Still Summer

We have had so much fun after the PI ended. Me especially, not having to worry about figuring out how to finish my homework and arrange childcare. After a week of getting organized and recovering, we jumped on a plane to the east coast and got to play at the beach in Cape Cod. What unbelievable weather, and water, and fun sand and family! Rowan and Milo got to hang out with Gino, their cousin, and we got to see the grandparents without jetlag! It's been four days since we returned, and the first time both boys are sleeping at the same time. You wouldn't think this is such a big deal, but it makes such a difference in a day.

On Monday, after dinner, George and the boys were sitting in the front yard and I ran inside to get the phone, when we heard all of this crackling. Half of our crabapple tree in back fell down on the fence, and remarkably, very little damage was done... except of course to the tree! That event called for a little Monday evening chainsaw excitement after that, with George donning the traditional carhartt bib overalls, etc. and now we've got a nice little stash of apple wood to burn in the chiminea this winter. I am pushing for a second garden bed (when the rest of the tree dies) so that I can rotate our compost from bed to bed, and rotate the few crops we have, but George stubbornly doesn't want any more work. I just don't know what to do with him sometimes!!

We knew the tree was dying, but as they say, hope springs eternal, and so we just keep waiting for it to stop dying and return to its former glory. I think eventually we will get a peach tree or two, and another garden bed, especially if I promise to always let one go dormant. :)

I am just thrilled with the produce from our CSA, and we got a special treat to swing by Chubby Bunny farm (in CT) on the way to Cape Cod, and pick up a weeks worth of veg (as Tracy says) to feed our family. We even got a half gallon of milk from Patches, their cow!!! Talk about lucky. I'm not sure there is anything more earth mother than seeing Tracy (pregnant) milking (by hand) her very own cow!!
Of course, Rowan was thrilled to see the pigs, and he and Bea got to hide in the corn, which he thought was so fun. Truth be told, it's all amazing to us too. In their barn was vast quanitities of Garlic drying (or I'm not sure if you call it curing, or what) and all the food, it just feels so revolutionary to know someone who grows the food you eat. We never get to stay there long enough. We have seen approximately 7 minutes of Dan, the life of a farmer is no life of leisure folks, in case you didn't already know this.
Our vacations are too short. This is a national problem, for sure, but certainly we should be able to do something about it! George left work here, and just relaxed. It was nice to see him do that and the last two vacations for him mostly consist of submit-to-what-Rowan-wants-to-do time, and that usually involves sand, dirt, water or soccer balls. In other words, not too bad of a life!

i'm going to upload some pics, then I need to get back to making dinner.

Remembering one

Remembering back to when Rowan turned one, here's what it looked like. My parents, G's parents, us, all..... watching everything that Rowan was doing. We blew out the candle for him, and so is it really any different that he blew out Milo's? nope.

ahem, it's over now, so much for a weekly update

Here is a photo from Milo's birthday. Milo wasn't too sure about the whipping cream that I put as frosting on his zucchini cake (yay Monroe). Rowan was able to help him out by sticking his finger in it, shoving it in m's mouth, and showing him how tasty it was. That was all it took. I sometimes worry about Milo not getting his own gig, but truth be told, it was a much more joyous and fun occasion with Rowan there to spice it up, and bring his little bro up to speed. Not so many adults watching this single one year old. I also had the benefit of experience to recharge the camera batteries which I DIDN'T do for Rowan, and the camera died as the candle was lit on his first birthday... ah well.

Funnily enough, I haven't had another minute to post since the beginning of the course! To sum it up in a sentence or so... Tons of information on my favorite industry.

The sense I got was that all people know that books will change, they're not sure exactly how, but that the "end of the book" has been repeatedly been threatened and hasn't happened yet. I'm not really sure how I see it all, except that I predict that there will be some sort of split in the types of books..... Books that help with research or provide information are much more natural in digital format. As for cuddling up with a Kindle, or the future generation of the ebook, when reading some good tasty fiction-- I don't know that it's going to be a transition like that.

In other news... (I could write about the Dpi for days, but I will spare you all.) Milo is WALKING! I have never seen a cuter child besides my Rowan. Can you tell who the mom is? Seriously, what amazingly cute boys we have.

AND there's three more adorable babies in our life. Welcome Emerson (born on Milo's bday) and Mason, Aug 4 and Michelle sharing that day too! It will be so fun to watch them grow and change. Our mom's group is a total crazy miracle of babies and siblings now. It'll be so fun by next year this time-can our houses handle all these guys?!

I am finally actually sending out our Solstice (ahem, only 8 months late) cards with our picture, so now maybe we'll make it to your fridge if you forgive us for being so tardy. I'm amazed that it happened at all, but it was my single goal this summer besides the pi.

Summer here has been really toasty warm. Tonight though, it's about 60 degrees, and steadily pouring rain... for more than an HOUR. This barely happens here! It is a huge blessing, and feels so cleansing.

We can't wait to get to the coast to be with the Messinas in a couple of weeks. George is beside himself waiting. I hope I can actually post some pics from it because we have come back from really fun trips or had great visits with friends, and then I realize that there's no record here.

For example, we got to visit Tracy and Dan at Chubby Bunny Farm (their CSA) and I never wrote about it, or posted the adorable pics of Rowan and Bea playing-- and that was in April!

And I also drug(dragged?) the kids to Kansas with me and we descended upon Kim and Blake in Manhattan, it was so fun, and I hardly took a picture there! They survived the nights with us, Milo doing an extra spectacular show for them. (sorry sorry sorry again)

And then the following week we got to actually see Jimmy and Marianne and their beautiful girls, got to bunk in their snazzy house far from them so that Milo wouldn't keep them awake, and lo and behold, he slept all night. *sigh* I am almost completely terrible at predicting what these boys will do. They constantly keep me guessing.

I can't wait for Saturday, I get to go meet Mason, and visit Megan and Scott. G is going to hold down the fort with the boys. Today my celebration began though, for the end of the Pi, because we got to go to the zoo with Cindie and the girls. What fun, to traipse around all morning. They were holding mock interviews, and tomorrow, the real ones for the pub industry, and I am in the peculiar place of actually wanting to get a job in the field, but having it be totally unrealistic!!!

School and boys 24/7 is enough right now. oh yeah, and my other four projects/responsibilities on the side.

I'll talk about them some day, maybe. I can't imagine you want to hear/read it.

:) Happy August. Does anyone have hope for the election this fall? Oh yeah, the DNC is here in a couple of weeks. I'll have to post a blog about it, or I'll be the only one who doesn't!!!