August in Providence

Van Halsema sisters Betsey, Bernice and Marian

July of 2008 is now a historical fact; although for us in Providence and for many others as well, the month was hot, steamy, sticky and muggy. I know, an odd selection of words used to condition a particularly unpleasant condition of relatively high humidity. Still, it works for us believe me. 

This past week and indeed much of the month has come to a curiously pleasant conclusion. The hot and humid weather aside, work has gone well for both of us and Susie is winding down while gearing up, prepping things for the week we will be gone to Colorado. (More of that later.) Lots of long days for the baking ninja but she's generally in her element: flour and butter, cream and dough stuff in general.

As for me, the Johnson & Wales website continues to take shape right before my eyes; it's pretty exciting been a part, even a small part, in the evolution of a web presence as broad and deep as JWU's will be. The effect of the new site is of course unknown, but from what little I've seen so far it's going to be enormous and substantial.

So as one month ended and another began, we were witnesses to at a coupe of twists to the coming of August.

Earlier in the week Susan's Aunt Betsey and Uncle Jack D. from Michigan called us to say they were going to be in our neighborhood and wondered if we could get together for dinner. We said of course!

To see any of Susie's aunts or uncles is always a special treat. And Jack and Betsey literally define the concept of a "cute couple." And they do it so naturally, without even trying. Aunt Betsey is one of the kindest people I have ever known -- and is rivaled only by her sisters and in particular the one whose daughter I married almost 25 years ago (which we will be spending in Colorado -- see I told you I'd get back to that).

And Uncle Jack -- that's him up there -- well, he has spent much of his adult years shuttling back and forth between the furniture business and making his own travel videos. You can't go wrong with a movie from Jack D., they are fascinating and remind me of the old travelogues one would see at the library years ago. And he tells the best stories. . . .

So we planned to meet in Providence -- and Aunt Betsey contacted her brother Frank in Boston so he and his wife Cathy were also going to join us.

What a pair those two are -- Frank will sit listening intently to each and every conversation and then pop in with an appropriate observation, or more often than not a joke, which is usually followed by his breaking out in the one of the most incredible laughs and grins, from eye-to-ear as they say. And Cathy -- she is one of the wittiest and funniest people I have ever had the good fortune to come across.

And rounding out the evening was a real treat, particularly for Susie: her cousin Jack Jr. and his wife Wilma were also joining us. Susie gets to see her cousins so infrequently -- so many of them are scattered in every direction, and they all seem to have such fond memories of each other growing up. And Jack is another one famous for the wall-to-wall smiles (you can see it for yourself down below). His wife W. is so full of life and her eyes become intently animated when she talks, which is usually with her hands, almost as if she were signing. Incredible.

We met the group at Broadway Bistro for an early dinner -- everyone had some driving to do that evening, except for us of course. What a grand time it was too. Great food and lively conversation -- as always with those guys. The time flew by -- and we were sad to see them drive off, particularly when we noticed they were going in the wrong direction to get on I-95 south. . . .

And this was just the beginning of a pretty grand weekend. Stay tuned!