DC- USP reunion

My second stop was DC. I met up with USP staff/friends in DC to help organize and pull off the first ever all-USP reunion. 

We discovered a Bourbon Cafe in DC-- all the way from Rwanda! We couldn't not get coffee from there for our breakfasts.

The working bit: everyone in position to start checking people in:

The Gordon contingent at the reunion:

We did side-walk chalk mandalas:

Guerrilla art! And we didn't get caught... so fun.

As many as we could gather at one time for a group photo:

The reunion was a success by my estimation. It was fun to hang out with coworkers and former coworkers, meet people I've heard an awful lot about from years past, connect with alumni that I knew and alumni from before my time. Everyone seemed to enjoy the connections and reconnections. 

Also especially fabulous was spending time with Meg and Molly before and after all the craziness. 

RITA and co.

After two lovely weeks at home, I set out east. First stop, Maryland to visit Rita and co. for a few days. I met my sweet little goddaughter, Elena. Pronounced eh-LEN-a. So proud!

It was fun to get spend time with Lucia, who is very two. Very cute. Very independent. Very good at taking care of her baby-- just like her mom, and absolutely FULL of personality. 

We spent a beautiful summer afternoon blueberry picking.

 ... which Lucia rocked. As a rockstar, no less... :)

 mmmm... the blueberries were luscious.

 And with my snazzy new camera, we did a quick family photo shoot.

Great people, I tell you!

Love you guys! And thanks for a most fabulous visit!!

Hello from Bethlehem, PA!

I am in the midst of my whirlwind summer tour of the US, which is great. So fun! Seriously... and the reason I am quiet here. Always during this time I get woefully behind on being in touch and blogging, which is fine because these moments with people are few and precious, and I want to be fully present in them and not off in the blogosphere. And when I do have moments of quiet where I could blog, I'm usually too tired. So, its just life. And I'll be back, BUT last month I uploaded a slideshow I made of our Mt. Elgon trip for the students on youtube... and it just dawned on me yesterday to put the link here. SO SLOW! But, better late than never, I say!

So, for a speedy little slideshow of my Mt. Elgon hike, here you go:

Mt. Elgon Slide Show

Enjoy!

Summertime...

I've been back in the US just over a week now and am busy enjoying all things summer...

Walks and cups of chai in the beautiful Morton Arboretum with everyone:

Flowers, flowers and more flowers:

Porch sitting, with mom and grandma:

And MORE flowers:

Junebug (enjoying the porch from the window):

Garlic scape pesto:

Grilling:

Chicago:

 An amazing delicious all-fresh-and-local-from-the-farmers-market picnic at The Point with Andrea in Hyde Park: