Ang and Brad and Seth were here!!!

Okay, so anyone who knows me knows that my two best friends in the world are the twins - Angela and Christine. I can't count how many times I've been somewhere, traipsing around the city, and said to Eric "how I wish Ang or Chris could be here with me..."

Well, finally part of that dream came true! Unexpectedly and with only a couple of weeks notice, Ang and Brad and Seth were able to come on a ministry trip to Canada and the States and decided to come via Chicago so they could spend a few days with us.

What a joy to have them stay in our home, and to spend wonderful quality time with them. We had some fun-filled days and the weather was perfect!

We ate at the Cheesecake Factory downtown....

We went on an architectural boat cruise (on the river and the lake). This is one of my favorite things to do with visitors, and I enjoy it every single time. What a great way to see some of the city and its fabulous buildings...

We went to Millenium Park and saw the Bean...

We went to the Fountain and splashed in the water. This is really cool to see - thousands of tiny pictures create the mosaic of a person's face, who eventually creates an 'o' with his/her mouth and water spouts forth... Brad was the only adult with his shirt off (typical South African male...); and I think Ang and I were the only adult women who got themselves soaking wet. Fully clothed still of course!

We also went to ColdStone Creamery, because who doesn't love ice-cream! Trust me, we also had our fill of it at home, where we stocked up on Haagen Dasz and Ben & Jerry's...

Coffee is always on the agenda, so while plenty of Starbucks was consumed, we also had a couple of stops at Peets Coffee...

One night Seth was very happy to stay at home with a babysitter, while the four of us went for a delicious dinner at Mon Ami Gabi in Lincoln Park. What a gorgeous evening that was, sipping Pinot Noir out on the terrace.

While they were here my mom finally arrived for her long-awaited visit!! The Sunday she arrived Ang and fam went off and had a blast at the Children's Museum at Navy Pier; and on Monday we all went to Ikea and shopping in downtown Evanston. I think Eric was really glad he actually had to go to work - he always says that if there was a purgatory, it would look like Ikea! Haha! Well, I think my mom and the Verreynnes enjoyed it - but they didn't enjoy tasting Root Beer afterwards - it tastes like Mentadent P toothpaste!

Tuesday morning arrived all too quickly and the Verreynnes started their road trip to Toronto. Our time together flashed by and now they are very much missed :(. I hope it's not another 8 years before they visit in the States!!

As for me and my house...

I'm playing a bit of catch up since I finally downloaded photos from the last month.

A few weeks ago we had a progressive house blessing, and invited some of our nearer Living Water neighbors. In April 3 different families moved closer to the church (including us) and we've been meaning to have a house blessing ever since! Rather than separate events, we started off at Jason, Annie and Rivers' home.

From there we moved to Liz and Peter's place...

And ended up at our place, where our house blessing was followed by a little party!

We followed the liturgy from the Celtic Daily Prayer house blessing, and moved from room to room to bless each one. The living room to the guest room, to the master bedroom; the study/office, the bathroom and the kitchen... each was blessed and consecrated to God and for His purposes. It was a very special time, and I have to admit, quite funny to have 15 people trying to cram into our bathroom (even a couple folks in the tub!) while the others lined the hallway...

Thanks to all who blessed us by being there and praying with us!



Eric, with Kirk and Drew.

Me and Eric.

Various folk...

Mari, Cindy and Dana. Is it just me or does Dana look like she has a 3rd arm?!!

Not such a final goodbye...

We're bummed. Friends of ours from church just had their last Sunday at Living Water this past weekend. Josh and Cindy, pictured below on Cindy's birthday a couple of weeks ago, have been called away...

For whatever reason, at this time in our life we are surrounded by a large number of grad students, particularly young married couples who are crazy busy between pursuing Ph.D's, seminary training, active involvement in the church body, etc etc. Josh, who is at seminary, has been offered a ministry position at a church in the burbs, and they're taking it. They'll still live down the road from us for a while as the lovely Cindy studies at a local university, so at least they're not moving out of the neighborhood just yet.

But it's a reminder of the transience of life. I know I've been more the one who moves away, so I've got to expect to get a little taste of my own medicine every so often.

Nevertheless, we wish them all the best, for God's blessing and strength, and for intentional opportunities to enjoy their company and friendship despite not seeing them Sunday mornings.

Fresh from the Farm...

Every Wednesday, around 5:30pm, I walk across the alley to pick up a box of freshly harvested fruits, herbs and veggies on a neighbor's back porch. We're part of a CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - and at the beginning of the season we bought a share in Plow Creek Farm's 2008 harvest. Every week they drive in from Tiskilwa (about 2 hours away) with whatever bounty nature serves up that day.

It's always a surprise to see what we have!

Last night included sweet potato, walla walla onions, leeks, raspberries, a watermelon, red pepper and (my favorite) a big ol' bunch of cilantro.
So I whipped up a delicious meal, loving the fact that a mere 24 hours earlier, most of the ingredients were still in the ground...

Sweet Potato Mash

Sweet potato, and regular potato, mashed with a little butter and milk
Mixed in with sauteed red onion, walla walla onion, leeks, chopped garlic cloves, red pepper - slightly caramelised with brown sugar, and a pinch of dried coriander, and cumin, to taste.

A fistful of chopped fresh cilantro thrown in at the end.

SO simple, SO fresh, SO yummy.

FUN!!! with Lisa and JP

Lisa and I go way back. We were in the same church and friendship circles back in PE Then after I'd been in MI for 6 months as an au pair, she started au pairing for a family just down the road - almost - from mine, and we enjoyed many Detroit adventures together. We shared the next season of our lives together in London, where we were roommates for almost a year and a half. Me, Lisa, Kermit and the other kermit who unfortunately remained nameless.

Fun times.

I left London in 2002 so fast forward to July 2004 when Eric and I were in Cape Town for a day and I got to see Lisa again for all too brief a time. Fast forward some more, and Lisa married JP, and they moved to the Cayman Islands, and for their one year anniversary they made a trip stateside, and (yay!) stopped for a few days in Chicago before heading to Detroit, Seattle and Alaska, and then for one more day and night with us before heading back to the Island.

SO a brief summary of a really wonderful time of reconnection and reunion with this very wonderful friend:

Breakfast in Andersonville at M Henry... delishisness;

Driving around exploring some neighborhoods; a little shopping at the Container Store (that was more for me and Li); strolling around Rogers Park; grabbing some Starbucks and heading down to the lake; and then relaxing and dinner at home. I burned the salmon (the basting has brown sugar so I always make the mistake of leaving it under the broiler a tad too long!) but they still said they liked it. And once the boys had gone to bed, some late night girl talk - reminiscing about single life in London and all the joys of marriage and how fabulous our husbands are.

They joined us at Living Water on Sunday, and then went to see Wicked downtown, and that evening we joined up again for a yummy feast at the Turkish restaurant Turqoise, followed by dessert at Ben and Jerry's ice cream parlor.

They returned yesterday at the crack of dawn after an overnight flight from the west coast, and once they'd had a chance to sleep, we went for a late lunch at Siam Pasta in Evanston, another stop at Ben and Jerry's, and a rather lengthy (!) coffee buying expedition at Peets Coffee. I think JP bought seven different types of beans. He was checking out the wheel and everything. If only our friend Drew had been there - he works there and probably would have enjoyed walking JP through all the different varieties. While JP pondered, sampled, and sampled some more, Lisa and I were delighted to find Peets selling ROOIBOS flavored cookies, made all the way in South Africa by Xhosa-speaking people.

First some pics at Siam Pasta:

I'm having trouble with these pics. They're not rotating as they should, so forgive me if you have to crank your neck!

Nonetheless, at the end of the day, it was absolutely the biggest treat and blessing to have Lisa and JP come to Chicago and to get to spend some quality time with them. I can't describe how much I enjoy having good friends and family from SA in my new neck of the woods, and having the opportunity to share my world with them here. The only thing that could top Lisa visiting us here in Chi-town is if she MOVED here. Hint hint. JP, remember we know people at Peets. We could totally hook you up.

Labor Day Weekend

We've had another lovely weekend - made even better by it being a long one!


Friday night was the (seems to be now) annual Music and Poetry Evening at the Goring's home, featuring Ruth's wonderful and moving poetry mostly inspired by her life and ties to Colombia, and music by singer/songwriters AndiandI (that's Andi and I). Appetizers and wine were served as we sat in the pretty backyard, and it was a delightful evening. Ruth, Andi and Al are all part of Living Water. We have some pretty serious talent going on there.

Here are Al and Andi in full swing.



Saturday morning wasn't so great - we both had physicals (boy I've seen that doctor alot this summer!) but for once getting blood drawn wasn't supremely awful for me. I could have kissed that nurse for making it so painless and quick. It's the first time I've ever had a physical. Naughty I know, but I'm looking forward to finding out what my cholesterol is up to.

We enjoyed a quick bite (post the pre-physical fast) at the Wild Fig in Evanston, and then headed over to the church to clean the bathrooms. Woohoo!

That evening we played a rousing game of Settlers of Catan at Drew and Brian's place. It was great seeing them - it'd been a while.

And then, early early (6am) Sunday morning Lisa and JP arrived at our door again on the home stretch of their lovely anniversary USA trip, after catching a red-eye from Seattle. They slept soundly until we'd already been home from church for an hour or two, and then we had a fab day together. But I'll post about their time with us in a separate blog dedicated just to them!

Today, after a lazy lie-in morning we sauntered down to the beach to join some picnicking folks, and then spent some time with the BIL Evan. And now we're sad because it's the end of the weekend :(. Can't wait for Friday!