Busy or not busy? Difficult to say...

I feel like time has been out of control lately. Things have happened, good things but this stagnant weather has been difficult on the soul.

My baby turned 21 on the 21st of June this year. A milestone in the life of a young adult in America as she is finally legally drinking alcohol... I obliged the deed by buying her first legal drink. It was a shot of Jagermeister at the strangest bar in Eagle River. Emily described her experience having a Chugiak High School reunion.... She escaped it really fast and continued partying with her friends in Anchorage in more appropriate surroundings.

The next night was spent at the Moose's Tooth with her friends and my friends listening to the Third Eye Blind in Concert. It was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate Emily's Birthday and the summer solstice. I went really close to the speakers and the stage and I was back being 21 myself with my heart pumping and ready to burst. Fun!

Since then my friends Martin and Dominique from la Cagnes in Saint-Jeannet, France are visiting. Curt and I went to pick them up in Whittier after their week of cruising the Inside Passage from Vancouver, BC. They have been busy since their arrival: visiting the area, going to the open house at the Elmendorf Air Base, going fishing (1 salmon caught by Dominique) to Lake Creek in a float plane and having dinner in a small cabin owned by friends of ours. They went to both museums in Anchorage. They went with us to a Chaine des Rotisseurs event ( wine tasting from South American with Duck, Lamb, Gorgozonla cheese fondue ??? and more cheese). They went shopping on 4th ave. They went to a party at Connie's, then we had a party at our house with Nancy and Jennifer. They went to Palmer and Eklutna. They went to Jitters. They went to our little 4th of July celebration in Eagle River and saw the fireworks while eating kettle corn popcorn and drinking Alaskan Amber beers.

This weekend Curt has taken them to Cordova and they saw a black bear on the other side of the river. They are leaving with an RV next week for Denali, Fairbanks, Chena Hotsprings etc. then will have another 5 days of fun before leaving for Europe on the 20th. They are the perfect guests so it is a real pleasure to have them around.

We are having more company coming shortly so I am getting busy around the house to get things ready for their visit. The weather is much better with higher temperature and some sunshine showing up once in a while. I had dinner at Nancy's last night on her balcony and it was warm enough not to have jackets on. The flowers are showing their colors and I think that summer is on it's way.

I also finished to read "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. It has been a wonderful read. I cannot stress enough how original the format and how poetic the text is. The characters are unforgettable and it is going to be one of those books that I will enjoy reading again, just because. For last 20 some pages, the words are sooooo beautiful. I would love to be able to write like that. Anyway if you are wondering what to read next I would highly recommend that book.

One more thing I guess. Bear Paw is next weekend in Eagle River and I made a small quilt for their auction that I am finishing right now. The theme is around Barnum and Bailey, the circus.

That is it for now...