Tuesday, May 29, 2007

These boots are made for....

...riding

...wrenching

...and yes, walking

Memorial Day

A great visit to Maine. Cocktails, yummy grilled chicken, beans and salad on the deck. Love the deck and its breeze and its green leafy view. I think I will live there.

Whoo-cold! Sassy Ella, and what/who is missing from this picture?


Beth smiles nicely. I have a cheesy cocktail-drinkin' grin.

Gardening is serious business, Ella the ham, the Lou.


Summer is off to a running start! I think everyone must be feeling it, since at work today, no one
who was scheduled to come in to see us actually showed up. Hmm. Given the choice, I bet I could have found other things to do too.

As I drove home over the bridge, windows open and the radio on, the smell of the air itself just drained any stress from me. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, the traffic thinned since it was 7 pm, and I headed home to my little nest. I love this time of year- right on the cusp of the new season, where every 90 degree day is matched by one just a little too cool for shorts.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Lunchlady Lou


Today's menu: Salisbury steak, green beans, fruit cup, and a cookie.

Also: monkey bread is FUN!

Beach baby

Our trip to Rye was just awesome. We spent some time on the beach, me chatting with Mo and taking pictures of the kids, Pete and Gardner collecting wood for a fire we never ended up having (next time!). Ryan is fearless when it comes to the water- it was only about 65 or so and the water was much, much colder, and still he ran in and out of the ocean in his windpants and T-shirt, up to his chest. Charlotte ran in and out and around in circles, and then they both circled me and Mo, laughing like crazy and trying really hard to get us as wet as they were.



Back at the house, we had some snacks and enjoyed the sunshine and good company. (And just for Sri, pics of me and Pete too! Love you!)


A perfect day at Rye: sun, breeze, good friends, Gritty's Vacationland and steaks from the Meat House. MMMM.

Today: a visit to North Berwick and the attempt to extend the long weekend/mini vacation as long as possible! I am looking forward to our three day, yes, three day workweek. Oh yeah!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Random pics

Catboy

Bleeding hearts in Memere's yard


Lou among the violets

Summer is ready when you are.........

Enjoying the long weekend and trying to do a whole lot of nothing. Yesterday the Lou and I hit Target, then the park downtown. What a difference a year makes: last year at this time she hung back and refused to play when there were maybe two other kids on the playground. Yesterday, she waited about 10 seconds, sizing it up, and headed right over. Most of the kids were between 5 and 10, climbing up the ladders and the slides on the play structure. Before I knew it, she was climbing a ladder to a platform about 5 feet off the ground. I stood under and spotted her, amazed at how sure-footed and confident she was. Just wow. She never ceases to amaze me.

In the afternoon, we had pedis:

Lou picked the colors for each of us.

Later we played in our new turtle sprinkler, had a meltdown or two, and headed to bed. No nap and the heat yesterday contributed to cranky girl and edgy mama. Lucky for me, Dos Amigos Burritos exists. Ah, burritos. Sometimes takeout can restore your good humor, especially if it comes with pico de gallo.

Sorry no pics of the playground/sprinkler...I am packing the camera for our trip to Rye today as we speak! Hope your weekend involves chocolate and fun!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Good morning

It's Tuesday....so here's Loulou enjoying a waffle (homemade, courtesy of my brand-spankin'-new waffle iron!) and a smoothie. It's the simple things in life, right?





She's just such a funny little person- such a great sense of humor. Last night, she and I made each other laugh so hard we couldn't stop. One of us would stop, then the other would still be laughing, so the other would start all over again. There aren't many people who will laugh with you at nothing- how cool is it that my daughter is one of them?

Friday, May 18, 2007

Wha-what happened?

Where did this week go? Last thing I knew, I was driving up 495 on Sunday, and now it's Friday night. What a long week. Lots of exhausting stuff at work, resulting in me, in my PJs, on the couch, reading/napping/knitting/all of the above till bedtime. Yikes.

Crummy weekend coming up, weather-wise, but good things nonetheless. I got my hair cut tonight- the usual cut, but I love it. I love going- my hairdresser Trina is just wonderful. Tonight she showed me pictures of her sister's biker wedding in Oklahoma last week. She's fun, and she gives a great haircut. Plus I find it so relaxing to just sit and have someone else wash and comb and dry my hair. What a good way to end the week! Tomorrow Charlotte and I are meeting my friend Amy for lunch or coffee or something...not much time left before her baby comes, so it will be a great opportunity for a visit before then. Also on our agenda this weekend: library, finger painting, bathroom cleaning, and revisiting my knitting "project punchlist". I have certain things that I really need to move on from, mostly because I hate sewing seams with the burning fire of 1,000 suns. Okay, maybe not that much.

We had a great visit with Memere and Poppa last weekend, although we missed Pete/Daddy very much. Highlights:

Blowing bubbles





Exploring Memere and Poppa's yard:







Trying to bring all the dandelions home (Poppa's idea):





And just having some cuddle time with Memere:



We also went out to breakfast. Loulou and I love going out to breakfast. We are easily led into any place that serves breakfast, and yes, our affections can be bought for good pancakes, bacon (just the right combination of greasy and crispy is best, but I turn no bacon away), and COFFEE. But this is not news to most people.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Ease on down the road....

The car is packed, the Lou is bathed. We are heading out for a sans-Daddy visit with Memere and Poppa...Happy Mother's Day!

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Gratuitous Blog Plug

In the interest of awakening from my hibernation season, and recovering from being "lame", I'm back up. So to deliver what the people want first, pictures of the Lou:






And although Easter was a month ago, a halfway decent picture of them Nason boys:



Not that I am much of a photographer. I leave that to some other members of my family (and you know who you are!).

Loulou has taken an interest in cooking lately. She particularly like to make smoothies in the morning, adding bananas, yogurt and honey on top of ice cubes and then pressing the button on the blender. It might be that she wears her own little apron; it might be that she likes to be helpful. Whatever it is, we'll run with it. Note the scary expression on
my face in this one:


(Yes! My very own sous chef! Hmm....how long will it be until she can do dishes?!?)


Grandparents please note: no small children stood too close to the stove in the making of this picture.