Mizzou? Well, congratulations anyway.And for dinner: beans!

This past weekend, we attended a graduation party outside of St Louis for Emily's cousin Diana. Now, she's going to Mizzou in the fall (they even had black & gold cupcakes), but that can be forgiven; Columbia, MO, is, after all, a pretty cool town. . . .

The proud graduate, Ms Diana Bolser


The proud grandfather, Frank Campbell, and mother, Janet Bolser


The proud father, Dave Bolser


Outside the party, Fran lifted herself right up onto that truck bed as Mimi looked on


Fran & Dave as the party winds down


Todd & Brandy, who met us for a late dinner Saturday night on St Louis' hip (?) Delmar Street


Don't know why Brandy didn't want to be in this photo . . .


Upon our return to town, we did our best to return Jesse's hospitality by preparing dinner for a few friends. What did we serve? Well, of course the salsa verde, and for the main course some Brazilian Black Beans, based on the Joy of Cooking recipe (no sausage for us).

Scott, Nathan, Jesse, and the remnants of our dinner

Fabulous evening. You can, reader, enjoy a bit of the music that accompanied our dinner, as the song now playing is from the Hommage à Piazzolla album, which played through much of the meal.


PS, Dave had a disc with him full of photos of the Hughes' place in Indiana; Emily and I have been adding them to the website--feel free to explore the newly updated Black Oak Farm website.

PPS, I don't want to get anyone too excited, but I thought I'd add a note on my job search: a KU professor I know recommended me to the University of Alabama in Huntsville recently; I called and spoke with the chair of the department for almost an hour, and it seemed to go quite well (& he assured me that Huntsville is actually pretty cool . . .). While we were talking, the Dean at Augustana College left a message, asking that I visit this week for a follow-up interview.

Not a bad day, that. I'll keep you posted, reader.