Tuesday, July 31, 2007

As promised....

...the Lou photo-of-the-day! Actually, two. With bonus Catboy!




Monday, July 30, 2007

The queen

Contemplating my kingdom


With great power comes great responsibility

Two weeks....

Been a bit lax on the updating. It's not that there's nothing going on, just that I've been overworked, exhausted and, let's face it, grouchy. Unfortunately the nature of the work I do is that just as the summer hits full swing, the amount of work and its pace hits fever pitch. One of these days I need to find myself a nice college that closes for the summer.

So what have we been up to? Last Sunday was a trip to the beach with friends and their kiddos- forgot the camera. Still, it was a great day- the beach at Fort Foster in Kittery is not too crowded and has beautiful clean water and open space for putting up a canopy and grilling. There's also a small playground, and the old WWII bunkers for bigger kids to explore. We brought snacks and magazines and kites and sand toys, and a good time was had by all....

What else? Well, this past Saturday was
the event of July....talking about the NoBer Nason partay....yummy grilled chicken and veggies, beer, potato salad and fruit and rice krispie treats and....I forgot my camera. Again. I am so fired.

The rain came in downpours but cleared up...there was music and there were
kids everywhere. Kids in the kiddie pool, the sandbox, on the swings...I love the chaos of gatherings where lots of kids are afoot. Just makes me happy, maybe since their enthusiasm for stuff is so infectious. Later in the day there was crazy dancing and tired kids in jammies while the adults tore themselves away to head home. Thanks to Beth and Steve for a great time yet again!

We did miss Phil and Sri, especially since the NC Roes were up....sibling mania...but very important people missing. I wish I had taken pictures for you- I hang my head. I will post a Lou Picture of the Day each day to make up for it.

The Lou has been having a tough time with yet more teeth. I didn't think there were more coming for another year or so, but there are two more molars insisting upon getting into that teeny mouth. And she's got the runny nose and slight fever that they tell us all does not go along with the teeth. Huh.

In other updates, for the bargain price of a case of beer, we got a kitchen table and chairs. The getting is not really the news; the stuff's been sitting in my living room for about two weeks. I finally got my act together and relocated everything that lived in the island so we could move it on out. Then Eric came over and I put him and Pete to work.




I don't know why we've gone so long without a table in there. I get a little surge of happy each time I walk into the kitchen. Best of all, we don't have to wash a booster chair tray 500 times a week.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

I don't love anyone better than you, you're my best friend





Aftermath...Sunday after the naps

The Dover Hillbillies (and friends)












Set it and forget it!








Poolside...beauteous girls!











Beth's red cup contains homebrew: Blonde Ale.



Yeah, we park on our lawn. That's how we roll...when we're, um....not rolling.





We had such a great day. What started as an idea that Pete wanted to try and a chance to hang out with the Littlefield-Gouds just grew......Who else is around? Why don't we tap the keg? Wow, it's Friday night and we're only sort of prepared...but you have to love when it just comes together like that. There's not much better than a beautiful day where you can sit in the yard, laugh with friends, drink good beer and eat yummy food, and let the children run around like mad, entertaining each other.

The beer was really good, perfect for a summer party held outside, and the turkey was fantastic. We had great snacks and sides (love the friends!). I had a loss with the honey whipped cream for the cupcakes, but recouped with cocoa buttercream....my grandmother's recipe with the addition of a little cocoa powder. Just a hint of chocolate without being overwhelming with the sweet banana cupcakes.

As for the glamour shots of the bird, I was misinformed....I was told that someone had taken pictures of it with my camera prior to carving. Alas. You can only imagine the glory that is the brined, trash-can-cooked turkey as it sits on the stove awaiting the knife. Those who hovered nearby were rewarded with wings, and in one case, part of a leg. O, the humanity!

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Saturday news

Big big news! My good friend Amy and her husband Troy had their baby early this morning! A boy, Nathan Robert, 8 lbs 6 oz. He was only two days late....such a good thing, cause she was so ready! He is their first child, not a girl named Sweetie as Charlotte predicted, and I am so damn excited I can't even stand it. I'm going to wait till later to call- I am sure they are inundated with family right now, and I know she needs her rest.

In other news, since getting up at 7:30 this morning, we've made potato salad (Cook's Illustrated All-American Potato Salad) and pasta salad (whole grain 4-color rotini, assorted veggies, a bit of italian salad dressing). We've also been the the grocery store (Pete) and made banana cupcakes (me and Lou). The banana cupcakes are a Fannie Farmer recipe, and I'm doing a honey whipped cream frosting for them. Yum yum yum.....

