Home Grown

The girls really are enjoying having a garden.

Everyday when I go out for one of my daily walks one, if not both, of them will come with me.

Today I had some weeding to get done.

So out I went to the garden.

And after a little while, the girls followed me.

E helped me do some weeding.  She's a good worker.

D is my plant checker.

She likes to let me know which veggies she thinks are ready to be picked.

I have to watch her.  Or else she will pick all the tomatoes a few days too early.

Today she found that there were 4 ripe grape tomatoes.

I let her pick them.  She was so excited.

Then she shared 2 of them with E.  And they ate them then & there.

And both of them agreed with one another that there is nothing like eating a tomato you have just picked off the vine.

I love it.

It is so much fun to see them get such enjoyment out of helping in the garden.

Earlier I had seen that we had our first cucumber that was ready to be picked.

I saved it for the girls to pick.

All it took was for me to say, "there's a cucumber that can be picked."

And off they went excitedly to the cucumbers.  Searching.

D found it.  And then let her sister pick it.  Because she had already picked the tomatoes and yesterday had picked a zucchini.

E was thrilled to pick the cucumber.

D brought it inside.  And proceeded to cut it up for us to eat with our lunch.

It was delicious.  Nothing like a just picked cucumber.

We can't wait until more veggies are ready to be picked.

potd #211.  Fresh picked and cut cucumber.  Excellent addition to our lunch today.

Snapshots

I love my coffee.

I like to have a good 2 cups in the morning.

Helps me feel human.

I use milk in my coffee.

This morning, there was very little milk left.  Like 4 drops.

So, I poured myself a cup of coffee and poured the 4 drops into the coffee.

And it just wasn't good enough.

Too close to black.

And I really can't drink black coffee.

So late this morning the girls & I ran out to the local grocery store.

I needed a few things.  Milk was at the top of the list.

When we got home, I decided to make myself a glass of iced coffee.

It tasted so good.

I can't remember the last time I had an iced coffee.  Usually if I go to Dunkin' Donuts, I will bet a Coollatta.

I think I may have found a new afternoon drink.  If there is coffee left in the pot.

I enjoyed it very much.

potd #210.  This is a Tomato Hornworm.  It is very bad.  It eats the leaves off the tomato plants.  It can decimate a plant overnight.  We had one last year.  Found only after most of the leaves off the plant had been eaten.  I have been vigilant about watching our tomato plants this year.  So I was quick to find this one.  I will be even more watchful now.  Us-1 Tomato Hornworm-0.

Rock Lobster

Went to Sissys' house tonight for dinner.

It was a great dinner.

We had lobster.  Yum.

Sissy had called me on Friday night.

Our local grocery store was having lobsters on sale over the weekend.  $4.98/lb, 5 lobsters/customer limit.

Did we want to order some lobsters to be steamed and ready for 6pm Sunday night, she asked.

Oh yes, I answered.

She invited my dad too.

And so tonight we had lobsters.

A total of 14 lobsters.

Yum.

The only 2 that did not have any lobster were D and my niece K.  They ate steak.

The rest of us, including E ate lobster.

It was delicious.

We all decided it was our top dinner of the summer.

Lobster, corn on the cob, cole slaw, salad, and bread.

Yum, yum, yum.

potd #208.  Dinner tonight  So very yummy.

Definitely My Daughters

Oh, D is so my daughter.

She is loving all the back to school catalogs that are coming in the mail.

Just over a week ago the PB Teen catalog came.

And she has poured over it ever since we got it.

She picked out her new backpack.

Zebra print, of course.

And this week, we got the Target back to school catalog.

She loves looking at all her pen, marker, and pencil options.

This week we also had to make a stop at Office Max with Hubby to get toner.

And oh my, all the back to school stuff is out in full.

Notebooks, pens, pencils, pencil pouches, post-it notes, folders.  The list goes on & on.

And she loved looking at every bit of it.

E enjoys looking at everything too.

She has poured over the PB Teen catalog as well.  Picking out her new backpack.

Blue paisley.  Blue is her new favorite color.

They are both very funny wanting to pick out new back to school supplies.

D is the funniest.

