July 12: Shakestonington, Indeed!

Today Younger and I (pictured at scenic overlook at Caterpillar Hill, en route; pic taken with my limited camera's limited timer option so the scenic overlook aspect was pretty much. . .overlooked) went to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Stonington Opera House and it was TERRIFIC. ALL the actors were amazing, the set was creative, fascinating and variable, and the action was non-stop. . .oh, and the music, done by a live band supplemented by Puck/Philostrate and Theseus/Oberon, was wonderful too. We were in the second row, and we simply lapped it up--I was delighted that Younger got it so much, so well, and so fast--on the way home he said, "I thought it would be harder to understand! I got everything!" and he surely did. He even got me a delicious dark chocolate and coconut candy bar at intermission that was good, so talk about your rave review! The costumes and setting were very interesting in that this production really emphasized Hippolyta as captured warrior queen, and actually left that aspect unresolved at the end, with her still leery of Theseus; the four lovers became the four rustics and were absolutely terrific. Younger and I were unsure as to which actor we thought was best, but the woman who played Helena, the first-scorned-and-then-adored maiden, was my favorite. The production was really physical, too, opening with a sort of shadow play of the war against the Amazons, and throughout there was lots of wrestling, leaping, smacking, kneeing, falling, etc. Bottom/Demetrius stretched his final death scene in Pyramis and Thisbe ("the most lamentable comical tragedy of. . .") into nearly 10 mins, dying at least six times. It was pure, unadulterated pleasure. Yay, Stonington! I will surely be checking to see what's on for next year, and Younger will be right next to me, too!

What a fun/busy/varied weekend we had. I am ready for Monday so I can catch my breath!!!!!

July 12: Our Busy Weekend

It's been fun: yesterday Elder, his friend, Younger and I hit the car at 8:45 to drive to Westbrook for the older boys' swim meet. It was an easy, fast drive down, and a gorgeous day, so having to wait for Mom to show up (she got lost, which surprised me: I'm not sure if she's getting worse about following directions or if I'm getting better, as we both looked at the posted web directions but she didn't follow them!) in the sun and nice warm breeze was a pleasure! We had plenty of time for a nice lunch--thanks, Mom!--and then a return to find that the events were an hour behind those printed in the schedule: not sure how that happened, but other than that, things went well. Elder swam very well, dropping time in both his events, and was a little more outgoing to us, coming over to chat and even waving from the blocks. THAT is a welcome change, even though I decided to go to this meet for myself rather than for him.

It amazes me how the parents tell me, "Prepare to lose any life of your own if your kid swims!" I had a good conversation about that with Elder's friend's mom, who was feeling guilty that her son was hitching a ride with us since they had company coming, and I said that I was doing "my turn" and it was great! I just think that having Elder fall in love with swimming shouldn't mean that the rest of the family loses every weekend and spends hundreds of dollars on food and hotels so we can follow him around New England (and into Canada. More on that later!). We will pay his freight, yes, and help out when we can, but I think he's fine with us not being at every meet (in fact, I know he's fine with it. He has TOLD me he's fine with it!)--and we DO have two children, one of whom is, understandably, not entranced by sitting in humid, dark pool galleries to watch his brother in the water for 1.08 minutes. So I am fascinated/horrified by this very American/21st century/kid-centered phenomenon of "The Swim Family" (often, of course, the swim MOM, just like the soccer mom or the lacrosse mom): while my desire to pull our own weight/raise our own child mandates that we do play a role, my equally strong sense that we are a family which has four members, not one, mandates that we keep everyone's interests and needs in mind.

But Younger and I had a nice day, ending up our trip to southern Maine with a nice stop at Target and then dinner at Applebee's (I usually aim for non-chain restaurants, but I was hungry enough to eat my own elbow, and there it was. . .), and he kept saying, "I had such a nice day!" Not a bad outcome. Today we have church and then a trip to Stonington to see "Midsummer Night's Dream," if we can get the tickets figured out (website issues). What a whirlwind of cultcha and sport!

July 10: Look What WE'VE Got!

The sun is back! Zeus the dog and the old cat have been lolling around in it, clearly enjoying it. Yesterday was lovely but cool, and today is truly a Maine summer day--hot in the sun, perfect in the shade, and possessing a lively, warm breeze to dry my laundry. . .



of which I have hung four loads! I did my "every ten days or so" deep clean of the house, so that's done, and since then the animals and I have just been enjoying the soft air, the wonderful smell, the light playing through the skylights and the leaves, and the welcome reminder of what summer is all about. Happy days!

July 5: We are NOT talking about the weather.

Just so you know.

But I just finished reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, a mystery that I've been hearing about from every direction lately, and that I found, to my surprise, at our library right off the bat!

The main character, Flavia de Luce, is an 11 year old British girl living in 1950, and she sounds like a holy terror. . . but I ended up liking her nonetheless. The narration is a little abrupt and choppy, but it does help create a strong sense of this girl, her intelligence, and her view of the world. All in all, I liked it a great deal, and am disappointed to discover that even though this won an award for first novel in a detective series in 2007, the second book in the series isn't due out till 2010. Get writing, I sez!

