What a view

Believe it or not, this is one of the views from my work's parking lot. Can you tell I work in a more rural suburb about 60 miles northwest of Chicago?! These photos were taken this morning on my break. Since I sit at a desk all day, I like to get out in the morning and take a short walk through the parking lot and enjoy the views. Please click on the photos to really appreciate the beauty of this view.

The glory of fresh tomatoes

The abundance of tomatoes from my garden...



Ready to go in the oven to be roasted...quarter the tomatoes (cherry tomatoes get cut in half), sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, fresh basil, and a little bit of red pepper flakes, then drizzle with EVOO...

This is what the tomatoes look like after roasting about 40 min. at 400 degrees...

When the tomatoes cooled, I put them in a bowl, mashed a little with a fork to make "sauce", then served on top of whole wheat spaghetti with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top. Yum!

Zippo

Using the macro setting again (see flower pics in next blog post) to capture detail...

Flower power

My son taught me how to use the macro setting on my camera so I could get detailed close-ups of my objects without blurring. I took these photos this morning.

It's a nice day for a white wedding

Edith and her parents moved here from Mexico 20+ years ago and joined our church family. Edith, at the time, was a troubled teenager and I spent a lot of time listening to her and trying to give her "good advice". Edith went her own way for awhile...marrying a man and having two children (the young boys you see in the photo below). That man ended up leaving her and her two little boys. Later she met Sergio, the handsome groom shown below. They have been together six years and have a daughter together (the little girl in the picture). Edith has been the one with "cold feet" and was afraid to rush into another marriage. When Sergio first laid eyes on Edith walking down the aisle, the tears immediately started flowing from this man's face. It was so romantic. He could barely say his vows. What a happy celebration!


The beautiful wedding cake that Edith made...yes, Edith. The bride herself! Check out the topper. :-)

Me and my groom of almost-24 years...

My mom and I...

My birthday present

My 46th birthday was yesterday. Hubby presented me with a rectangular, blue velvet box. I figured it was a bracelet or necklace from Blue Nile, as that's where he's purchased jewelry for m in the past. I opened the box and saw this gorgeous gold and pearl bracelet. It somehow looked familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place it. I asked hubby where it was from and he said, "You don't remember?" I took a stab at several stores and hubby just laughed. He said, "Where were we last weekend?" I said, "The Wisconsin State Fair!" He said, "No, no, besides that." I couldn't remember! He jogged my terrible memory...

We had gone to an antique mall just a couple of miles up the road from our house. We had passed a jewelry case and I saw this bracelet. I had pointed it out and mentioned how pretty it was. Well, that darling husband of mine actually remembered and went back to get it the other day. I think that is one of the most romantic presents he's ever given me.

Saturday lunch at Tea Gschwender Bistro

The food at Tea Gschwender Bistro is almost too pretty to eat. Baby greens with a raspberry vinaigrette, and spicy marinated chicken rolled up in a spinach tortilla...