Present and absence

Once again, we have been given a wonderful present. I will be absent and without computer access for more than a week.

I will be with my Beloved and his parents, his older brother and his wife, our children and our Pup in Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone in Wyoming. We will have the proverbial road trip there and back. I look forward to sharing photos and our journey with you when we return. I have been blessed with the most wonderful parents-in-law. They are paying for us to have this family vacation with them (a year into unemployment, this would have been impossible for us). We want to create as many memories for our children with their grandparents as possible. Grandpa Tom turns 82 this year. Wyoming here we come!

childhood summer

Do you remember those Summer days that seemed to last all year? I think our children are experiencing that. They have had a full Summer. Most days are spent waking up earlier than us (my Beloved and me), opening the cupboards and helping themselves to "breakfast", playing Wii games or Legos, waking us and the dog up and then having a second breakfast. Our Charlotte loves to "help" cook fried eggs, Grant and Benjamin are our bread boys and Elijah-Max loves leftovers, especially if it's white cheddar shell pasta. Then they are off and running. We live on 2 acres of woods and boggy conservation land. They have constructed their own little hobbit hollow on the edge of the woods using plywood and fallen branches. Max and Ben are the flag makers, Grant has the plans for whatever imaginary identities they will role play and Charlotte is usually cast as R2D2 or Hello Kitty (her choice). They are usually "starving" by 11 and come in asking for "elevenses". Fruit and hand held veggies are on the menu (sometimes Goldfish too). They bicker, argue, share, are selfish and considerate, kind-hearted and cruel. The days are long and the years are short. Pirates are real. Monsters are not. Sharks will leave you alone if you bonk them on the nose. Snakes can be picked up by their tails. Dogs like to kiss. Frogs live on lilly pads and in small swimming pools. Fireflies are magical and can be held in cupped hands or in jars with icepick holes in the lid. Sand makes a wonderful canvas for hearts, names and cat art.Sprinklers are fun to dance in. Family makes the best friends. Especially when the towel is big enough for three.

You can find coins near or in vending machines. Pizza on Friday nights and popcorn on Sunday nights is what everyone does. Dream spray helps you have sweet dreams at night. Tomorrow will be more of the same.

Dog days of Summer

We have been blessed again by the generosity of family friends. We were able to stay in Chatham (Cape Cod) for four days last week. The little cottage is charming with new cedar siding, hard wood floors with years of salt and sea water sanding the wood in spots and comfortable rooms for us to sleep in at night. It rained in the evenings as we drifted off to sleep with sand in our hair. This week, news reports talk about sharks being sited off the beach we were on. I have a feeling they are attracted to the seals. The seals were prolific while we were there. We saw many at the Fishing Pier when the fishermen came in with their afternoon catch. We also saw them during low tide out on a sandbar. I grew up swimming in waters that held dolphins and sharks. They were the little dog fish sharks, angel sharks and some nurse sharks (in So. Cal). I knew to swim to shore and avoid them for a while. My beloved got to snorkel a lot. He told me of the wonderful underwater world he got to observe. Horseshoe crabs, spotted crabs, starfish, schools of baby eels and minnows, and the sounds he could hear from the surface. We stuffed ourselves with fresh seafood from the Chatham Pier Fish Market. My beloved tenderly cotton swabbed my sunburned back with apple cider vinegar (I'm at the point of peeling shoulders now). There is no TV but, we were able to watch DVDs so, a few evenings we watched Singing In The Rain and North by Northwest.  Cape Cod is busier in the Summer months than in Spring but, there is still a sleepy New England feel to the place. At times, we had the miles of beach to ourselves. As the tide went out, we found hundreds of sea snails in ornate, pink and purple and tan shells. Our children would giggle as the snails would squirt a stream of salt water out, as they retreated into their shells, while being held by little, gritty hands.Mom and Dad (Grandma Sonnie and Grandpa Tom) were with us and in spite of a newly broken rib, Mom did fairly well. I guess we all needed this respite. Mom and Dad enjoyed the get-away and kept chatting about how they could "live in a cottage like this". David needed the time under water and away from the reality of life in the unemployment lane. The children always love road trips and the beach (so do I).  And I enjoyed watching everyone else every lazy day. I also filled my pockets with shells and round, smooth, ancient rocks. Priceless.

Delicious Fruit Cobbler (aka: berry buckle)

This was a simple and delicious dessert. The children enjoyed it too, especially with whipped cream. It was gone within a couple of days and even enjoyed for breakfast.

