Yay! I finally got back on.

After several tries, I'm once again able to access the blog. I finally downloaded Firefox and used that instead of my newly upgraded IE 8. Much better.

So, what's new here? Jake and I enjoyed seeing those of you who attended the Suz and Lex event. For those who didn't make it -- it was a really nice evening, and an emotional ceremony in a beautiful setting. We were glad we made the trip. I'll try to post some pix here. It was really great to see Kirk and his family, who I haven't seen in years.

The day before the event, we put Emily on a "plane to Spain," which I understand is the happening place this summer. Jim and Martha just returned from there, yes? And Jan's daughter Brette, who just graduated from UC Berkeley, was also there. Emily is in Bilbao, which is up near the French border near the western coast of Spain. It's a beautiful place, based on the pictures I've seen. I don't know why we can't build more beautiful buildings in this country. Why do we have to have ugly, nondescript boxes for all of our stores and other buildings? She's got pictures on Facebook for those who use that site.

Anyway, Em will be doing a 5-week internship at an NGO there that specializes in immigration. She hopes to improve her Spanish, and since her co-workers don't speak much English, there's a good chance that she's be able to do that.

Loren will be flying over to meet her on July 10th, and they'll spend about three weeks visiting several countries in Europe. It will be his first trip out of the country. He's got one more class to complete before earning his degree in history. He's working as an assistant manager at an Italian restaurant here, and really enjoys it. So he plans to keep working there for now, and feels grateful to have a job in this economy.

Congrats! to Brandon and Courtney. Sorry we can't make the party.

Jim - Re: the Beatles vs Stones -- that's like apples and oranges to me. I like them both for different reasons. I must say, though, being a lover of soft rock, I don't like everything the Stones did. Occasionally The Beatles even get a little too hard rock for me. :( My latest find -- I'm a little slow -- is Jason Mraz. I really enjoy his music. And for those of you who have never heard Todd Snider, check out his YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J-ldJ9Iy9g

So what's everyone else up to?