microbie

San Antonio, and I gather most of Texas, is having a record year for rain. The skies were overcast every day I was there; rain fell at least part of each day. Fortunately I brought the weather back to DC with me. We really need rain. I'm so grateful that I won't even complain about my seven-day stretch without sunshine.

I was also treated to a flood of loved ones and memories. Big events brought together some of my favorite people on Earth, and I felt lucky to be with them.


The main reason I went was for my friend Kim's wedding. I'd never met him before; they had only met in November, he proposed in February, and now they are married. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the story.

This was the first wedding I've attended in a very long while that was held in a church. It was a regular Christian service, with communion and everything.


In addition to a fast courtship, the wedding was unusual in that the groom's daughter was included in the vows and oaths. His first wife died several years ago of cancer. The bride and groom vowed to be good parents to the daughter, and then she vowed to accept her new family. I thought it was very sweet. The daughter was the flower girl for the ceremony:


And my obligatory cake photo (I'm pretty sure the flowers on the cake are real; they match the bride's bouquet):


The second occasion was my friend Andrea's son's first birthday. I belatedly noticed that I don't have many photos of him facing the camera; here's one of the few (taken while his grandma was trying to feed him):


My parents and I got him a couple of outfits and the train he's staring at in this photo:


Richard (another old high school friend who now lives in Ft. Worth) and I concocted some plans for corrupting the youth. My plans involve a copy of Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology and a They Might Be Giants CD. *cackle*