There was a celebration about to happen but before we could get there, Cynthia Cherrey came by for a welcoming meeting

And then a few days later, Lynn White came by to sign a retirement agreement after which I met this student touring Princeton who needed his picture taken.

But the real event was to happen on a cold rainy day in May when we parked the car and Jane and Suzanne and I took the train and then caught the 1 train north to the place where we met Ed standing in the rain and after recording Tom's, the restaurant made famous by Seinfeld and Jane's injured toes which would suffer from the cold if not from her injury we headed to the coffee place and sampled their wares even while admiring their cup holders and then we made our way through the rain to seats with a view of the library and a view of the umbrellas and thankfully we had this little towel which kept our seats dry for moments but umbrellas were to be the theme of the day and though we didn't need rest rooms, we were happy to know where they were and even with this view the bleak conditions requiring continuous umbrella cover made us feel that were it not a cause for celebration, we would be following these directions as the umbrellas stood for the entire time as amusing factoids were shared with us and we observed security on the roof tops as people were seated and graduates processed in an ever unfolding scene (but too slow for the weather conditions)

as we continued to watch what seemed to be a slow motion reel on continuous looping -- more graduates and more umbrellas more graduates and us as the graduates marched photos were taken and the march continued as we held umbrellas they processed pictures were taken and the structures held (thankfully there were not heavy winds, so it could have been worse!) and amid processing and us under umbrellas and processing

people were seated including us and after a few more photos, the ceremony was about to begin as the principals appeared

before mace bearer Gayatri Spivak appeared leading Nick Dirks and Lee Bollinger to the stage so that the abbreviated ceremony could begin and the photos could stop.

After the ceremony, we sought the warmth of Sarah and Ed's apartment where Suzanne checked in with Josie and Russ about the gas situation at home (construction being what it is) and Jane showed off her chilled foot and injured toes before the graduate posed in full regalia for all to celebrate

and then Sarah and Ed posed as Sarah posed with Suzanne and without and Suzanne posed while Sarah grabbed her squeeze ball and we recorded it for posterity.

After some warmth, we headed back out past the fruit stand

to the Mexican restaurant where Sarah and Ed Jane Suzanne and I posed and then chips and salsa were served as we put down our menus and watched guacamole being made

with this end result and the first courses joined our main meals with some close ups as the other meals appeared and hot drinks ended the meal as I photographed the mural in the men's room and then the fruits and flowers and this elegant sign as we made our way back to the afternoon ceremony which was mercifully indoors.

Once there, the seating for the graduates was in place and we were comfortable in our seats waiting for their arrival and so I copied the program

as Jess arrived and made her way to our group and then the processing began

to the delight of the cameras around us and the ceremony was ready to begin with speeches followed by the oath of conduct and then the path to the awarding of degrees as Jane stood on the sidelines though Sarah figured prominently

and the final word from Bill Clinton after which the ceremony ended and we celebrated the graduate with flowers and photos with Ed and Jess and then Ed, Sarah and Jane posed and this sisterly picture as we evolved into space where the professional took this questionable photo of all of us and then we took our own group photos

before observing that the capacity was greatly exceeded and so we headed back to the warmth of the apartment and admired the diploma and caught a bit of rest before recording the kitchen ornament and catching the subway with the new signage to our dinner. At Sol Y Sombra, we made olives into pits and then had some butter and the typical Spanish omelet with bread before our various tapas servings came

followed by 2 paellas -- one vegetarian and one fish. After a complimentary glass of wine we went to the subway station to go south and saw Sarah and Ed on the northbound side across the tracks but we were happy to get to the train so that Jane and Suzanne could rest and make funny faces and then be happy as was I that with rain outside, we were warm and on our way home.

The next day, we had flowers arranged as this photographer observed her arrangements and the tables were well set so that Max Hanson could set up his foods

and with the bar outside the bar tender could show the specialty drink (sans the black decorations) as the squash was thinly sliced for another fabulous C3 dinner.