I think she would buy everything if I let her.

And I was very similar.

There was nothing like new notebooks, folders, pens, & pencils at the start of the school year.

And I loved picking out a new lunch box.

Such memories.

And now I have daughters of my own who love it too.

Makes my heart happy.

potd #208.  D loves everything on this page of the Target back-to-school catalog.  She has all of it circled.  And just in case I didn't understand, she wrote "whole page for D" on the top.  Too funny.

Daily Walk

This is the second year that we have had a garden at this house.

It took us about 4 years to clear an area for the garden.

And now the plants that we have growing are growing.

A lot.

Every day I make a daily walk through the garden.

Sometimes I do it a couple times of day.

I check the plants.

Tend to them.  Maybe even talk to them a little.

Right now the weather has been just perfect for plant growing.

Our tomato plants are huge.

The leaves on the squash & zucchini plants are almost prehistoric looking.

It is just amazing to see how much everything is growing.

My garden is happy this year.

We have many clusters of green tomatoes.

Once all the tomatoes start ripening, we are going to be up to our eyeballs in tomatoes.

I can't wait.

Not only for us to eat, but to share with others.

Because there truly is nothing like a homegrown tomato.

And like a true gardener, I am already thinking about what to do better next year.

Not that I am wishing this growing season done, but just making mental notes on what I would change.

I really do enjoy having the garden.

Very therapeutic.

potd #207.  Even the flowers are happy in the garden.  Love these snapdragons. Such a pretty color.

Sweet Visit

Today was a nice day spent at home.

The girls and I were lucky to be visited by one of my very best friends and her 3 little ones.

She & I share the same first name.

We met in September 2001 when I went back to work for a bank I had worked for previously.

I was happy to return to work for my previous manager.

Because I was the first Christine that worked for this manager and my friend Christine came second, we somehow came up with our own nicknames of C1 and C2 for ourselves.

I believe.  I have to honestly say that I cannot remember the exact details of how we decided on those nicknames.

All I know is that for years we have referred to ourselves as C1 and C2.

And I know that we became friends very quickly.

C2 was so much fun to work with at the bank.

To this day I can't listen to the Christmas song Mele Kalikimaka without thinking of C2 and the little dance we made up together during late afternoons working the drive-thru.

And it makes me smile.

And I really can't believe that it has been 11 years since we met.

Feels like yesterday.  Well, almost like yesterday.

Maybe more like last week.

We've been through a lot together.

She even lived with Hubby & I for a couple months when she first started law school.

We had great fun during that time.  And Hubby is a good hubby for putting up with 2 Christines in the same house.

Lots of things have happened over the last 11 years.

My pregnancy.  Having D&E.  C2 is a great auntie to the girls.

Her engagement.  Her wedding.

Selling/buying houses and moving each other.

Her 3 babies being born.  Her oldest turned 4 yesterday.  Where does the time go?

Her middle is almost 2 1/2 and her youngest is just 6 1/2 months old.

Our lives have both been busy and crazy.  And we haven't seen each other as much as we've wanted.

But, whenever we see each other it is like time has not passed at all.

And now, she and her family are going to be moving to Calgary, Canada in mid-late September.

Her hubby has the opportunity for a wonderful promotion at work.

The kind of promotion that you really can't turn down.

The move could be at the least for 2 years and at the most 5 years.

I am hoping they will be back in 2, but am preparing myself that it could be 5.

There were a few tears today.

I am sure there will be more the closer it gets to them leaving.

And something tells me a trip to Calgary will be in my future.

Having a friend like C2 is something that matters very much.  A friendship to be treasured.

Here is a picture of us from a long ago college football game.

And here are some shots that I took today:

Here is C2s' middle guy.  He is such a cutie.

He can't quite get the "L" in Lucy.  It took us a bit before we realized that he was calling her "Mucy"(read it as moosey).

Too funny.

This little guy looks so much like his Mimi, C2s' mom.  Uncanny.

This is her oldest, who just turned 4 yesterday.  I love how he's looking at the ice cream sandwich.

He is a mover and a shaker.  Doesn't stay still long enough for pictures.  Lots of blurry ones.  Thank goodness for digital.

