Waiting for Raspberries

I think my favorite picture is the last one.  One, because I finally own a box of zip locks.  Two, we didn't eat all the raspberries on the way home even though we hit traffic.  And three, we now have raspberries to enjoy during the holiday season.  I know, how sweet, but honestly this has been on my life's list for several years now; ever since I found a letter from my mom telling me about the raspberries she once picked, ate and froze.  I remember the sauce she made with it at Christmastime.  

A friend tipped us off to Old Frog Pond Farm and I'm so glad she did!

Friday Love

Somehow I find you on Friday again.  September is just plain showing off now.  We've had such beautiful weather.  Enough to spare.  The sky is that crisp, vibrant blue and the breezes, oh the wonderful breezes that blow.  All the while I'm doing my winter inventory list.  What do I have and what do I need.  Last year I wasn't prepared, running out to T.J.Maxx after bedtime to find clearance rack gloves and hats for cold, numb fingers that like to eat snow.  But enough about cold.  It is Friday, thank goodness.  Lentil soup is on the stove and there is half of an apple pie to be eaten afterward.  (I have a bit of a love affair going on with Whole Foods Pies.)

Make ahead feasts?  Yes.  Have a great weekend.  :)

Friday Passing By

It's Friday again.  The days do roll right on by.  Verity is ferocious right now.  Crazy curious and on the move.  Her favorite toys are surge protectors, brooms and brushes, books that tear and bottles that break.  Yesterday I duct taped our low-positioned liquor cabinet shut and she was devastated.  She is so innocently frustrating.  This morning I really wanted to do something just for her.  Take her someplace where she could roam free and wild.  Where she could crawl wherever she pleased and put whatever she wanted in her mouth.  I had in mind a very large field of dry green grass.  Here perhaps.  And then it rained and home we stayed.  No stroller.  No car seat.  No ergo.  Switch out some toys.  Lock the bathroom door and let them be.

Also, thanks for bearing with me as I figure out what this place should be called and what it should look like. 

I Heart Chuckie Harris

This morning our destination was Chuckie Harris Park in east of east Somerville.  My friend put it right when she said it sounded like a B-list movie.  It's wedged between a few abandoned buildings and a spare vacant lot.  In the best kind of way.  The access street was closed for construction (of course) so the traffic cop told me to go ahead and go down the one way street the wrong way to get there.  If I needed any more convincing that Somerville is the new Brooklyn, this park sealed the deal.  It was pretty much awesome.  Innovative and open and simple.  

So next time you are near the Mystic River...

Have a great weekend.  :)

Cheap Leeks

These leeks were my prize today.  Verity and I crossed a few, slow city miles to get them for $2.50 a bundle.  Yesterday at the Whole Foods register I timidly asked the cashier to put back the five leeks that were about to cost me ten dollars.  I have fritters on my mind.  

I also have in my possession more bread buns than I know what to do with.  I made them this morning after we took Naomi to preschool.  We were all very brave and attentive.  Next time we will arrive five minutes late because it was the transition room filled with well-intentioned parents that was the most overwhelming by far.  "What do you do when you miss mommy?"  I heard one mother ask her son.  "Show me your mommy hug."  There is no one right way to do things.  This is good news for us all trying to do our best.

Summer then Fall

Life with a planner continues.  My first forgotten appointment has come and gone.  Otherwise we are off to a good start.  Naomi starts preschool on Tuesday.  It has a play-based structure so I'll be grading her block towers on height and durability as soon as she comes home.  We are also stepping boldly into the food allergy department.  No peanuts, no tree nuts.  No sesame seed products.  This includes hummus.  No hummus wraps.  That was number one on my list for lunch ideas.

The air has been cool here in the mornings recently.  Spring might always be late in New England, but Autumn never misses its cue.  Wool awaits us.

I bought this for six dollars and fifty cents.
Handmade by someone's grandmother or great-aunt Ida.  

We will take good care of you.    

Blueberry Bay

We were a little late getting there this year but we acted as gleaners, filling half a pail between us all before settling down to drink our blueberry lemonade.  I was just happy to have made it there this summer.  Labor Day is on its way.  My planner arrived in the mail today.  I'm told organization doesn't close you in.  On the contrary -it will set you free to do the things you always wanted to do.  I'll give it a whirl.  So far it has just meant doing more laundry.  I hope you all are enjoying these last lovely days of carefree summer.  

We still have September in our back pocket.