the dream life

Happy Fourth of July

This morning I thought we might get rained out of Fourth of July festivities, which was actually okay with me since there's no end to the things I want to do around the house, but I was glad when the rain let up in time for us to walk downtown and watch the parade.

 

It was the first Fourth of July in a long time that was not boiling hot, and because of that, the overcast skies didn't bother me a bit.

We made it back home just in time to walk Woody around the block then head out to my parents' house with cupcakes in hand.  

The girls swam, even in the rain, and we all agreed that it was a fine Independence Day. There was even a rainbow.

It's not over. The fireworks are going off as I type this, but we just couldn't make it to see them this year. We're watching tv shows about food instead while the little pug dreams of bagpipes. 

Father's Day

Tracy loves cinnamon and cinnamon rolls and that sort of thing, so when I saw these sticky buns on the Food Network last week, I thought that Woody would probably really like to make them for Father's Day. I decided to lend a paw since Woody doesn't do a lot of baking. Instead of the two types of flour, I used whole wheat, but that didn't hurt a thing.

Meanwhile, my mom had suggested I make a fruit pie for our Father's Day dinner and I decided on blackberry (mostly because you don't have to peel blackberries, but also because they are good.) When I went to the store, however, I spied rhubarb. I hadn't seen rhubarb for so long and instantly I was transported to my grandparent's farm house kitchen table and the rhubarb pies my grandmother made every Sunday. I didn't want to abandon the blackberries, so I ended up making two pies. This one and this one. The rhubarb pies of my childhood did not include strawberries, but strawberries were showing up in every recipe I ran across, so I decided to include them.

It turns out that two pies were not too many. The littlest of us cried, "Pie! Pie!" several times after dinner, which we ate on my parents' back porch. Afterwards, my dad and Ava played a game of chess. Her dad has been teaching her how to play and she's very serious about it.

Although it's customary to give fathers the gifts on Father's Day, as we were leaving my father gifted us with a chair. It's not just any chair. It is a family story. It is a chair that my dad made when he was in college. The assignment was to design a chair, make a small model, then make the chair by hand.

Wherever my paternal grandparents have lived -- house, trailer, apartment -- the chair has been in their home. Recently, my grandmother moved from her apartment to a nursing home and she couldn't keep the chair so she sent it home with my dad who put it out in his office, where he didn't really have room for it. Tracy and I love the chair, so he gave it to us.

The cushions have been reupholstered several times already, so we plan on covering them with snazzy new fabric. I'm thinking leopard print but Tracy is not so much thinking that.

The interesting thing about the chair is how well it fits with the rest of our furniture. It's interesting because no one else in our family shares our particular taste. It's as if my dad made the chair just for us, only years before we were born.

Donut day

Today is National Donut Day. I won't be eating any donuts today, but if I were to eat one it would have chocolate icing and sprinkles.

After brunch

Windy, rainy Sunday afternoon, Hippies on tv, Woody and I are cuddled up on the couch. The house is clean and we're not worried about doing anything. He had to go out at 2:30 this morning and I never did get back to sleep all the way, so we're tired and happy to be sitting still (or, in his case, stretched out sleeping.)
Yesterday was my grandmother's birthday, so my family had a dinner last night.

Today, Tracy and I made a Mother's Day brunch for my mom and sister in law and family. We had donut holes and pimento cheese biscuits and fruit and hash brown casserole. They rolled in from the church they all attend, where a downed tree had knocked out their power and blocked their usual route home, and we ate food and drank coffees and teas and listened to music.

My original idea for this afternoon involved planting, but the weather has brought me the gift of rest and in a couple of hours, brunch leftovers will provide dinner.
Here's to mothers of all kinds, shapes and sizes -- the ones with children and the ones without. I hope your afternoons are just as pleasurable.

A night of favorites

My mom decided to have a family dinner for Epiphany this year. (I can't decide if I prefer the term "Old Christmas" or "Little Christmas." Yeah. I think I like "Little Christmas" best.) We love Sunday dinner. We were served a delicious meal that included my favorite beets and scalloped potatoes then my mom asked Ava to come help her with something in the other room and in a few minutes Ava reappeared with little boxes and bags for each of us. Yes. My parents had purchased Epiphany gifts at one of my favorite new shops in town. So, it was a night of favorites for me, I guess.
After dinner, Casino Royale was on and we watched a little of that. And a little of Blue's Clues. (Blue is a girl. Did you have any idea?) At the end of the night, Ava sang a "Happy Little Christmas" song, and it really was a sweet nice way to say goodbye to the holiday season. (And usher in the season of family birthdays.)


When we left, there was this dramatic, beautiful sky -- all dark with swirling clouds.

It was a good Sunday.

Welcome to the new year

Tracy and I are becoming increasingly like Charlie Bucket's grandparents. For the second year in a row, we watched the ball drop from the comfort of our bed.

As soon as we clicked off the tv, I turned on Coast to Coast, ready to listen to the predictions show, but fell asleep during the first caller.

