Cameo Shots, Random Thoughts

Some posts are built symmetrically, or at least poetically on a theme.  This one is more reflective of the actual chaos of being us: random, disjointed, frenetic, but all kind of fun.

Early in November, Terisa's sister, Dayna, visited for a week.  We did the Liberty Bell,

and the Ivy League campus,

and the most historic room in the most historic building in the most historic city in the country.  Deny this at your own peril...

Earlier, in October, we tried to take our friends, Dale and Mitzi, to see Isaiah Zagar's "Magic Gardens."  We failed because we didn't know it had been closed for a private party.  We were not invited, and so contented ourselves with looking at the outsides.

But we took Lynne and Kit back at Thanksgiving.  Isaiah actually walked through and greeted us.  The place is a bit overwhelming, so you have to concentrate on little pieces of it.

Or on messages sprawled across a hundred-foot wall:

Also in November, we ambitiously took our young men to New York to the Manhattan temple.  Our Philly young bulls really liked being in the city.  Here we are, just before we got lost crossing Central Park.  I know, it shouldn't be hard, but everything was turned upside down for the NY marathon the next day.

In our various tours of the city with family and friends, we visited Occupy Philly (SOOO last month...).

In December, the YM and YW organizations were in charge of the Christmas party (whose crazy idea was it to get rid of ward activity committees?  Occupy Temple Square Now!)  Turns out Chik-Fil-A does a pretty good job with masses of chicken fingers. 

We ordered a few too many fingers, so we fed leftovers to our YM presidencies a couple of weeks later.

To all that, add in a trip (courtesy of Dale and Mitzi) to Winterthur, estate of another one of the duPonts, (this place is a gazillion acres big and had a dozen gorgeous Christmas trees, but the only picture I took there was this antique writing desk?!?),

a chance encounter with the missionary son of my missionary companion from 30 years ago,

and a Santa Bowl (reinforcing the lesson that an old guy should not pretend he is 21 any more...) and that just about brings us current.

We are going to spend the holidays with family, in our first return trip to Utah.  Hope it isn't too weird.