The Queen

Queen Elizabeth died yesterday. What a sad, sad day. Having followed the British royal family since I was a little girl, I am personally saddened by the news. But also, what an incredible woman. To be known for 70 years of faithful service is quite astonishing. To be so tireless and stalwart and constant is an amazing feat. We could (and should) all learn from her example.

family reunion

We just spent four nights in Lumby at my brother's house with the whole family. There were 24 of us ranging in age from 1 to 69 and it was really wonderful. I was very anxious about how it would work out with so many people and so many mouths to feed. How does one cook so many meals for 24 people and how much food do you even need? And where would everyone sleep?

Anyway, it was pretty near perfect how everything worked out. My brother Miika is used to cooking and preparing for large numbers of people, so the food ended up being no problem. He bought everything and we just took turns preparing it. We ended up renting an rv for our family, which gave us our own space and some escape from all the togetherness. But ironically, I didn't even need an escape. My brother has lots of outdoor space at his house, with three different seating areas. He has a pool and a sauna. He has a huge garage/man cave/games room where the teen boys spent the majority of their time. There was space for everyone and we had such a good time. We laughed, we played cards, we ate, we drank, we had sauna and swim, we read...we did all those things one does on vacation and it was so lovely. What a great way to close out the summer of 2022!