Tuesday, May 22, 2007
On To Indy
HIM: I'm waiting for Vanessa, her mom and Sebastian to arrive in Bedford. The work day is essentially over, but in 10 minutes we'll be on our way to Indianapolis for the next 2 days. We're staying at the Hilton Garden Inn just off of the Circle downtown. Hopefully, we'll get some swimming and hot tub time, in addition to the requisite museum/zoo'ish visitation while we're in Indy. We'll have a full review of the trip when we get back, so be sure to check back. Who knows what we'll encounter on this adventure...
Monday, May 14, 2007
Jesus Comes to Dinner...
HIM: While common in the Spanish-speaking world, there are few Americans who pay Jesus the Christ homage by naming their children after him. As a result, it is a surprise to most who hear the name spoken here. Now, Vanessa's father is named Jesus (pronounced hay-soo-s in Spanish) and I don't hesitate to make my friends do a double-take. I rather enjoy the questioning look and comical pause I get when saying "Jesus is coming to dinner tomorrow," or "I met Jesus last week."
That being said, Jesus had dinner with us last night. Delegates from Vanessa's family met with delegates from my family for Mother's Day. The results were good.
We got the night off to a shaky start, though, when my mom seemed to forget that we were bringing and cooking dinner for the group. She thawed steaks and readied the sides while we were on the other side of town doing the same. I say "we", but I really mean Vanessa. She has a fluency of coordination in the kitchen that renders my assistance, at best, somewhat helpful. Regardless, we got the prime rib, pasta, spinach dip, and mousse loaded up in the car and headed over to my parents' house.
The introductions went well, from what I gather. While unloading the dishes, our parents seemed to approach each other without too much nudging. :)
We succeeded in grilling the steaks and plating the food while our parents talked and my sisters (Annie and Vanessa -- 'Ness) entertained themselves. Dinner was delicious, as expected, and everyone slid into the living room to digest their meal.
Unfortunately, my mom has no sense of comfort, so Vanessa's parents awkwardly eeked out a spot after some prompting and sat down. In what could be a very engaging and entertaining gathering place, the room succeeds in neither asthetics nor function. The walls are cluttered with knick-knacks and furniture that have no place (in the universe, let alone the house), so they should obviously be prominently featured in the most important room. [End housekeeping critique]
Vanessa's mom gave mine a beautiful, handmade, silver peacock that she brought from Peru as a visitor's gift. It was a very nice gesture. To round it out, Vanessa offered my sisters access to some clothing that she was thinking of donating to Goodwill. The girls were invited to come over and dig through her collection another night.
Sebastian got to spend some time awake (having napped through dinner) and played for a while with his toys and Ness. It wasn't long, though, before everyone sank low into their seats, too fatigued themselves to rally any stirring conversation or activities.
We had a great 3 hours at my parents' house. It was a memorable time and I look forward to more nights like it.
Having discussed the evening's events, I have to say that I feel sorry that there hasn't been more for Vanessa's parents to do while they've been here these last 2 weeks. We don't have the breadth of activities that the big city offers in Salem, and many of the activities that we did in the city were shopping related. Hopefully, they're not too bored and are having a good time. I know that it's been exciting for them to visit with Sebastian and I'm very happy to meet them. However, Jesus leaves on Wednesday and there is just so much more we could have done...
That being said, Jesus had dinner with us last night. Delegates from Vanessa's family met with delegates from my family for Mother's Day. The results were good.
We got the night off to a shaky start, though, when my mom seemed to forget that we were bringing and cooking dinner for the group. She thawed steaks and readied the sides while we were on the other side of town doing the same. I say "we", but I really mean Vanessa. She has a fluency of coordination in the kitchen that renders my assistance, at best, somewhat helpful. Regardless, we got the prime rib, pasta, spinach dip, and mousse loaded up in the car and headed over to my parents' house.
The introductions went well, from what I gather. While unloading the dishes, our parents seemed to approach each other without too much nudging. :)
We succeeded in grilling the steaks and plating the food while our parents talked and my sisters (Annie and Vanessa -- 'Ness) entertained themselves. Dinner was delicious, as expected, and everyone slid into the living room to digest their meal.
Unfortunately, my mom has no sense of comfort, so Vanessa's parents awkwardly eeked out a spot after some prompting and sat down. In what could be a very engaging and entertaining gathering place, the room succeeds in neither asthetics nor function. The walls are cluttered with knick-knacks and furniture that have no place (in the universe, let alone the house), so they should obviously be prominently featured in the most important room. [End housekeeping critique]
Vanessa's mom gave mine a beautiful, handmade, silver peacock that she brought from Peru as a visitor's gift. It was a very nice gesture. To round it out, Vanessa offered my sisters access to some clothing that she was thinking of donating to Goodwill. The girls were invited to come over and dig through her collection another night.
Sebastian got to spend some time awake (having napped through dinner) and played for a while with his toys and Ness. It wasn't long, though, before everyone sank low into their seats, too fatigued themselves to rally any stirring conversation or activities.
We had a great 3 hours at my parents' house. It was a memorable time and I look forward to more nights like it.
Having discussed the evening's events, I have to say that I feel sorry that there hasn't been more for Vanessa's parents to do while they've been here these last 2 weeks. We don't have the breadth of activities that the big city offers in Salem, and many of the activities that we did in the city were shopping related. Hopefully, they're not too bored and are having a good time. I know that it's been exciting for them to visit with Sebastian and I'm very happy to meet them. However, Jesus leaves on Wednesday and there is just so much more we could have done...
Monday, May 7, 2007
Vanessa's Parents Arrive
HIM: Vanessa's parents arrived from Lima on Wednesday. Since then we have been out AND in to dinner (blue cheese and portabella mushroom prime rib last night!), seen Spider Man 3, explored French Lick Casino (where Vanessa broke even with a $5.00 investment...), tasted some wines at the French Lick Winery, and drove through Indiana University's Bloomington campus. After last night's delicious feast, Sebastian and I took his little toy work bench outside and sanded down his walking stick. We got it nice and smooth, then sealed it with some spray stain.
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