John's Friends get Married

Last Friday John's friends, John and Carina, were married at the local city hall. Before the wedding, close friends and relatives gathered to take pictures. There was a lovely "wild" area behind the city hall that provided a great spot for pictures.

L: Assembled guests waiting for their turn. R: Carina's dad, John, and two of his sons.

John and I got dressed up for the occasion. Don't we look spiffy?

L: Here's the happy couple and their kids arriving at the city hall. R: The ceremony. The boys sat quietly for a while, then started to roam around.

Leaving the ceremony with bubbles.

Cutting the cake. The people invited to the wedding were invited for coffee and cake before the dancing got started.

And let the dancing begin!! We had a couple conga lines.

Julie and Kyle's visit to Amsterdam and Groningen

Julie and Kyle came to visit me in the Netherlands last week. I went to college with Julie and her husband Kyle. John and I met them in Amsterdam and we visited the Rijksmuseum, Vondelpark, and the Red Light District.

Here's the i amsterdam sign and me at the eet cafe in Vondelpark.

This is the garden in front of the Rijksmuseum. and on the right, John and I are carrying the cheese.

After one night in Amsterdam, we all took the train up to Groningen. John and I convinced Julie and Kyle to try biking in Groningen. We made it to a roof top bar and recovered with a couple drinks.

We walked to the Prizenhoff gardens near the city center. They were lovely as always.

We then biked to Hornsemeer, which is a lake south of Groningen. We saw some "wild" dutch cattle, a windmill, and a hot air balloon.

Julie and Kyle in front of the windmill.

We ended the busy day at an italian restaurant in Groningen. The following morning, Julie and Kyle left for Luxembourg.

guest Bedroom

Our Guest bedroom is ready for visitors. Here are some pictures of the finished room. The bed expands to king size and is said to be quite comfy.

Remodeling update--Kitchen and shower rooms

John has been working hard on remodeling.  I continue to do the supervising, cleaning up, and cooking. Here are some pictures of our recently completed kitchen and shower rooms.   I think we're all done with them now.  Small projects, like attaching the baseboards and finishing up our bedroom, remain. There are some before pictures posted on previous posts, in Nov 2008.