Earlier in the evening, we shared Chinese food with my brother's family. The little girl from next door came over and I heard my niece Ava say to her, "These are my aunts and uncles. They come over on special occasions and they also just drop by sometimes. You never know when they're going to show up." I don't think I have to tell you how much I loved that.
On the first morning of this new year, I'm considering turtle pie for breakfast and nursing my third cup of coffee, but just so you don't think all hope for me is lost, I also got out the Ask And it is Given Cards and the Mind Body Makeover Cards to help set my tone and direct my focus for 2008.

I randomly drew some cards from the Ask deck and they resonated with me as these beautiful cards always do.

With the Makeover deck, I looked through the cards and chose the ones that spoke to me. I was surprised how many I placed in that pile, and made some realizations about those little sticky points, the areas of my life that need attention. It looks like this year is going to be about healthy goals, healing sadness, anger and fear, and healthy relationships.
Sounds good to me.

Labor Day weekend

A thousand billion more weekends like this one, please. Weekends that stretch on and on during which I sit for hours with a gentle breeze blowing back my hair and the yard alive with hummingbirds and butterflies. Dappled sunlight and books to read. Fresh tomatoes, corn and green beans cooked by my parents, eaten on the porch. Gallons of La Croix lime and generous slices of coconut cake. Weekends with plenty of time for long walks, an 80's playlist and new yoga pants. I lived a whole summer this weekend. It's amazing what slightly lower humidity and three days away from work will do.

Happy Fourth

Our Fourth of July ended with a police officer shouting, “It’s the police!” as he descended our basement steps. It wasn’t as exciting as it sounds, but it was miles away from where my day started.
Early morning, I took my coffee to the backyard for a little bird watching. It was perfect and luscious out there, but I could hear the faint sounds of music downtown and because of a personality flaw that leads me always to believe there’s someplace better I should be, I got the idea that we should go downtown and walk around some before the parade.

As soon as we got downtown, I wished I was still sitting in the shade watching birds, but that’s the way it goes with me.
We did see a good band.

And we did stay for the parade. I was particularly taken with the BaHai Faith float

and the Unitarians brought me to tears, as always, with their giant white dove and soft singing of Give Peace a Chance.

We were completely pummeled with exhaustion by the time we got home. Tracy took to the bed and I headed back to the yard.

We arrived an hour late for my parents’ cookout and the storm that had threatened all day landed not long after we ate. It was impressive and I was a little concerned that Woody might be scared home alone. Just as the rain let up a bit, the phone rang and it was our security company.
It seems our alarm had gone off and the company had determined a second floor window was broken. We raced home, both of us thinking only of Woody whose crate is right next to a second floor window.
The police were already there when we arrived. Tracy stayed out to talk to them and I ran upstairs to the boy. He was fine. In fact, I quickly glanced around and saw no broken windows.
Back downstairs, the police were checking out the house and that was the first time that I realized they thought there might be an intruder inside. Somehow, this notion had completely escaped me. I just assumed the broken window was due to the storm.
It turns out one of the of the cables that holds a window on the sleeper porch broke and the window came crashing down - but the glass didn’t break.
Somehow, this brief event during which nothing actually happened completely wore me out.
So, that is how we celebrated the birth of our country. With a little bit of everything. (And angel food cupcakes.)

Summer Solstice

I used to have a floral headdress that I bought at a Renaissance festival, but it has disappeared. If I still had it, I would be wearing it right now with something flowy, sparkling toe rings and bracelets made of clover. (Note to self: buy tamborine. Tie ribbons on it.) I haven't done any barefoot dancing in the grass today, but I thought about it.

Weekend winding down

I had to work on Saturday, so this wasn’t really a three-day weekend for me, but I did appreciate that so many people were out of town. I had to drive to several of our most congested areas, but there was no congestion and that was undeniably fun. (Especially today when I heard When Doves Cry followed by Kiss You All Over followed by Livin’ on a Prayer.)

I had a whole list of imperative, must-get-done things to do this weekend but I got out of bed too early on Sunday to ever get my energy going and I made up for that by sleeping late today. So a couple of my necessary, must-get-done things got done but others fell by the wayside. (I hope you’re not allergice to dust, people who are coming to my house this week.)
We were honored to met a brand new person this weekend.
I decided to start participating in the 365 Days project on flickr.
I got a new bag.

We watched several episodes of M*A*S*H* and agreed that Colonel Blake Trapper John M*A*S*H is far superior to Colonel Potter B.J. Honeycutt M*A*S*H. (I also concluded that if I were a member of the Evans family, I would stop answering the door because every time one of their long lost friends shows up it is always trouble.)
I finished this fantastic book at last and promptly started this one.
Tonight, Chloe and Chad hosted a family get together with delicious foods,
which gave me the perfect excuse to try out the Barefoot Contessa brownies that I found at the Fresh Market.

I came home from the party and set up for writing on the porch, which is my current favorite thing in the world to do.

So, it was a good weekend.
I don’t have a meaningful Memorial Day post for you, but I appreciated this one.