scrap that old list

Less than two weeks left of summer. The unofficial version, that is. The version that comes to a screeching halt the day that school starts back up. In those days before unofficial summer actually began I made a ridiculous list of summer goals. Not ridiculous as in "I don't really want to get these things done" but ridiculous as in "Who the eff do you think you're kidding proposing that you could actually accomplish all that?!!"

And well, I haven't managed to put much of a dent in that damn list at all. While that upsets me to some degree, it doesn't upset me nearly so much as the fact that most days I simply forgot to appreciate the gift that is summer. I worked too much and played too little. Not that there weren't some fun times...how could I consider Chris's visit as anything other than purely delightful, after all. And this Tuesday, we went on a lovely hike for Rich's birthday, and that was a relaxing respite from the overwhelming crush of school prep I've been fighting through. But my overall impression of this summer is one of painting, school prep, and pain. Not the image I want to carry around.

I *need* to pull out that old cliche and really, truly "stop and smell the flowers." Seriously--need.

So here's my promise to myself: I will take time every. single. day. to do something fun. Something relaxing. Something that puts a smile on my face. Or better yet, a smile in my heart. I will create. I will read for fun. I will play games with the kiddos. I will be outside in the glorious natural world. I will count my blessings.

Yep, those are my summer goals for these waning days before that first proverbial school bell rings.

yesterday I...

...sincerely missed having Chris around

...took Gray "back-to-school" clothes shopping at the thrift stores...he scored four pairs of comfy pants and ten non-scratchy shirts all for about $50

...pondered for the thousandth time that never-ceasing phenomena of "they grow up too fast"

...celebrated a successful shopping trip with a donut and coffee, just Rich, Gray, and I

...dove back into heavy-duty lesson-planning...this included starting The Hound of the Baskervilles...am loving it so far...even better, I'm guessing Gray will love it as well

...did lots and lots of laundry as I'd blown it off all week while Chris was here

...sadly marveled at just how fast summer is slipping away

...marked my google reader all read...again...*sigh*

...allowed the kiddos to have cereal for supper because no one was particularly hungry

...decadently ate chips and homemade salsa with Rich while we started watching Raid on Entebbe

...crocheted a few rounds on a farmers market bag for myself

...struggled for literally hours to fall asleep...just one of those horrible pain nights

Yep, another day of goods and bads and in-betweens...pretty much how life should be I suppose.

the blessing of friends...

It's a somewhat sad evening here in the Stevens' home. We had to take Chris to the airport a few hours ago. If last year was any indication, we'll keep feeling the emptiness of his absence for a while. But when you think about it, this is such a happy thing. Not that Chris had to leave, of course. But that he got to come and spend his week with us in the first place. And it just fills me with such overwhelming gratitude to have him in my life. Those people who continue to doubt the validity of relationships formed through the internet just don't get it. And you know, I sort of feel sorry for them. My life would not be the same without the very, very, very dear friends I've made because of blogging, especially, though certainly not limited to, Ana and Chris. That is not an exaggeration. Not even a little.

Anyway, I've sort of gotten off track here. As I have a gift for doing. I really just wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures from this past week.

Okay, so it's blurry, and Chris hated this picture, but what can I say--I *love* it because it just screams "happy!" :D

Mount Hope Cemetery is soooooo beautiful.

Taughannock Falls.

Ithaca--one of my favorite cities ever.

Buttermilk Falls State Park.

Wickham Farms.

And even though this was taken at the airport, I absolutely adore this photo.

the power of doing...

Maxidoodle is a self-proclaimed soup hater. Matters not that there are hundreds of varieties of soup out there all with their own unique tastes, if it's soup he hates it. Period.

Well, on Thursday I needed to whip up a big batch of minestrone soup. (Rich's Mom is having her other hip replaced on Monday, and we'd been trying to prepare a bunch of frozen meals to help her a wee bit through her recovery. Rich is away delivering them this weekend.) Anyway...I asked Max if he wanted to help me make the minestrone. He was all over that! He loves to help in the kitchen, and the fact that this involved using sharp knives just sweetened the situation in his eyes.

He patiently peeled carrots, chopped onion, sliced celery, and tore baby spinach. And wow, he turned out to be a natural at mincing garlic. (Probably because it was the biggest knife yet.)

He measured and stirred and learned the old adage, "A watched pot never boils."

And when it was done, he *voluntarily* tried it!

His verdict:

Okay, truth be told, he only ate about ten bites of it. But hey, that's nine bites more than he would have eaten otherwise.

Today I'm going to have him help me make soap...maybe then he'll voluntarily use it. :)

amidst the pages...

My oh my, but has my reading been slow as of late. Life works that way sometimes though, doesn't it? And you know, despite the fact that I haven't spent much time reading this past week, I did manage to finish two books. Of course, that's because I was most of the way through both of them before the week began. ;)

M Is for Magic by Neil Gaiman. I actually started this book of short stories a couple of years ago. But as I am apt to do with books of short stories, I read a few and then got distracted for a few (or more) months, picked it back up and read a few more, got distracted again... The silly thing being that this time around I picked it up and found that the last two stories (or rather one story and one poem) were ones I'd actually read before. I read them again though...because they're both delightful. :) In fact, his poem "Instructions" is one of my all-time favorites and I find I only love it more with every reading. A couple of my other favorites from this book--"Don't Ask Jack" and "October in the Chair." So...what did I think of the collection as a whole? I adored it! Simply adored it. I don't think there was a single story that I felt let down by...and really, how often can you say that about a book of short stories.

