Lovely weekends

I've been feeling very much a homebody lately.  I've always enjoyed relaxing time at home, but it comes in phases (wholly depends on how much traveling I've done).  For the last year, we've traveled quite a bit; Boston for a wedding, holidays at parent's houses, trip to Cuba, preparations for our wedding in Rapid City (takes the cake for busiest time of year), honeymoon in OR, & Steve's cousin's wedding in Sioux Falls...and various other short trips thrown in there.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE traveling, but it can take a toll.

I've been stubborn about being home on the weekends recently.  Not necessarily everyday, all day - going out for a drink with friends is fairly common on the weekends - but I love getting off work on Friday & knowing I have a weekend filled with sleeping in, running, naps, working in the yard, baking, cooking, eating, drinking...

This weekend was one of those weekends.  :)  Saturday was rainy & cold, but I can't say I got much done.  Sunday was a different story.  Baked two loaves of pumpkin bread, cooked a batch of tomato sauce, prepared ingredients for French bread to begin rising on Monday morning, re-potted several indoor plants, & cleaned the chicken coop to prepare it for winter.  Success!  It helps the weather was fabulous on Sunday...sadly, probably one of our few nice days left for the year.

Honeymoon

My wonderful husband planned our honeymoon as a wedding gift to me.  The trip?  A bike ride through Willamette Valley wine country, staying at adorable B&B's, tasting fabulous wine, & checking out the beautiful scenery.  We started out the trip by meeting up with Dan & Linds for a super fun night out on the town.  The next day, we packed it in & started our trip. A few pictures from the adventure:

Dinner at our first B&B

We were going to out to a restaurant, but our "mom" laid out a large tray of local cheeses, spreads, olives, & homemade bread with a bottle of local wine.  We made it dinner &  it was divine.

Loading up the bikes at Pedro's house

We're ready!

Hops!  There are fields & fields of hops.  Steve was salivating.

Does anyone know what this flower is?  We couldn't get over the blue color.  From far away, it honestly looked like a pond on someone's property.  The flowers didn't smell very nice, but they had the most beautiful color.  And the bees were going crazy.

Close up

At our second-to-last B&B (& my favorite), the husband & wife allowed us to borrow their car to drive into town for dinner.  This is us by the car - we were so incredibly grateful!  We were able to shower & dress up for a nice dinner & drinks in town.  No bikes for the night.  :)

We had a wonderful time & highly recommend Willamette Valley for their wine country.  Wonderful wineries & the people that run them, delicious wine, bounties of delectable restaurants, & the most charming B&B's.  We hope to go back someday!  (Although we'll probably take our car next time & use the bikes for day trips :))

Miami Visit

Before making the trip to Cuba, we stopped in Miami for a few days to see family & do what Cubans do best...eat & drink.  A few snapshots of the weekend...

Stocking up before the family gathering.

Who let the crazy bandits in the back of the van?

I don't lay claim to him.

The Cuban version of crack.  Seriously.

Apparently it takes THISMANY people to carve a pig.  (Probably not, but the pig carvers do get first dibs).  A family affair.

There is no "waiting in line" at a Cuban pig roast.  Especially when you're family.  If you want some, especially the good pieces, you better shove yourself to the table & start digging in.

Inspecting Cuban treat bags put together by my lovely tia.

A dulce de leche treat.  That little thing is half the size of a yogurt container, filled entirely with dulce de leche.  I was on it like flies on...well, you get the point.

Last but not least, my favorite picture...

My grandpa, "Hot."  When I see him, I'll always be 8 years old &a he'll always be my strong grandpa who made me feel like the prettiest & smartest girl in the world.  I do no wrong in his eyes...the love of a grandfather to his only granddaughter.

He may be aging, but damnit, he still loves his pork.  :)

Cuba!

Let's ignore the fact that I've been a horrible blogger recently...

Moving on to more exciting things:  Cuba pictures!  Follow the link to see some of our adventures - be warned, this is only a fraction of pictures taken between 6 people!  To see more photos, check out Dan & Linds' blog or Jorge & Linda's blog.

We had a wonderful trip.  Heartbreaking, fun, adventurous, heartwarming, joyful, exciting...to name a few emotions that cross my mind from the trip.  We met dad's family & I can't believe we might never have known these wonderful people (two of his older cousins from his mom's side & their families).  When we first met them, you would never have known we were in a different country, speaking two different languages, & never met before (or seen each other in 48 years, as is the case with Jorge & his two cousins).  Without a doubt, it was obvious we were family.

I hope we can keep our Cuba connection alive.  Someday, I hope we can make our way back to that lovely little island, especially to visit family.  It's true they're repressed, but they are very strong people & they appear to be very happy people.  They may not have much, but they're clean, friendly, & simply make do with what they have.  I won't go into a political discussion, but I hope, not-so-secretly, they don't become an over-commercialized island with a Walmart, McDonald's, & Holiday Inn on every corner.  Not that it will happen if the embargo is lifted, but right now, it's a beautiful place to visit & take a step back in time to a more low-key, relaxed, day-to-day way of life.  If only we could learn to live so simply.

Drive home

The drive home from Sioux Falls after Christmas were some of the worst roads we'd experienced.  It was slow going & dangerous.  Luckily we made it home safe, but here are a few pictures I snapped along the way.

These hay bales are not small...and they're completely drifted in.

The dogs trying to stay comfortable.

Slow going...

Poor guy drove most of the trip - he wasn't too happy with the terrible conditions.

After the constant snowstorms in Sioux Falls, we hadn't seen the sun in days.  I was ecstatic when the sun began peeking through the clouds!

The roads were terrible, but I had to smile when the sun came out.