Going South for the Summer

Every summer we head to the hills of Virginia for some time in the car and some long-anticipated time with family.  I've been saying we are going to the middle-of-nowhere Virginia, but that doesn't really roll off the tongue very well.  So, I'm changing my tag-line.  From now on it will be referred to as "our pilgrimage to a cabin on a lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains".  There, that's better!  At least you might want to come with me now.  And I wish you could, because I love this part of the country.

I don't have much on my to-do list.  If we can, I'd like to eat at this restaurant, or this hole in the wall Mexican restaurant that has a salsa bar with homemade chips and which served the best margarita I ever had a sip of.  With Verity safely outside of the womb, I will be ordering my very own this year.  :)

flour, me too

I find her cookbooks very intimidating, but her food is delicious and Joanne Chang looks so darn nice that I can't stay away.  My failed attempt at her Birthday Cake will always haunt me, but today's Vegan Vanilla-Mixed Berry Muffins were meant to be mine.  I substituted chopped cherries for raspberries and they still turned out well.

I loved her chapter, In Our Pantry.  She keeps no secrets.  

Picture This

We snuck out to Walden Pond this morning before the rains came.  The sky was grey, a light grey, the air was warm and the water was still.  This place embodies tranquility.  I will do my best to take a picture next time, because I do wish I had a picture to show you.  I'm still trying to become the someone who snaps a photo of the moment she is enjoying.

In hindsight, it was best that I didn't have my camera so that I could spring into action for our Drama In Real Life.  I was the soaking wet adult in street clothes and Naomi was the soaking wet 2 year old who had gone in too deep.  With a grin on her face and a bucket in her hands, she was wading through the water to fill her pail and then returning to splash its contents onto the sandy shore.  Each time going in a tiny bit farther.  On this trip the weight of the water was too much for her to lift back up.  That is when you see me  gracefully running into the pond and grabbing her by the scruff of the neck.   She was fine -only mildly traumatized.  I tried to look calm, but inwardly I was completely shocked that I responded in real time.  There was another mom nearby who looked like she was training for an Ironman, and I know she would have bravely assisted if called upon.  All's well that ends well, so the saying goes.

Next time we will return with life-saving inner-tube and a camera.

Preoccupation

I'm developing a preoccupation with the weather.  Or rather with the rain this week has held.  On the upside, I don't have to water my garden.  On the flip side, we are short on merry sunshine.  And then this morning the rain stopped and part of me was dissapointed.  Fickle is the word that comes to mind.  Our wet and lovely walk ended up being a sunny and cranky walk, but that's okay.

Here you can see Peter Rabbit's home.

One of the many ancient Birch trees at Mt. Auburn Cemetery.

 Green.

And more green.

What have you all been preoccupied with this week?  I had a couple of run-ins with greatness; one with a former beloved professor and the other with an old friend and favorite study partner from college.  This has got me thinking about their accomplishments, and our own significance and purpose in this life.

Hope you guys have a great weekend.  :)

Birds and Borgen

At the end of our day we often stroll and scooter up to Mt. Auburn Cemetery to meet up with Eric on his bike ride home.  Yesterday we found this chalkboard in an enclave there and it caught my breath.  One early morning this summer I want to find one of the persons behind these scrawls and scripts and follow him wherever he may go.

I hope you have a happy weekend.  Tonight we are going to watch the latest Borgen episode.  It has been our cheap ticket to Europe and we are hooked!

  

Cold Feet

To give credit where credit is due -the iced cafe mocha in hand was a large contributor to the delightfulness of our morning.  It didn't start off that way.  Inside, Verity was ready to be moving or sleeping, and Naomi was stepping on puzzle pieces instead of picking them up, and then stepping on puzzle pieces as I picked them up.  But we walked outside and hit the reset button.  The sky was clear and blue as can be.  I need to go back to being the person who does not check the weather.  Yesterday evening it called for cool temperatures and cloudy skies and I woke up this morning ready to be bummed about it.  Tomorrow I'm going to throw caution to the wind and see what the day will bring by looking out the window.

In the meantime I'll be dwelling.  I just got back from Naomi's preschool's Welcome Night.  I guess they wanted to welcome us early style.  It starts in the Fall.  The ice-breaker:  "When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up?"  Ugh.  And then, "If you could have any job today, what would it be?"  Ugh again.  This is when I take a bathroom break.  One person's answer:  "When I was a child I wanted to be a photographer.  Now I am a photographer.  If I had my dream job, I would be a photographer."  Ugh.  There is nothing wrong with that, absolutely not.  It was just that, on top of seeing Naomi's name on a roster, sitting in those little chairs, and completely panicking.  How do I withdraw her immediately?  That security deposit can be a gift!  It was one of those moments when I am living my life and simultaneously being an outside observer of my own life.  We shall see.

Yard Sale Saturday

I played the role of scavenger this morning.  It was fun, mostly.  There were a few down beats - the vintage boa I didn't get.  The price was unmarked and I offered her five for it.  The woman next to me: "Oh, I"ll pay 20 dollars for that!"  Thanks a lot, lady.  It was for a dress up box.  I did get:  a kitchen scale, a sled, an April Cornell tablecloth and a stuffed animal that looked like it needed a home and a name.  Tiger he's now called.

But my favorite find was this mug filled with a collection of RedRose Tea figurines.  They are somewhere  between a choking hazard and a family of playmates for a toddler.    

I hope you all are having a relaxing weekend..