Here is a top view of C2s' youngest.  She is such a cutie.  So quiet.

I loved how she would watch her brothers when they were finding themselves in trouble.

Curious.  Watchful.  Soaking it all in.  Can't wait to see her grow up.

E loved holding L.  She couldn't wait for her to wake up so she could hold her.

E loves babies.  And she's getting better and better at holding babies.

Though she still makes me a bit nervous.  But, she is getting better.

It's just the unpredictable movements that babies have sometimes that make me cautious.

As I learned when I was holding L and all of a sudden she was leaning halfway out of my arms.  Whoa.

Pulled her right back up and told her to not give me a heart attack.

She was fun to hold.  And she was fun to watch roll around the kitchen floor too.

potd #206.  Little Miss L sitting with E.

Summer Refreshment

Summer refreshments.  Much needed on a hot summer day.

On our recent trip to Wisconsin we were introduced to a new beer.

It is called Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy.

Other than a classic Corona with lime, it is such a great summer beer.

Light, refreshing with a hint of lemon flavor.

Since it is brewed in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, Hubby never thought we would find it here back East.

Then we went to Cape Cod this weekend.

And Hubby made a trip to the liquor store.

And guess what he came back with?

Some Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy.

What a nice surprise.

Then yesterday he happened to stop at our local liquor store.

And he asked the owner about Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy.

And guess what?

They can't keep it on the shelves.

It no sooner comes in and it sells immediately.

At least now when know we have a chance of getting it here at home.

It is a very refreshing beverage on a hot summer day.

potd #205.  Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy.  A wonderful summer refreshment.

Summer of Fishing

Summer memories.

One thing I know for sure is my kids will remember all the fishing we have done this summer.

Especially since I am really not the fishing type.

We are spending some wonderful hours with friends while fishing.

Today, A and her 2 children(A&E) joined us for fishing.

Of course K and her kids were there too.

3 moms and 7 kids.

K, A, and I spent the time talking.

Sometimes offering assistance to the kids.

Mostly the kids were all self-sufficient.  And had a great time.

Fun summer memories.

Here is Henna, As' dog.  I just love her ears.  She came along for the fishing fun.

E, As' son, and the frog he caught.  He's such a cutie.  

A wasn't so happy with the frog.  She told him to go away.  I told him to come back close so I could take a picture.

I did warn him not to let the frog jump out of his hands.  Thankfully, he didn't.

E & M fishing on the rock.  This was a good spot today.  I think the girls liked sitting and fishing.

I love this picture.  Lots going on.  

M & E busy fishing.

E getting a worm from the box.  W aka Hot Ketchup watching E get the worm.

J out in the water.  Looks like he is checking out his reel.

This is a fun happy picture.

This is J, Ks' oldest.  He is a sweetheart.

If the girls need help with their line, he is always willing to help.

And he is so sweet with his little brother, W.  J usually will cast the line and let W reel the fish in to shore.  

So part of our good summer groove is all of the fishing we have been doing.

Fun summer memories being made with friends.

Love the simplicity of the time spent together while fishing.

Happy kids.  Happy moms.  

Now that's a good summer.

potd #204.  E got her line stuck in the lily pads.  J was wanting to go in the water.   So when Es' line got stuck, he was quick to volunteer to go out in the water to get it unstuck.  It was a successful rescue mission.  Thanks J.

A Favorite Summer Sandwich

Back home.

The Cape was fantastic.

Beautiful weather, perfect beach days.

Wonderful family time.

Counting the days until we cross back over the bridge again.

For now we will enjoy more summer here at home.

Fill up our days with our happy summer groove.

And as much as we love the Cape, it was nice coming home.

Lucy was happy to see us.

And we picked our 1st ripe tomatoes.

1 large tomato and 3 grape tomatoes.

All yummy.

The girls & Hubby ate the grape tomatoes.

Hubby & I shared the large tomato for supper.  We made tomato sandwiches.  Yum.

There is nothing like a tomato sandwich.

Toasted bread, sliced tomatoes, mayonnaise, salt & pepper.  Yum.

