Great Weekend Visit

This post is an interruption in the series I have planned on early summer flowers. (Is it really almost August? Summer has gone so fast this year!) This post is to share the past weekend activities with David's brother Will, who was visiting from Washington, D.C.

As you can see from the photo above, there is a strong family resemblance. (Will on the left, for those readers who don't know David)

As with all visits with friends or family, food was involved! Here we are, David, Bob, and me, enjoying the delicious meal prepared with such flair (juggling, fire tricks, an onion volcano!) by the hibachi chef at the grill in the middle of the table.

Will and Bob had both spent time in Japan and had seen hibachi performances before (but not the onion volcano), but it was a new thrill for David and me.

Another meal together, this time brunch at the pancake house with Frank. Will and Frank had both visited Prague, so that was a fun conversation.

David looks a little unsure here, but in fact he always order the farmer's scramble and bran pancakes ...

Maybe this photo makes Frank's face a little longer than normal?

David's son Jonathan is helping Will out, putting David's wheelchair in the back of our van prior to another food outing to a Thai restaurant. Last summer Jonathan arranged for us to have this terrific cable installed. It uses the power of the van's battery to raise and lower the red cable with clip on the end to attach to the folded wheelchair. It's great. When I tried to do it myself, I couldn't lift the chair up to get it in the van, but, thanks to this device, there's a remote and at a press of the button ... magic ... it goes up and in the vehicle. It was a treat, nonetheless, to have these two taking over so I could just relax.

Now that we have this van cable, the beautiful wooden ramp Jonathan and friends built last summer, and the walk-in shower in the fully remodeled downstairs bathroom, we've got lots of help!

A little clowning around makes the job more fun!

At the Thai restaurant, here's Bob and Marta, Jonathan's lovely wife.

Age fourteen this spring, Reka, junior astronomer and flute player, looks so much like her mom! They grow up fast ...

Both girls and their mom. Luca, the pretty blonde in the middle, is eleven now and starting junior high in the fall. She's quite the online artist and has her own website.

It was a good meal and such a delight for the eight of us to all be together. Jonathan was enjoying himself and telling Will about his new research project.

Here's a nice shot of David and Bob.

And Jonathan and me.

Will has been a vegetarian for a number of year, and recently became a vegan,like my sister Christine, but he found a good tofu and veggie dish to enjoy.

No, it's not surgery. It's Jonathan's office in the research park ... with a "clean room" for the sensitive equipment.

They all had to wear hairnets and masks while Jonathan explained the very technical details of the interesting work he is doing now.

Jonathan's head gear gives him a bit of the look of a ninja warrior according to his daughters.

David chose to remain in the regular part of the office and watched the show from there.

There were lots of questions and answers and the excitement of high-tech science all around us!

Of course, all that food and talk wore David out, so he's catching forty winks here.

It was a really fun weekend. We actually did more things together than eat, for example, we talked a lot and Will met with his nephew and a former schoolmate. The two brothers had a joint singalong with David's singing teacher ... the first time they had sung together for more than a decade! And Will enjoyed petting our five cats a lot. I guess that the pictures all got taken over food.

Will is back home safely in DC now, resting up before his big trip this fall for the 50th reunion of his high school class at the boarding school, Woodstock, in northern India where he and David and their other siblings all went to school. He plans to go also to Bhutan, south India, Burma, and Sri Lanka. What a trip! Hope we get to have another visit from him and see some pictures from Asia.