Hello from Paul's house! It's been, as usual, quite a while since my last installment, and I apologize. We've had a sad few weeks with roommates leaving us for other states, and the house is very quiet. But there are cherries happening in the garden, lots of pies and tarts and ice creams appearing as a result, and we're trying not to be too depressed without those who left us. ;(

Paul of course has been hard at work in the "sunken garden" - there are now steps leading up from the bottom, but I refuse to go on them because they seem very dangerous. Paul assures me they are perfectly safe though. He has been taking advantage of the good weather to get lots of work done outside. Love those Washington summers!

One upshot of our loss of roommates is a significant spike in the amount of peanut butter on the common shelf. What a selection you've left us, guys! Thanks!

We've been spending a lot of time with our families, including barbecuing at Chance's grandparents' place. I just thought this was such the quintessential American scene of Man with Barbecue - I had to put it in.

They have a gorgeous view and the weather has been absolutely awesome! Mount Rainier was visible in the pre-sunset light ... so pretty.

This last weekend we witnessed the pre-Gay Pride parade, which took place the Saturday night before the big Gay Pride parade on Sunday afternoon. Our roommates Paul, Paula and Kaela joined us. It was smaller and more manageable and lots of fun - I loved this float!

On our way from the parade, there was a decision to wade in the new fountain - this whole park is new and covers the reservoir on Capitol Hill on the south end of Broadway. Only three of our group were intrepid enough to brave the waters, though ...

(Just thought I'd show you my new shoes - aren't they fun?)

It was, in all, an absolutely lovely afternoon.

To jump back a couple of weeks, over the break between spring and summer quarters, Chance and I drove down to California to visit our friend Vivek and Chance's aunt Nanette and their families. They both live in the Sacramento area, so that was our destination. We left early Monday morning ... here is our first sighting of that dry, California landscape.

We arrived late Monday night. Here we are on Tuesday, admiring the front of Vivek and Vasu's newly purchased house. Vivek's parents were visiting from India, and had been helping redo the landscaping and do numerous other household improvement projects. But of course a visit with our good friend Vivek isn't complete without culinary delights ...

Vivek fixed us Indian Coffee (an icy blend of instant coffee, milk and sugar) - yum yum! We enjoyed it on the back veranda ...

During our evening tea time, the tree in the middle of the yard began to look like it needed a trim. Soon the whole household was involved in sundry backyard activities (Vivek eventually broke out the chain saw). It felt wonderfully industrious!

On Wednesday we drove out into the hills southeast of Sacramento to visit his aunt Nanette and her family. They live in a beautiful house surrounded by rose bushes. (The hot tub in the back isn't bad either!) Of course Chance made friends with the kitty.

Chance's cousin Gabe (you may remember him from our Berlin pictures - he visited us there) is learning the banjo. He indulged us with a tune - quite impressive!

Gabe's other specialty is card tricks. He wowed us several times - how did he do that??

They also have the cutest pit bull EVER, named Sydney. She is the biggest sweetie. Of course Chance and I are totally dog-crazy, so you'll have to excuse us ...

Awwwwwwww.

On Thursday we drove to San Francisco, where we had booked a room in a hostel for a night. We wanted a chance to sightsee and explore the city, and we also had the lovely opportunity to see our (now former) roommate Aaron in his new home! He had just moved to San Francisco that morning. He showed us around Castro, his new neighborhood, including this park with a lovely view. We miss you, Aaron!

A vacation isn't complete without the requisite "see? we really were there" tourist photo.

On our last day, we drove back to Vivek's house where his mom cooked and then his parents fried this wonderful flatbreads for us.

It's really too bad that there is no electronic way to transmit smells. This was insanely good.

It wouldn't have been a visit to Vivek's house without at least one or two games of Scrabble. This one was augmented by the sounds of the Indian equivalent of American Idol. A fabulous trip!