Hubby added cheddar cheese to his sandwich.  Also yum.

Can't wait for more tomatoes to ripen.

The zucchini are growing well too.  Shouldn't be too long before we're picking some to eat.

Happy Summer.

potd #203.  Our first tomato of the season.  Yum.

Beach Day

Today was a great beach day.

Sunny skies & perfectly timed high tide.

Warm water. Warm sun.

Perfect ingredients for a perfect beach day.

Really don't want to go home tomorrow. But we must.

Already planning our next trip back.

potd #202. Love D and her new sunglasses. She got them at the flea market today. Good beach snacks too.

Happiness Is.....

Today was a great day at the beach.

We started the day off by having fritters for breakfast.

Basically fried dough. With butter.

And you can add cinnamon & sugar. And maple syrup if you want. Or all of the above.

Yum!

We've been having fritters since we were kids.

My Nana would make them for us when we would go visit.

And her mother made them for her.

It's tradition in our family to have fritters.

After fritters, we all headed off to the flea market.

We all came home with some treasure or another.

Then we had steamers for lunch.

Yum.

Then we hit the beach.

And kayaked. It was lots of fun.

I tried it for the first time. I liked it.

It was a great workout for the arms.

It was a great afternoon spent on the beach.

Looking forward to another nice day tomorrow.

Not sure I am going to want to go home Monday.

potd #201. We went to a local restaurant for dinner.   Arnold's.   Everything is delicious.   Especially the fried lobster.   Love how all the kids colored while we waited for our food.

Back at the Beach

At the Cape for the weekend.

That makes me happy.

Hubby and the girls doing a little kayaking.

The walkway to the beach from my uncles' house.

After the walkway, 47 steps to the beach.

Not much beats a sunset over Cape Cod Bay.

Here is my favorite shot from today.

potd #200.  Delaney was sitting with me today on the beach.  Love this picture of us.

Piano Practice

Now that we've got our summer groove going, it's time to get our piano groove back.

I let the girls take some time off from piano practice.

Just about a month.

D still plays regularly.  Usually her own made up songs.

A lot of times she plays by ear songs that she has heard.  From anywhere.

E doesn't play on her own.  She needs to the encouragement to play/practice.

We do a few piano lessons through the summer.

Starting next week.

So, this week we needed to get back into our piano practice routine.

D was good.  No problem.  Playing and reading music does come naturally to her.

E struggled.  There was a little frustration.

But I encouraged her to take her time.

And D is so sweet.  She is happy to help her sissy.

E is happy to have her help.

Every now and then they argue a bit.

But mostly the girls are very sweet together when D is helping E.

Today D really helped E with a particular song she was having trouble with.

And E ended up getting the song and playing it really well.

Still needs some practice, but her frustration with reading the notes is gone.

Good job D.  She was such a sweet sissy today.

potd #199.  D helping E with one of her piano songs.  Sweet.

Downfall

All I have today is a snapshot of a downfall of mine.

Bought this bag today at Target.

They are yummy.

All of us like them.

Which is good.

This way I won't be guilty of eating the whole bag by myself.

And look, they're fat free.

How wonderful.  Now I can eat more.

potd #198.  A big bag of Swedish Fish.  Yum.

Perfect Summer Supper

Today was another hot summer day.

The girls had tennis this morning.

And it was about 85 degrees at 9:30 this morning when their lessons started.

After lessons, we decided to fish again.

Both K & I had about an hour before we each needed to be other places.

The girls really do love to fish.

And their mama really just likes to watch them fish.

Another win/win for all of us.

Today they caught a few small fish.

The big deal was the small painted turtle that E caught.

E was pretty brave and was able to get the hook out of its mouth.

We kept him in the bucket for a while, then let him go when we were going home.

D also caught a small turtle.

It was another good time fishing.

And I love that I don't have to be involved.

It is also helpful to have Ks' 11 year old, J,  there too.

Like I said, it was hot today.

Very hot.

And when it's hot, I am really not wanting to cook.

So on nights like this, we usually have BLTs.

Yum.

potd #197.  A BLT.  The perfect hot summer night dinner.

Lovin' Summer

I just love summer.

