Last weekend was my family reunion. It's always good to see everyone, and this year we had quite a few of the cousins (my generation) attending so we managed to corral all of us and get some pictures.



There are (I think) 23 of us, so having 15 all in one place is pretty good.

Actually, one of the folks in the pic is a cousin from Germany, who was visiting with his daughter. So make that 14. Still a pretty good showing.

It was nice to meet Hannes, our German cousin. His mother and mine are first cousins. I'm not sure what that makes us; second cousins? I can never keep that straight.

Back at work on Monday, we had two days of sales meetings. Fortunately, my team didn't have to attend all the modules. It's hard for me to sit through long meetings. I need to get up and stretch, and walk around once in a while! We were supposed to all go to Dairy Queen again, but it was rather gloomy outside so they brought in ice cream & toppings, and we did make-your-own sundaes. That was fun. It was my birthday that day (Tuesday), and one of my coworkers spilled the beans so they all sang to me. That was fun, if slightly embarrassing.

After work, I met a friend at her now former house so she could give me an extra TV they had, since mine had bit the dust a while ago (all I've had to watch since then is a 13" old-fashioned tube set). Well, the darned thing is HUGE, and it was an effort for both of us to get it into the car. There it stayed until today, when my landlord dropped by (for another reason) and nicely helped me carry it upstairs, and waited while I cleared off the bookcase where we put it. Whew. I had to do some rearranging, but I think I've found a good arrangement.

I had to go to Target to pick up an HDMI cable, and after I attached all the cords I turned it on. Great picture, but no sound! That was frustrating. I called the electronics department at Target, but the guy there was little help. So I looked at the back of the cable box, and noticed there was an audio out jack (actually, a pair of them) which matched jacks on the TV. Aha! I think. So I went back to Target (it's only 5 minutes away) and bought an audio cable. It took a couple of tries in different jacks on the back of the TV (there are so many of them!), but now I have sound! And HD picture! And the thing really is huge, I think it's 40". So now I have a bigass television, and I'm watching the opening ceremonies from Rio on demand. Nice. I don't have a remote or a manual, but hey, it was free. I really can't complain.

An aside: why do the Olympic opening ceremonies have to be so weird? Who started that trend?

Last night, I got together with friends for a nice cookout-and-cocktails evening, complete with cupcakes for my birthday.



My friends are awesome. But they made me take home the leftover cupcakes. I had one for breakfast, because I could.

Oh, and the other night we had a smoke alarm malfunction in the house. Fun times.

So it's been quite the week. I hope I have the spoons for tomorrow's Lammas Faire, which is here in Hudson now.

I got back near midnight last night from the Big Apple. We had a fabulous time, logged many miles, saw wonderful things and people, and had perfect weather. And of course took lots of pictures.

( lots of pictures )

We had drinks and dinner with my cousin Deanna Friday night, which was fabulous. We started out in the lounge atop our hotel, which is on the 48th floor and revolves so you can see the entire NY skyline. Also, it was sunset, so it was especially spectacular. We then went out for food, and I had my first fried pickles. If you're thinking, "Ew," I say, don't knock 'em until you've tried 'em.

Yesterday afternoon, after we'd retrieved our bags from the hotel, we met my cousin David a few blocks from Penn Station and had supper with him in a place called Mustang Sally's. I had my first Cuban sandwich, which also features pickles (but not of the fried variety). It was fun catching up with him, and sharing stories about our parents (his mom was my dad's sister). I really have neat cousins, and as I told S, there are 48 more of them. Yes, really. First cousins. And only half of them are Catholic. ;)

So I got to see cousins from both sides of the family, shared great times and created great memories with a good friend, and got reacquainted with a great city. I can't believe it's been so long since I've been there, and it's only three hours away. Yes, I am ashamed. I can't wait to go back.

ETA: I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this whole trip was S's idea, and she took up the tab for everything else. I'm truly grateful to have such a wonderful friend, and I'm sorry I haven't mentioned enough how much she's done for me. I am so blessed in my friends. :)

A very happy birthday today to my fabulous cousin, grrlfriday! I hope your rooftop party is the toast of New York. :)

Speaking of cousins, another one from my dad's side found me on Facebook. We used to write each other as kids, and we lived across the street from her parents when I was in college. I was even in her wedding. I haven't seen her in maybe 10 years. Facebook is turning into a virtual family reunion!