The Lou is a great helper in the kitchen. She mashed bananas, cracked eggs (with only a very little bit of shell- this is why we crack them into a bowl other than the mixing bowl first) and helped fill the cupcake pans. I hope when she owns and operates her own restaurant that I get my own special table and get to eat all my meals there for free. I won't have to save nearly as much money for retirement that way.

I suppose I should be doing something productive...but I'm waiting for my cupcakes to cool. Yeah, that's it. It's not that I'm catching up on blog reading or working on my top-secret knitting project. (hee hee!)

Pictures later.....if the trash can turkey does not draw the Dover FD......

Friday, July 13, 2007

Pete's Day

  • Drove mah jeep to work
  • Left work early
  • Bought a turkey
  • Bought charcoal
  • Bought loggin boots
  • Brined the turkey in Coca-Cola in an old bucket
  • Tapped a keg
  • Set a fire in a trash can in my driveway
"I feel like a hillbilly, with the exception that I went to work."

That's MY man. Trash can turkey and homebrew tomorrow.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Lou in costume

She loves her hats and the costumes she devises....not really sure what she was going for here, but it's part tropical vacation, part Statue of Liberty.



Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses....


Okay, it's late and I might be punchy. Long day today, and sleep awaits. Ah, sleep. That's where I'm a Viking.

Beth and the 3-day Walk

My dear friend and sister-in-law Beth will be participating in the Atlanta 3-day walk this fall, with donations benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. This is a huge commitment: 60 miles over 3 days..... Just the thought of that much walking makes my feet sore and sends me seeking chocolate. Beth is almost halfway to her fundraising goal! If anyone feels compelled to throw a donation her way, please follow the link, or contact me for more details.

Beth's Donation Page

Thank you for supporting a great cause, and for supporting Beth! Goooo BETH!

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Interesting article in today's Globe

Didn't realize that I was so hip. Now I suppose I'll need some skinny jeans and a giant purse.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/07/08/how_did_mothering_get_hip/


Stuff

It's Sunday morning. The Peter-man has gone off to a roadside cleanup, and the Lou and I are still in our PJs. The roadside cleanup is a Jeep club event- in the name of giving something back to the community, they maintain a section of Route 4 between Northwood and Chichester, picking up trash and putting it in bags for the state to pick up. Some people even bring their kids- they wear orange vests and all that (of course, these kids are older than the Lou, maybe 8 and older).

So he's off being virtuous, and we are sitting around watching the end of Peter Pan (Lou) and drinking coffee (me). In a little while we'll do some cleaning, and then some grocery shopping.

This has been a crazy week. I've worked so much....but we've had fun too. Wednesday we visited our friends in Dover and celebrated the 4th. We played outside until the rain came, and the girls splashed in the water table while the adults enjoyed a few beers and chips and salsa. Later, the neighbors set off some fireworks (amazing what the average homeowner gets away with firing off from their yard in NH). A good day for a holiday that fell smack in the middle of a workweek.

Friday night we had a yummy dinner of ribs and cornbread and crisp in NoBer. See Beth's blog for the pictures...nothing I can say can do the meal more justice than those pics. Although I will add- what an awesome thing to be invited to Friday dinner on a Thursday night, and to be taken care of- just bring yourselves, and here, can I make you a gin and tonic? Love those Nasons!

Yesterday the Lou and I went to the library and then to see Amy, who is due July 12th. No sign of the baby coming early, although s/he is running out of room to move in there. She's looking forward to his/her arrival, to say the least. We stayed for maybe an hour or so, then left so that Lou and Amy could have naps.

Other things...Pete and I have finally entered the 21st century...our new phones arrived on Friday! The top two are the old, old ones.


Mine even takes pictures! It's so sad that I am so enamored by a phone, especially considering that I don't consider myself to be a gadget person in any way, and I even had Pete pick the phone out for me so that I wouldn't have to deal with it. I'm also psyched that I can talk on my phone without having to roam the house, searching for a signal.

Some random pictures from the week- my two handymen, er, girls, er, whatever


Flower/princess/ballerina Lou





Jimmy-cat





Also! When we were on vacation, it came up that AIM is somewhat compatible with iChat? Is that right? Well, I am logged into AIM pretty much all day every day because of work, since it's an easy way of communicating between departments and campuses without disturbing the student in front of you. SO....if you want to exchange logins.....I'll send you mine if you send me yours. Ew, that sounded weird.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007