Scenes from Summer

We are settling in nicely to a summer rhythm.

Going to outdoor concerts.

(Next time we'll pack a picnic dinner.)

Going berry picking.

And checking on the tomatoes every day. It won't be long!

Works in Progress

John is posting his WIPs today in hopes that it will spur him on to finish. I figured that was a good idea--plus I haven't had much crafty to show lately, and show and tell is always fun.

I haven't been sewing/knitting as much lately because I've been tearing through library books as fast as I can.
I'm hoping to finish the Inkheart trilogy before the end of summer--the movie is being shown in August at the free movies. I just have to persuade the kids to come with me. They were terrified by the preview. After I finish this, I'm going to read Peter and the Shadow Thieves. It's the second book in that series. Don't despair--I did read two novels by Jane Austen before starting Inkspell--it's not all kiddie lit around here! I tell you, that Mr. Darcy is something else...but I digress.

Here is an unexciting picture of the back of my disappearing nine patch quilt. I decided on straight lines again--my sewing machine does not like to free-motion quilt. I'm having a devil of a time, though. The thread keeps breaking. But when I loosen the tension, I get the loops on the back, and the thread keeps breaking! What kind of thread do you use for quilting? Do any of you have problems with the thread breaking?

I'm hoping to finish this quilt in the next week or so. I'd like it to be our picnic quilt, but it has an awful lot of white on the front--I'm not sure I want to be laundering it all the time...

And I'm finally knitting with normal sized yarn again! After abandoning my own lace shawl, I decided on a stash-buster blanket.

Now my hands will have something to do while we watch Season One of Mad Men.

And now...summer

Hi, all. Thanks so much for the encouraging comments to my last post. Staying positive is by far the way to go, but sometimes I have to vent a little. We're taking a deep breath before we keep on going.

Our weekend was great! Of course, I haven't uploaded any pictures, so you'll have to trust me when I say that we had the best location for viewing fireworks EVER! We were right on the water--we could see the barge where the fireworks were being ignited. And even better (and something we never knew before), we could see that the town of Rumson had the exact same show going on--timed to the music and everything--as Red Bank. It was like a picture-in-picture effect--Red Bank fireworks right on top of us, and down and to the right, Rumson fireworks in miniature!

We had a lovely visit with family. The cousins all stayed up way too late. My sister-in-law could win some prizes with her zucchini--it's going crazy! And we all watched my nephew play some baseball--he had about six games over the course of the weekend. His team finished second in the tournament after a late-inning rally. It was good times.

AND my brother and his special lady friend got engaged!

Employed or not, there is plenty to be happy about (there always has been). There is also lots of laundry to be done (always will be). I'll come back soon with some pictures.

This one hurts. And I knew that if it didn't work out, that it was going to be especially painful...

After weeks of nothing on the job front, Rob had an interview last week. For a position in New Jersey--not just in the state, but in the area where he grew up, where we had moved from four years ago. And the interview went really well. There was talk of salaries, mention of possible relocation packages.

And I knew not to get ahead of myself, not to count my chickens, etc. Yet a quick glance at realtor.com revealed a house for sale (that looked good!) not a half-mile from his sisters. We are going over to NJ tomorrow, and in my mind, it was going to be a triumphant return. We'd make the big announcement, get his realtor sister looking into houses, spread the news...

And today the call came. They filled the position internally.

And just like I knew it would, this one really hurts.

Garden Update: Late June Edition

Things are growing in the Evans garden...

This year, we decided to increase our broccoli. We had great luck with it last year, so this year, we planted 12 broccoli plants and even added broccoli rabe.
This was a mistake. The broccoli rabe went straight to flower, and most of the broccoli has also gone straight to flower. There are a couple of plants that look like they may give us something good, but all in all, I'd say this was a waste.

The herbs are doing much better. After a slow start, the basil is recovering nicely. The rosemary is also doing well.

And then there is the parsley:

It is thriving. I had never planted parsley before, and I bought two plants--not sure why. Anyway, it's going gangbusters. Anyone have any parsley recipes? 'Cause I'm about to have to start garnishing all of our plates with a sprig...

This is a picture of two plants. Underneath that tomato is a bell pepper.

I call this my "free tomato." I'm pretty tickled with it, but it is crowding out the only pepper plant that looks like it's actually going to produce anything this year. I do not have good luck with peppers, and yet I persist...

Over in another part of the yard, we planted five tomato plants. Here are some baby beefsteaks, just getting ready.

And in the "What the...?" department, we returned home from our trip to find these growing in the garden:

They're called Dog Stinkhorn (had to look it up), and they grow in rich soil. I'm glad about the rich soil and all, but they are multiplying like crazy out there. The book doesn't say that they're poisonous (just not edible). Is this going to be bad for the veggies and herbs, or will they peacefully coexist? And will they go away when the soil dries out?

Will the broccoli redeem itself? Will the lone pepper plant give us anything? Will Mama Evans use her brand-new Foley mill on those beefsteak tomatoes? Will the Dog Stinkhorn retreat as warmer, drier weather finally appears? Stay tuned for the next edition of As the Garden Grows!

Our Summer Reading

One of my favorite things about summers with the kids is the extended reading time we enjoy. Since moving to Pennsylvania four years ago, we have become regular patrons of the public library. We are there at least every two weeks, often weekly.

Last summer, I came up with a new routine for bedtime. It took me an hour (gulp!), but the kids and I really enjoyed it. I would read to all three of them for fifteen minutes, and then take fifteen minutes to read with each child alone.

This year, I am cutting out the group read. I'll still read picture books and short chapter books to them during the day, but I hope to read longer, more challenging books with each of them during our time each night. So what to read? Of course, the school district publishes summer reading lists, and those books disappear from the library shelves first. A couple of weeks ago, I found a book at (surprise!) the library called What to Read When by Pam Allen. It's full of lists of great books to read aloud to your kids. She also gives interesting information on how children learn to read and why it's so important to read with them.

With Caroline, I am reading Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. Caroline has already seen the movie (which disappoints me a little--I always like to read the book first), but she sure does love snuggling up to me while I read to her.

Caitlin and I are reading The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes. In fact, she read a chapter to me last night. That was fun.

And Bobby wasn't feeling well last night, so we read No, David! together. He and I are going to finish one that we had started about a month ago and set aside: Tucker's Countryside by George Selden. It's the second in a series (the first is The Cricket in Times Square), and he seems to enjoy it. What's not to love about a cricket, a mouse and a cat who are friends?

And Mama's working on a couple of books (since I can't seem to find any time to sew or knit). On our trip, I started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's pretty good, but I had put it down to start Persuasion by Jane Austen. I decided that I'm reading too many books about characters who read Jane Austen. I should just go to the source myself. As luck would have it, the copy of Pride and Prejudice that I had sworn I had in the basement is gone, and the library was all out of copies, so I grabbed Persuasion.

Home Again

We are home again, and just in time for Father's Day. And my dad is here, so that's nice. The kids are all in one piece, and it was only about a minute after we got in the door before they started asking where our suitcases were (which is code for "what did you bring us?")

I only took about 500 pictures, so there won't be much to share!I loved Lake Placid. I have always wanted to go the Adirondacks, and it was just wonderful.

Apparently, in the winter, you can ride on the Olympic Bobsled course (with someone who knows how to do it, of course). I think that alone would be reason enough to go back.

I'm so glad to be home, though. As we were driving home, Rob remarked how where we live is just as pretty as all the places we just visited.

It really was like the Wizard of Oz...there's no place like home!