April Showers Bring May Flowers

In spite of warnings about the hottest winter ever, cool temperatures remained the norm most of spring.  

We had a few days approaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit sprinkled in, but more often we were below 60.

That is actually excellent hiking weather.  We enjoyed many forays into nearby forests, including favorite places like Haverford Nature Preserve and Ridley Creek State Park (Julie's short video linked here), which themselves offer multiple trails from which to choose.

We walk daily, including neighborhood walks and the Nature Trail at Haverford College by Emma's skating rink, where we often walk with Gina and Laszlo.

Emma, Laszlo, Gina and I play tennis together occasionally, too.

Fridays usually meant more time with Gina and Laszlo at happy hour on our backyard deck, though occasionally we went to a venue like PJ Whelihan's, or shifting the day to Saturday.

I mentioned rain in the subject, so I will include that some days it rained at happy hour time, forcing us inside, although the showers spread around through the day so that we managed to find a lot of time to enjoy the great outdoors.

With rain followed by sunshine, flowers have bloomed throughout the spring.  Pennsylvania is a lush world from spring through the changing of the leaves in fall.  Having lived most of our lives in arid Southern California, it's a treat to live where lawns are green despite not having sprinklers.

On many an afternoon, I have stood on the back deck appreciating the foliage while playing my guitar, accompanied by singing birds and watching bunnies hop by.

During April and May, we celebrated many special occasions.

Gina, Laszlo and Emma provided their Giant ham as centerpiece for a delicious Easter dinner cooked by Julie.

On Easter morning, Laszlo and Emma had returned from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they went so Emma could visit a friend who had attended school with her the prior year.  They had a good time and returned with positive impressions of Riyadh.

Saving some of that huge ham for later meant we had ham as entrees for two other family dinners.  Julie also served roasts and other dishes as centerpieces for almost weekly dinners.

On the weekend of Gina's birthday, Amy and Lukas came to Philly to celebrate Gina's and Amy's birthdays.

They stayed at Gina's house this time, so we mostly gathered there.

But we had happy hour on Saturday on our deck in Ardmore.

Gina and Laszlo served Indian food for dinner.  For dessert, we had strawberry shortcake, with a candle to celebrate Gina's birthday.

When Gina was a little girl, my mom made strawberry shortcake one evening.  Gina did not want to try it.  I knew she would love it, so I told Gina I would give he a quarter if she took one bight.  As expected, she found it delicious.  I asked if she wanted more, which she did.  I told her it would cost her a quarter to get the rest of her serving.  A real deal.

We celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday.  Gina bought craft projects for Julie, Amy and herself.  I helped Julie keep up.  Key birthdays and anniversaries are written on tags which tangle as a sort of calendar.  I now look at Julie's each morning at one point in my stretching routine, so I shouldn't miss any birthdays.

On Sunday afternoon, we sang happy birthday to Amy, whose actual birthday was about a week away.  More strawberries and whipped cream, with most of us putting personal-sized sponge cakes underneath.

Between work, going upstate to visit Lukas's hometown and enjoying Jersey City/NYC life, Amy and Lukas don't make their way to Philly as much as we'd like, so we combine celebrations.  Amy still skates for the Gotham Girls B Team, where she was recently selected as team captain.  Amy also manages their All-Star team.  At a derby tournament in Boston last weekend, she won MVP honors

Amy and Lukas would soon be off to Chania, on Greece's isle of Crete, with Lukas's parents and sister.  They loved the trip.

Amy in Greece

While they were on Crete, Emma's ice-skating club put on a fun figure skating show in Ardmore called "Yo, Philly."  For their number, Emma and four others skated to John Fogerty's Centerfield, wearing Phillies costumes.

Gina, as a new Skating Board member, volunteered at the concession stand rinkside, while Laszlo, Julie and I sprung for the VIP suite upstairs, with a catered buffet dinner including wine.

A month later, Emma attended a figure skating contest held at the University of Delaware.

Coach Russ, Emma and Proud Grampa

I rode over with Emma and her dad in Laszlo's car, while Gina and Julie took Amtrak plus Uber to join us.  Emma skates for the beauty and joy of the sport, but we were all very proud that she won first in her division during this, her second competition.  All her devoted practice pays off.

On their ride home from Delaware, Julie and Gina took advantage of a break changing trains in Philadelphia to take the elevator to the 60th floor of the Four Seasons to enjoy the view.

Gina treated Julie with tickets to see the 4-time Tony winning musical Some Like It Hot, a stage version of the silvers screen comedy that had starred Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon.  They said it was fantastic.  Funny, of course, but also terrific singing and dancing.  Gina generously shares her season tickets with various guests.

I recently heard of a new term popping up in culture: "land-snorkeling."

It refers to appreciating nature and other beauty all around us just walking around, like the wonder we find when snorkeling around coral reefs in the ocean.  I'd say we do this on a regular basis.  We started long before this emerging fad.

A recent land-snorkel took us back to Maybrook Mansion, adjacent to the Wynnewood Train station.

Linked here is a short video of geese at Maybrook Mansion hat Julie captured.

I wonder how many people ride the SEPTA train past that stop never knowing it is there?

While Julie and I didn't go either time, I should at least mention that Amy and Lukas took a trip to California to visit Jay, Sasha and Owen, paired with attending a concert.  About a week later, Gina visited Santa Monica kin in conjunction with a work trip.  And don't pity Julie and me, because we visited Santa Monica in March.

We all enjoyed our very cool spring.

If it rained all day, we walked indoor malls like King of Prussia.

Where I probably spend too much time.

More Spring Photos from Emma

Emma and Coach Russ