Back in the Groove

I took an unexpected blog break this past week, and I thought I would catch you up on what I've been doing all this time.

For starters, I had the great good fortune to attend a reunion of my cousins in Michigan.

My cousins on my Dad's side of the family.  I got to hold the newest
member of the family!  (We're at the bottom of the steps.)

Several of our aunts and uncles came by over the course of the weekend, as well, so it felt more like one of the old-fashioned family reunions I grew up with.

I mentioned on Facebook that the gathering was exactly what I was hoping it would be.  There was plenty of small talk and silliness, but also lots of time for heart-to-hearts to really catch up on each other's lives.  I have a cousin in the Foreign Service, serving in Afghanistan, who happened to be home on a three-week leave, so she was able to share her absolutely astounding experiences in that country.  I have another cousin who recently went on a three-month vacation to South America, which was so interesting to hear about.  There were recently-ended relationships to discuss, and recently-beginning relationships to celebrate.  Everyone had jobs to discuss and explain.  Old family stories were rehashed.  Much beer and wine was consumed by the bonfire each night.  Getting to bed by 2 a.m. was considered early.

I had a couple stolen moments for doodling around.  I didn't expect to fill too many pages in my sketchbook, but I came away with one Zentangle (while folks were watching football) and one lettering experiment (sitting on the sun porch before others had woken up for the day):

Once I got back home, I faced another milestone:  my little girl, my first-born, my five-year-old, headed to kindergarten!  No doubt about it, I can feel the roiling layers of anxiety beneath my calm and confident exterior.  I am experiencing significant disbelief (as is she!) that she will now be going to school every day for years and years and years!

Here's Katy, taking that first step into kindergarten.

Back to school is also the season for taking care of all those annual doctor and dentist visits.  I splurged on a new pair of glasses, since the ones I had been wearing are now about 18 years old!  Here's a look at my new frames:

Hopefully now, with the school year underway, I can get myself back into a steady routine of blog visiting, art-making, and posting.  I hope you'll come along!