We have really hit a good groove.

One bump today.

I was convinced by my very good friend, J to attend a bootcamp exercise class our gym.

It was Js' first time as well.

Our friend A also goes to this class on a regular basis.  She was there today.

Oh boy.

The class just about killed me.

We did a lot of planking.  And working on our cores.

Clearly I have no core.  Because it all hurt.  A lot.

Thankfully it all hurt J a lot too.

We made it through the class.  Even though we both thought we weren't going to make it.

Of course, we're both pretty sure we are not going to be able to move tomorrow.

Hoping the pain reliever I plan on taking at bedtime will help my cause.

After class, J & I decided we should spend the afternoon floating in her pool.

That was an excellent idea.

It was a very relaxing afternoon spent in the pool and chatting with J.

The girls and Js' daughter K(and Ks' friend B) all had fun swimming.

It was a win/win for all of us.

Tonight D decided that we should have grilled pizza for dinner.

That too was an excellent idea.

These are 2 of our favorite kinds of grilled pizza.

The one on the left is tomato/basil/mozzarella.  It is delicious.

The one of the right is a traditional red pizza with sausage and mushrooms.

Hubby grills the sausage and cooks the mushrooms on foil on the grill before making the pizza.

Both are so, so very good.

And the crust is just amazing.

I always eat way too much.

Here is the pizza cooked, cut, and ready to eat.

Yum.

All in all it was a great day.

Swimming, good friends, good food, perfect summer weather.

Yup, we've got the summer thing going for us.

Looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

potd #196.  Swimming handstands.  The girls had lots of fun practicing.  J & I were the judges.  From left to right we have K, D, and E.  Great handstands girls!

Snapshot

Quiet day.  For the most part.

Relaxing morning after our neighborhood bbq.

Hubby helped pick up at the hosts' house this morning.

The girls & I relaxed.

I had my coffee on the deck.

It was lovely.

The girls came out to sit with me.

The weather was perfect.

We were happy to put our feet up.

It was a great afternoon to go see Ice Age 3.  It was cute.

Tonight we went over to Rs' house in the neighborhood.

We had lots of fun.

Love my neighbors.

They are the best.  Truly.

Lots of fun and lots of laughs.

 potd #195.  Love my morning coffee.  Especially when I can relax on my deck.  That was extra special.

Being Neighborly

Today is our annual neighborhood golf tournament and bbq.

This is the 23rd year.

Pretty impressive.

There is a golf tournament during the day.  It is a scramble.

This is the first year I have ever golfed in the tournament.

I agreed to it somewhat under duress.

I didn't really want to golf.  At all.

But I did.

And much to my surprise, I had a really good time.

Dare I say, it was fun.

It certainly helped that in my foursome was one of my favorite people in the neighborhood.

Tonight is the bbq.

It is held at someones' house and we grill hamburgs, hot dogs, and bbq chicken.

The whole event is very well organized.

Looking forward to a good time spent with fun neighbors.

potd #194.  Enjoyed the neighborhood golf tournament.  Looking forward to a good time at the bbq.

Fishing!

The girls had tennis this morning.

My girlfriend K, who is also teaching D&E tennis, asked if we wanted to stay at the park to do a little fishing after lessons.

She was bringing her boys(and a couple of her oldests' friends) to lessons and they would fish during lessons.  Then we would catch up with them.

We had some time, so I happily said yes.

After I made sure she knew I don't do anything when it comes to fishing.

Luckily, she doesn't really do anything either.  Phew.  Knew I liked her for a reason.

Fast forward to this morning when I am on my way to lessons.

Well, on my way back to the park for lessons.  See we had arrived at the park when E informed me she didn't have her racket.

Her exact words were, "Mom did you remember to grab my racket?"

What!!!!!

Let's just say I may have yelled a bit.  Mostly that I am not responsible for remembering their stuff.

I let them know that no longer was I responsible for remembering their stuff when we leave the house.

And I won't be turning around anymore.

So, we were on our way back to lessons.

K calls me and says she has a favor to ask, if I am not busy during lessons.

I told her all I needed to do was run to the local grocery store to get soda for our neighborhood picnic that is tomorrow.