Am pondering a bike ride. . . also had a terrific trip to Silveridge Farm in Bucksport to pick berries for a church fundraiser. We slid in between a torrential down pour on Thursday night and a spectacular rainstorm on Saturday afternoon. Oops. . . no weather talk, right? But the berries were lovely, and we got 36 quarts in little time. Look at us!



So: good stuff. And a good time at Swimgirl's house for the Fourth, too.

July 3: Making the Best of It!

Well. It is still mostly grey and mostly wet, with a few breaks of sun, like the ten minute one we got moments ago. I've been doing okay, although when we had a HUGE thunderstorm that lasted about an hour and a half last night, complete with torrential rains that postponed our fundraising trip to pick strawberries to sell at church and necessitated about 15 phone calls. . . . I was a tad pissed off about that. Incredibly enough, it didn't seem to make a difference.

As usual, we're at loose ends for the holiday tomorrow. With no family around, we're usually reluctant to call other people to ask them over, because often it turns out that those people have a family or neighborhood tradition, and we don't want to make them feel like they have to invite us. . .etc. etc. So far BH doesn't want to do any of the things the boys and I think are fun (going to Bar Harbor and walking around, going to see the fireworks, etc) and he doesn't have any great replacement ideas. . . so we'll just see what, besides strawberrying, unfolds! ETA: HA! New discovery: when mother tells son that he may not go to girlfriend's house because the Fourth is a family occasion, girlfriend's family invites family to their house! Win-win all around!

Today, though, I got onto my cooking horse and we're having a luxuriously toothsome dinner: pulled pork in the slow cooker and then coconut cupcakes for dessert. There are enough cupcakes that we should be able to take extras with us for a snack when we pick tomorrow, thus enabling us to try them with fresh strawberries, too! I also got stubborn and hung out two loads of laundry. After all, there IS a breeze, so. . . . we'll see.

I have also done two pattern repeats and separated for the arms on my Feb. Lady sweater (pattern adapted by Pamela Wynne, I will add since she had a long entry on her blog about how no one was giving her credit. Since I would have NO IDEA how to adapt such a pattern [and don't yet know if I can even follow the directions correctly], I give her all credit. ALL. ). The gull wing lace pattern makes sense, but I can't yet do it easily. A few more reps and I bet I'll have it, though!

Dinner was great and I am hankering for coconut cupcakes (ala Barefoot Contessa, a cookbook I love but don't use a lot, partly because it calls for tons of butter and eggs and stuff. Both cupcakes and icing called for 3/4 lb butter. EACH. On the upside, it made twenty four cupcakes, and I have icing enough for the carrot cake I'm bringing to Swimgirl's house tomorrow.) which I will light into at 7 pm (boundaries are good). We will also watch at least one of the Jeeves and Wooster cds that I got on big time sale from Daedalus Books for BH's belated Dad's Day gift. And I'll aim for another pattern repeat on the sweater. I'm on a roll (which is good, as I tore out the 4 hour scarf I started in a meeting this week. Needs bigger needles for more laciness, I think)!

AND the sun came out a bit. Just a bit, and exactly when I was elbows-deep in pulled pork defatting it and unable to go out. But we'll take it.

June 30: Good Stuff

BH and I just had a conversation about how we were coping with the extended greyness, and we reminded each other that overcast vacation is still more fun, and richer than, work days. . . . and I must say I have been fulfilling my pledge to make the most of my vacation time.

DID clean the house from top to toe, pores out, yesterday. . . .

DID go to Schoodic Fiber Arts Festival (tried to add a link, but with no apparent luck; go to http://www.schoodicarts.org/ to check it out) yesterday with Marie. . .

AND did finish Cursed Sock #2 while watching three episodes of "Rosemary and Thyme" with Younger last night!


That leaves about 1/2" straight sock and about 1" ribbing to do on the first sock, the one that I have frogged seven times and counting, and then, I informed BH, he is to put them on his feet and I am to hear no more about them. Ever.

I also got a different #7 round needle for the Feb. Lady yesterday, so once Sock 1 is done, I can get started on that.

Shazaam. Take that, overcast!

June 29, Monday: Still Grey

. . . and still determined not to whinge, as the Brits say. Sorted the drawers and laundry yesterday. Yay! Finished 39 Steps--like a comic book in prose, but a classic adventure novel--knitted on the Cursed socks, made bread, worked on the annual appeal. Today: cleaning house, going to Fiber Craft show. Yay! Might also decide on the needles I will use for the February Lady Sweater when I make attempt #2 on that. Waiting for the complete Jeeves and Wooster dvd set I ordered from Daedalus Books as BH's Dad's Day present--GREAT for this weather!



Old pic of this year's amaryllis, just for pretty. Inspiration, sunshine? Apparently, there is a trough of low pressure that has parked itself in the ocean and trapped all this moisture. We are set till at least next week. GULP. . . what movies do I want to see?????