Well, turns out I can "almost" say it about the other book I finished this week, too. Another book of short stories, in this case fairy tale retellings. Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue. I did like some of the stories more than others. I'm afraid I can't be much more specific though as I can't remember their names and it was a library book which I already returned. I can say that the more I read by Emma Donoghue, the more I'm convinced I need to read everything she ever wrote. :)

After finishing both of those books, I figured I deserved to start a new fiction read. (Yeah, like I ever seem to need an excuse to start a new book no matter how many I have going. :P ) Anyway, I started The Darker Side by Cody McFadyen, the third in his series featuring Smoky Barrett. I'm only one chapter in, but already I'm hooked. I realize I don't read as many psychological thrillers as I once did, but damn--can this guy write a disturbing, engrossing book!

On the non-fiction side, I've been dipping back into The Householder's Guide to the Universe by Harriet Fasenfest. Oh how I love this book. Yes, I love the kitchen and gardening stuff, but what I really love is her worldview. It's just really nice to pick up a book and just unexpectedly find that someone shares your thoughts on so many things. Sure I expected to find that she loved gardening and canning, etc. But I didn't expect to find a kindred spirit when it comes to how we view our whole economic system. Anyway, I'm only about a quarter of the way through the book, but I'm enjoying it immensely.

And aside from textbooks, the only other thing I've been reading this past week is The Equality Illusion by Kat Banyard. I can't thank Ana enough for reviewing this one. I've only read the intro and the first chapter thus far, but let me tell you, it is SO. DAMN. GOOD. I can't for the life of me imagine it not making my top five favorite books of the year. Despite the fact that it is so utterly depressing.

And you? What's the best thing you've read this week?

tidbits of a very random nature...

Holy crap...and now the first week of August is gone, too. Please slow down summer--you're moving way too fast! It was another week of home improvements around here, but we managed to slip in some moments of fun as well.

*Thank you, thank you, thank you Mom and Dad for coming up and working your butts off again! We wouldn't have gotten half as much done around here this summer if not for both of you! Really, there just are no words adequate enough to expression our gratitude. Love you!

*Thank you, thank you, thank you Ana. You know why. No, I don't have it all figured out...but I actually feel like I'm on the way to happier me now. I love you!

*The biggest project during the past week was getting the living room and hall painted. And it looks fabulous, if I do say so myself. (Unless you look at the baseboards, that is. We did not repaint them because we're going to have the carpet replaced in the spring and would just have had to paint them again. So we'll do it when we pull the carpet out, but before the new carpet goes in.) The walls are a very subtle shade of sage green--but they look anywhere from beige to green to taupe depending on the light. And all the wood trim and the closet and hallway doors are now a crisp white. And damn was there a lot of wood trim! My hand pretty much gave up on me holding a paintbrush before we finished. Now we just have to put the room back together. Will be ever so nice to get all these boxes out of our bedroom, Max's room, the kitchen...

*One night after all the brushes had been washed, we sat down at the kitchen table and played a rousing game of Apples to Apples. So much fun. :)

*Blackberries are my most favoritest berries in the world, and I've been dying to make blackberry jam but haven't been able to get any at the farmer's market. But last Monday as Rich was driving home from work he saw a elderly man sitting by the side of the road selling them. He came and got me and we went and bought the gentlemen out. :D So instead of finishing up the packing of the living room, I spent Monday afternoon making and canning blackberry jam. Six pints of jam with enough left over for a cobbler. :D

*The ridiculously wet summer followed by this ridiculously dry summer has not been kind to many of our plants. Everything from brown rot for our cherry tree to blossom end rot for our tomatoes. (Though I do think hope like hell that we nipped the blossom end rot in the bud and only lost about a dozen tomatoes to it.) Anyway, we've still been enjoying a few fruits of our labor. Lots and lots of jalapenos. And there's a handful of green peppers ready to pick. And if the rest of the tomatoes make it, we'll have plenty for fresh eating and for canning. Can't wait till they start ripening! Made some fresh salsa the other night. The onion, garlic, cilantro, and jalapenos all came from our yard. :) In a few weeks, the tomatoes will, too...and the only thing I'll have to buy will be the lime.

*Before we painted, I let Max have one last day of climbing the walls. ;)

*I am trying very, very hard not to panic over how unbelievably much school planning and prep I have to do over the next few weeks. As I said earlier, please slow down summer!

*We've got this really pretty fungus growing on our compost pile.

*I still haven't gotten much blog reading and catching up done, but I'm trying.

*I've yet to finish a single book this month. *sigh*

*And last, but by no freakin' means least--I am so over-the-top giddy thinking about next week. Why? Because that's when Chris will be here. The only down side--he's not staying nearly long enough!

Yep, that was pretty random.