Settling in, sort of

I know I said I was home, but that hasn't been completely true for the last few days.

My aunt got married over the weekend, so D and I flew down to San Jose for the festivities on Saturday. All four of Troubadour Mom's other siblings (two other sisters and two brothers) were there with spouses, which made for quite a family gathering -- haven't had such a reunion since Troubadour Grandma's 90th birthday back in 2006. As always, there was lots of catching up and not much sleep. Though the shut-eye I did manage to get was blissful, especially on the feather mattress that came with the giant log-frame bed at our hotel (see above).


The wedding itself was in Monterey, about a two-hour drive south of San Jose, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The bride and groom gave their vows under the sparkling bellies of anchovies swimming in an overhead tank. The effect was like having a disco ball throwing shimmery light everywhere (the photo doesn't capture it, but you can see the fish zooming around above the quote on the wall).

After the ceremony, guests were free to wander throughout the aquarium during dinner. Each room had at least one huge tank taking up an entire wall, which made for a gorgeous backdrop. D and I checked out the marvelous seahorse and jellyfish exhibits. Unfortunately, those really didn't photograph well close up in the dim lighting (we didn't bring the big camera with us that can handle those conditions), but here's a shot with some jellies behind the dessert table. They look like they want a share of the panna cotta, no?

We stayed an extra day to go wine tasting with the family here and here, among other places, and picked up a few bottles to put away for a special occasion. Now that we are almost completely moved into our new home, we can start thinking about a housewarming party! That may not happen until it's practically September, though. Next week, I'm heading to Boston for my sister's college graduation and some thesis research, then D's parents are visiting for two weeks at the end of June. After that, I'm going to Newfoundland for my cousin's wedding the second week of July, and D's brother may be visiting when I return. Finally, D has a conference in New Orleans at the beginning of August, and then my parents will be in town.

So yes, the summer is going to be busy and I have no idea where unpacking my boxes from Little U. will fit once those arrive in two weeks. First things first, though: getting some kind of start on my reading list. I've got a stack of items from the library to make my way through (convenient since I have a few cross-country flights coming up). I'll post some thoughts on each book as I finish it and add the titles to a list in the sidebar. Stay tuned for that as well as some revisions to this blog now that we're no longer a commuter couple -- but nothing drastic, don't worry.