. . . and vice versa, of course. Mid-August, people traveled from far and near to celebrate the wedding of niece Ellie and her now-husband, Vivek, whose extended family came all the way from India. It was held at this magnificent historic New Hampshire hotel, Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa.

It’s a long way to travel for a weekend, so I started the week at Lake Sunapee, where the sun allowed only one day of paddle-boarding, but it was beautiful all the same.

Friday morning, the 18th, the Sunapee contingent, including Helen . . .

. . . headed north into the White Mountains.

The weekend was packed with charming people and gorgeous color.

There was beauty all around to appreciate. But a few highlights had nothing to do with décor or nature, like the Sunapee cousins’ dance–choreographed by a friend of the bridal couple–for the Friday night Sangeet.  Considering this was well into the evening and a few cocktails may have been consumed before we took the stage, we weren’t bad. Cute kids always help.

A few non-dancing family members took videos. This one is short and accessible enough to load here. Plus, you get a glimpse of the bridal couple. I left the carpet shot at the end so you can hear all the wild cheering. Just saying. We PRACTICED. 

https://videopress.com/v/bt1fx3M2?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

If you found me (in the middle), you may have . . . suggestions for improvement. 😉 Yes, I know I need to work on my “Sprinkler” and my clap counting, but still. It was SO MUCH FUN. 

Now I’m back from the east (coast, that is), and this past Sunday, north met south–or mostly reconnected–for a neighborhood happy hour, and it was also delightful. We all live on one smallish, T-shaped street, which makes it manageable to sort of know everyone. I love that. 

I was sorry to miss Beckett’s birthday while I was gone, but it looks like he had a pretty good weekend without me!

So this month, I’m wishing for you times of connection with new friends and old. Cheers!

And as always, grace and peace.