I have so much to catch up with, but I’ve been pretty much out of commission. Last Saturday we got a call from J: just one week into college, she’d tested positive for Covid. As delightful as Smith College is, it didn’t seem to offer much in the way of accommodations for her: there was … [Read more…]
Whoa, it’s been super-busy the last few weeks. So I’m playing catch-up. Did you catch the last sentence of that recent Rotary post? We’re hosting a Rotary exchange student this fall! G is from Brazil. J had such a fantastic time, and her families were so gracious and kind to her, that we felt like … [Read more…]
One of J’s jobs this summer has been working at Viva Empanadas at Galleria 7 in Latham. She’s really loved it, and the owners have been super-friendly and kind to her. We finally got around to visiting recently, and it is also extremely delicious. Here’s what we got: This is the grilled chicken sandwich with … [Read more…]
We’ve been working like dogs on our latest project: redoing what we call “The Purple Room.” This room is located at the back of the house, so it’s a high traffic entryway as well as my home office. Here’s a “before” picture of me in my home office: Now, why did we call this place … [Read more…]
After getting prepared academically and applying to go abroad with the Rotary, steps that are likely pretty similar for any other students from our area, the last big step for us was obtaining a visa for J to spend the academic year in Italy. This is where experiences vary, because all countries have different procedures. … [Read more…]
With the massive amount of heat we’ve had lately, our family decided that we needed to expand our repertoire of main dish salads. I don’t love testing new recipes, because it’s always more work the first time you make something, and then sometimes it’s an utter flop. But I’m psyched to report that we have … [Read more…]
I’ve mentioned that we didn’t set out, at first, for J to do a Rotary Youth Exchange. She was looking into a variety of programs to spend a school year abroad, and most of them had a fee of about $14K to $18K, not including other expenses, like flights, international insurance, visa expenses, some meals, … [Read more…]
On Saturday, Cute W and I headed to Central Park for the second-ever NipperFest Music and Arts Festival. Mark your calendars for next year, people, because I think this festival is going to just keep getting better and better every year. What’s so fantastic, for us, is that it’s in Schenectady’s Central Park, a convenient … [Read more…]
It’s been almost a year since I shared that J was spending her senior year abroad in Italy, and after the experience, we really can’t say enough about how fantastic the experience was for her. J is fluent in Italian, she was able to travel to multiple countries, she made friends from all over the … [Read more…]
I know, y’all, it’s been a while! I’ve been fairly busy lately. J arrived home, so there was quite a bit of unpacking and sorting and catching up and, of course, cooking tasty food. We spent a week with my extended family at Virginia Beach. I love-love-love an ocean beach vacation! This was our first … [Read more…]
