End of Summer Display

We've been enjoying little bits of summer garden inside our house. Trying to master the zen of flower arrangements....

The victorious gladiolus and sunflower both survived chipmunks and rabbits.

Here I post the only photo from the State Fair this year. Joe and his dad were very, very disappointed that there was no shoot-out-a-star game. No huge huggable prize this year, but they managed to win a smallish Garfield at the coin-pushing-prized place.

I Wonder If Anybody Notices?

Look how long my hair has gotten... to the point where it was constantly getting in my way. But why waste such perfect hair? And so much of it? I decided to donate my hair to Locks for Love.
Before: After:

We are off to the State Fair on this beautiful cool summer evening!

Almost Lost in Translation

It's not that we had fallen off the earth.... Quite opposite. This past week Kayo managed to complete her small mission in keeping our U.S.-Japan relations in tact. We only mean that Kayo didn't screw up badly translating for the delegation from our sister city in Japan. And we got to meet quite a few new and interesting people both from Japan and around here.
Joe mostly played a good translator's husband role, but for the "sayonara" party he became a hero, bringing a warm plate of fresh local fish to eat. That early morning Joe and his dad went fishing and caught lots of fish! (Of course, I had to work....) A great catch of the day!!

Every one at the party loved Joe's fish and couldn't get enough of it. And here in the photo, the delegates started playing music and singing songs, while everybody else sang along to familiar tunes. Yes, Leinie's beers were shared and a bottle of sake emptied. We had a good time!