We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. - I Thessalonians 1:2


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Sunday, July 5, 2009

We Love Cincinnati

That's the title of the sermon series that just started at our church today. For the next six weeks we'll be talking about having God's heart for our city and loving where we live...loving it so much that we want to change it...for the better.

I think one of the best things about where we live, in the city, is that we can be anywhere we want to be in about 10 minutes...the ballpark, the stadium, the mall, the zoo, the museums, the playhouse, downtown, the various parks and pools and coffee shops and restaurants, and well, you get the picture. It's one of the biggest factors keeping us from heading out to the 'burbs (not that there's anything wrong with the 'burbs...I do envy your big backyards and closet space).

I guess it's only appropriate to celebrate a couple of the things we love about Cincinnati in this post.

Saturday morning we went bright and early to Findlay Market (the local farmers usually run out of stuff by mid-late morning) and cleaned up.
Farm fresh eggs, green peppers, green beans, potatoes, apples, and berries. Plus some great meat from the butcher. I've been reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle lately and was feeling a bit inspired by the book (more on that in a later post, but essentially in part of the book she makes a very strong argument for buying food as locally as you can get if you don't grow it yourself). The term recently used in an editor's note of "Dwell" magazine (quickly becoming a favorite) was "locavore."

Anyway, Cate helped Daddy get the green beans ready for our 4th of July cookout.Even though it was rainy, we enjoyed the company of a few close friends and a very late night catching up. It was perfect!

Today, which also happens to be Cate's 17 month birthday, we headed to Sawyer Point Park downtown (by the river) after dinner...another place we love.
Cate was fascinated by every little thing, which I guess means her nickname, "Curious Cate," is appropriate. I am, on the other hand, fascinated by the antique effect on iPhoto, which I used in the above picture. I haven't been to the actual playground at Sawyer Point since I was a kid, and they've totally redone it. Who knew that under this bridge...
lies this park?
Where I think Daddy had almost as much fun as Cate playing around on the rock climbing wall. Cate played so hard, she got to try out her new, kid-size, Nalgene bottle. Yes, we're already indoctrinating her with the importance of using a reusable water bottle (and staying hydrated).After the park, we walked up the nearby Purple People Bridge that connects Cincinnati to Newport, KY, just across the river.
Cate got a lift from Daddy. It's a long walk for a peanut.
She enjoyed the view from the bridge though.
I love the views from the bridge too. I got the chance to play around with my zoom lens while Cate and Eric watched boats and barges. I think this shot below, of Mt. Adams, another favorite place we love in Cincinnati, is my favorite of the evening. Findlay Market, Sawyer Point, the Purple People Bridge, the views, just a fraction of the things we love about our city. Makes for a great night huh?
I'll take that smile as a yes.

~Melody :-)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Cool...I have never been to Cincinnati, but many times reading your blog I have been impressed by how many cool things there are to do!