She then asks if I can go to the 7-Eleven and buy another container of night crawlers. The container her son J went in to buy yesterday was full of dead worms.

What????  She wants me to buy worms!

Good thing I like her.  So I said I would be happy to go buy worms for the kids.

Blech.  I survived buying night crawlers.  But I didn't like it.

Especially when the refrigerator also had containers of other yucky looking worms.

And especially after I was shaking the containers to make sure I was getting live worms.

And some kind of liquid got on my hand.  I am going with the idea that is was just condensation.  Hoping it was just condensation.

Double blech.

Yes, I can be a girlie girl about some things.  Apparently buying night crawlers is one of those things.

Anyhoo.

After lessons, off we go to fish.

The boys were fishing on a bridge that goes over the pond.  K's youngest son, W aka hot ketchup, had caught a catfish.

That was exciting.

The girls went fishing just around the pond up the path.

They were having fun.  Getting a few bites but not getting anything.

D, E, & M all had a fish on the line at some point, but it kept getting away.

Finally A was able to hook it.

And then it became a group effort to bring in this fish.

A has it hooked.  Letting it run a bit.  Tire it out.  E & M are looking on, cheering.

Reeling the fish in.  M is helping with the line.  Making sure it doesn't get caught in the weeds.

This shot makes me laugh.

D is posing for K.  So is A.

M & E are busily trying to get the hook out of the fishs' mouth.

They are not posing.  And I love Ms' face.  Lots of concentrating going on there.

Love this.  A posing for me.  A had no interest in holding the fish at all.

D just watching M & E.

M & E still working on getting the hook out.

It took a bit.

K was hollering for her oldest, her son J, to come and help the girls.

I, not knowing fishing at all, was yelling to J to bring the pliers.

I am sure that pliers is not the technical fishing term for the tool Hubby uses to get hooks out.

It was the closest I could think of at the time.

Basically K & I were useless.

Good thing we had M & E.

By the time the boys, J and As' brother-H,  showed up they had removed the hook.

Go girls!

It was a good time fishing.

We decided we need to do it again when we have more time.

Looking forward to it.

M just relaxing on the rock, fishing.  Perfect way to spend time on a warm summer day.

potd #193.  Such a fun picture of all the girls and their catch.  I love that E is pointing to A, making sure we know that it was A that reeled the fish in.  M, E, & D all have hands on the fish.  A was definitely not touching it.  Happy fishing girls.

Swim Dog

We have a golden retriever.

We are all pretty partial to her.  We think she's the cutest golden retriever ever.

And the sweetest.  And the prettiest.  You get the picture.

Well, this golden loves to swim.

Really loves to swim.

We have a two level deck.  The lower part abuts our above ground pool.

We can't even let Lucy down on the lower deck in the summer unless we are prepared for her to swim.

So, usually we keep her up on the top deck.  And she watches us sadly.  And cries.

She's quite pathetic.

Tonight, Hubby was going for a swim with the girls and decided to let Lucy swim too.

She loved it.  She was a happy swimming dog.

E throwing the ball for Lucy.

Airborne!  I love the splash that is made by the tennis ball.

Now it's Ds's turn to throw the ball.  I love how Lucy is so intent on watching what D is doing with the ball.

There goes the ball.

And Lucy leaps off the deck.  Crazy ears!

Splash!

Happy Lucy.  She has a ball.  She's swimming.  And she's with Hubby.

Now that's a wet dog.

I love so many things about this picture.

Her tongue hanging out.  Definitely happy.

She's smiling.

And I just love that she is holding onto Hubby with her paw.  Too darn cute.

Yes, I love my dog.

After she swam, we kept her up on the top deck to dry out.

She was so funny.

While I was up there she was fine.  Hubby and the girls were still swimming.

As soon as I went down onto the lower deck, she started to cry a bit and whine some.

Poor Lucy.  Such a rough life you have.

Here she is on the upper deck.  Watching Hubby and the girls swim.  And have fun.

It was killing her.

I took pity on her and kept her company.

potd #192.  Happy wet dog.  Swimming.  It's a good thing for all.