooked. Green peas, corn, fresh thin green beans, slivered almonds, black olives and bean sprouts were added. Our huge wok worked overtime... as did Stephen, for he is the master cook. I made fruit salad with fresh pineapple, bing cherries, cantaloupe, blueberries, mango, apples, and watermelon. We cooked salmon, catfish and chicken. And this was just for one day!

In addition.... a black walnut cake, carrot cake, cheese cake and a chocolate cake with buttercream icing were consumed. The cousins were here for two weeks.

Now, the chopping has taken a break... the meals are back to what seems like a minimalistic production... time for a little rest. And a little blogging.

Oh, this picture? We went to the beach... in the evening and with the flash and a little post production, I ended up with this strange floating heads shot. But that's a family!

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