Here's the recipe. It  served 8 people.
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar (plus more for sprinkling on top)
1/2 tsp. salt (I used sea salt)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
At least 4 cups of fresh berries. We had blueberries, strawberries, golden and red raspberries and blackberries.

Place butter in casserole dish and set in oven to melt at 350 degrees F. When butter has melted, remove dish from oven. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl. Add milk; whisk to form a smooth batter. Pour batter into dish and then scatter the fruit over batter. Sprinkle top with more sugar. Bake until batter browns and the fruit bubbles (approx 50 to 60 minutes). We enjoyed this fruit cobbler with whipped cream. If we had vanilla ice cream, we would have devoured it with that too. Enjoy!

the bounty of summer berries

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  Recently, my beloved's parents arrived from the West Coast to spend some time with us and their grand-kids. A few towns over is a wonderful farm. Summer berry picking is a favorite for our family. In season are golden, red, and black raspberries. The farm also has cherry trees and a blueberry field.  We filled our hands and mouths with the sweetest cherries. The children had lips and finger tips stained with berry juice. The bounty was plentiful.Grandpa Tom and Grandma Sonnie were in their element with the children. Instructing them on the secrets of finding the perfect berries, how to pick them off the stem, how to avoid the little thorns on the blackberry bushes. The weather was perfect with N. C. Wyeth clouds in the sky, a slight breeze to dry our sun drenched skin, and the orchard graced with bronze beetles, berry stained children, and electronic bird songs in the blueberry patch (to frighten away the real birds from stealing our blueberries).I am in awe of the colors on a blueberry bush. In the same cluster, I see new berry greens, a blush of pale pink, periwinkle and then the sheen of the ripe blueberry so rich in it's purple hue.

Our trio enjoyed their outing to the orchard. Their bellies full of fruit and minds full of memories just as sweet. Now, we search for ways to eat up all the berries. We've had them in cereals, in yogurt, on whipped cream, and just by the handful. Any suggestions? I think I'll make waffles for breakfast.

Friday ~ last day of school

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  Our oldest son finishes first grade today. He is growing up. We are so blessed to be his parents. We struggled for 10 years to have a baby. Finally, we decided to adopt. From the time we entered the adoption agency to the time we left the hospital with Grant in our arms, was the length of a pregnancy (9 months). We met Grant a month before he was born. His birth mom and dad chose us to be their baby's parents. What a gift of love they gave us! The four of us chose his name. Grant ~ "to bestow a gift or keep a promise". It fits him perfectly. He is a happy, healthy, and active boy. He loves his family, our dog, our cats, science, math, the civil war, sports, chess, and Wii sports. He makes us smile every day.We could not imagine life without this precious son of ours. We thank God every day for him. I am so thankful that his birth mom chose to give him life. I was in the delivery room when Grant was born. I wiped tears falling from her eyes. I wiped my own too.
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  Psalm 126:6 "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy (and lullabies)".

Wandering the Boston Public Garden (and it's free)

This past weekend, my beloved and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. We had the pleasure of spending Saturday in Boston with my niece Ava and her husband Jeremy.  The four of us have limited funds, as both my beloved and Jeremy are unemployed at the moment. We have found that there are many pleasures in life that are free. The Boston Public Garden is one such pleasure. Located in the heart of Boston, lies this 24 acre, rectangular shaped park. It once was a salt marsh and now is a beautiful park with paths, flower beds, fountains, statues and trees, and a girder bridge (once the world's shortest suspension bridge) right in the middle. There are weeping willows, horse chestnuts, dawn redwoods, European beeches, ginkgo trees, European and American elms, and one California redwood tree. One can purchase a ride on the paddle swan boat. These Swan boats have been drifting on the four acre lake since 1877. Usually, a college student, sitting at the back of the boat, does all the paddling work. Do you notice the two swans nesting near the small lake? They are mute and named "Romeo and Juliet". The person naming them didn't realize they are two females. This one glided across the water in search of food and would dip it's head down into the water. It was a wonderful experience having this swan so close. There are many bronze statues in the Park. This one is a favorite and is based on Robert McCloskey's book, Make Way For Ducklings. It is a charming, children's book about a Mother and Father duck in search of a good place to raise their ducklings. They end up selecting the Boston Public Garden as their nesting place.  We purchased a print of the ducklings from this gentleman artist. We will frame it and hang it in a special place in our home.

We have lived here, in Massachusetts, for 8 years and always enjoy our time in this Public Garden. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1987. It is well worth the visit.