Leyla really came in for a close up when she snapped this photo of her handsome grandfather Mike, and his Cohiba.

Stop! But of course Leyla couldn't resist this photo of beautiful Carol.

Now, this is interesting subject matter for an aspiring photographer: Steve,lighting up our water pipe. Which, by the way, is filled with perfectly legal apple tabacco.

...and she captured this very candid shot of Nick and Anis. Believe me, they don't get along this well on the golf course.

Anis's wife Josephine looks on, bemused.

This was leyla's most artistic shot of the evening.

Well, we all had a terrific time and I think Sulai had a great birthday. I'm sure he's proud of Leyla's newly discovered photography skills too.

Saturday, August 13 - A beach wedding in New Hampshire

...and it was such a perfect wedding. Sarah Ash (my cousin, once removed) married Marty Griffin, in a beautiful seaside ceremony.

The setting was idealic, the ambience was romantic but casual. It was the perfect summer wedding.

Here's Sarah with her Mom, Jill and her Dad, Don.

The ceremony was so nice, celebrated by Don with heartfelt words for daugher Sarah and new son-in-law Marty.

This is Cameron, Sarah and Marty's georgeous little daughter, looking so sweet in her bonnet. She was a doll throughout the ceremony. No fussing or crying...even though she's just a few months old!

Cute as it was, Cameron was probably happy to take off the bonnet. Here she is with Grandmom Jill.

Before leaving the beach Dad gathered his daughters for a photo with this very cool sculpture of a painter with his pallet.

The reception took place at Don and Jill's house, a bit inland. The gardens exuberantly blooming and the pool soon splashing with guests.

Sarah was perfectly radiant. She truely sparkeled in her beautiful gown, carrying a simple cala lily bouquet.

The beautiful bouquet was eventually tossed, and after the usual scramble, caught.

This is the lovely multi-tiered wedding cake, garnished with lilies and seeming to glow in the afternoon sunshine. And unlike most wedding cakes, it was ultra-delicious too.

Here's Don, with a few words for the gathered family and friends. He always speaks so elegantly.

...and here he is on the dance floor. So much for elegant. {{LOL}}

Before heading back down to Boston we posed for a family portrait. It was a terrific summer weekend. Such fun was had by all.

July 21 - August 6 - Holiday in Greece

Our vacation was kataplictiko! (That means wonderful in Greek)

...kayaking and sailing in the islands, relaxing and exploring and, of course, eating! in Athens....I took hundreds of photos, some of which I'll be posting soon on my Greece site: Greece...my way. In the meantime have a look at my little Flickr preview.

July 9, & 10, - For us the second weekend of July means a trip up to Foxwoods.

Later on we'll go to see the fireworks in New London Harbor. Here we've just arrived at our suite, and guess what? We're ready to eat.

The butlers always make everything perfect...and they're all ultra-nice!

Of course there were oysters, and for me that's all that matters.

...and this is what we drank. Quite the perfect pairing.

That evening we went on the Foxwoods fireworks cruise. We do this every year as Foxwoods sponsers a huge fireworks display as part of New London's Sailfest. As we arrived at the harbor...there was a rainbow overhead.

Our evening on the boat began with a huge buffet. Here June and Jordy are already working on desserts...

...and this is what was on their plate. Looks like someone's in need of a sugar fix.

On deck the lights came up in preparation for the show.

New London harbor was filled with pleasure craft. Everyone was waiting for the fireworks to begin.

I just love the way this lighthouse photo came out.

The fireworks are launched from barges. Here you see them getting ready as the sun sets.

Soon the band begins to play...Col and Jordy check them out.

Their music was mainly jazz and oldies. Perfect tunes for this particular audience.

Finally, the darkness was complete and the fireworks began. This is, like, the biggest display in New England.

I love them when they're red, white & blue. It is so much fun to take pictures of fireworks! Who knew?

Here you can see how they're launched from the barges. Loud and exciting.

I love the spidery ones with lots of blobs of different colors.

And this was the grand finale...very stirring.

OK, the fireworks are over, it's time to really get down!

Cat, Pat & Jordy, fuled by Sea Breezes ...and White Russians.

Col, June, Cat & Jordy. My posse, yeah!

June and Col take a short break. It was such a festive night...

...and the dancing went on till we got back to shore. One of the band guys let Jordy have his tambourine. That made her happy.

Later when we got back to Foxwoods we went down to the nightclub. "Two Pina Coladas and a Margarita, please".

Pat & Cat. We always get our VIP table behind a velvet rope...That's cause we're totally VIPs.

We found the music too loud...guess we're getting old. No, but it really was loud.

Sunday morning was beautiful. Here's Nick on the sundeck after his two hour massage. As always this mid-July fireworks weekend was great.

4th of July Weekend, 2005 - Wonderful weather, lot's of fun

On Saturday the 2nd we visited our friends Sulay and Jill at their new country house. Here Nick and Sulay enjoy a cigar by the pool.