~pictures of summer~

Around here, summer is just rolling along. Garden, kitchen, life, beloved friends and family, home improvement project, etc. It's just going.

I thought you might like to see the inside of our two hundred year-old walls, and the hole in the wall that is awaiting a fresh, unrotty window in what will be Jonas's room.

the new guest room:

Ben Moore "sesame," sort of a lovely cream of asparagus soup color

looks great in lots of lighting

We've been swimming, blessed with a true summer, at many favorite watering holes. Including a nearby quarry, located conveniently on our commute, just 8 minutes away. There are all levels for jumping, from zero to 20 feet. I'm a zero type of person, if you'd like to know: I walk in, thank you very much. The water is delicious and your skin feels amazing after swimming in this spring-fed, 121 feet deep hole.

The season of fresh eating is upon us. Salads that are beautiful and good to eat, from the garden: this one is arugula and mesclun with raw grated golden beets and red onions. Tossed with salt, pepper, and balsamic and olive oil, you have close to perfection in a salad bowl. Lots of pepper.

How long to cook your fresh corn? I'm so glad you asked. And I'll tell you because I care and because it's something I have quite a bit of passion about. Overcooked corn is like a pithy peach or a mealy apple or salad greens with dirt on them.

So here goes. Boil your water. Put in your corn, turn off the heat, and cover the pot. For THREE MINUTES. That's it. Not a second more. And then you invert the lid and put whatever ears you aren't consuming immediately right on the lid, so they don't cook any more but still stay warm. Seriously. THREE. Only.

Cucumbers are happening. In a big way. Like half a dozen or eight per day from our garden. Please don't leave the table without consuming your requisite number of cukes.

These are a spiky Japanese variety that we got from our CSA. There is lots of potential here for making cute little hedgehogs that are edible, but we just ate them up without pretense. What more perfect dish to put them in than my baby bowl of Wedgewood: "But round the end of the cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr. McGregor!"

This is what we do with overly large ones: juggle them and then let the children smash them with hammers.

It's all a little much, thanks

two boys, two girls,

all that hair

We are moving the boys into two separate spaces. It's the right time and all that. But man. I had no idea the time that it would consume. Essentially we are losing a boatload of storage space, our office, and guest room all at once and condensing it all into one small room. It's been a good time to purge!

So there is not much going on around here between me and the sewing machine, for starters. Creative endeavors? Ha. Packing boxes a bit at a time is more like it. And I hate the chaos of my house right now, so I can't even really get excited about photos lately. I am misplacing things left and right and feeling a bit nuts. Most of the creative conversations I have lately go like this:

J: What day should we rent the wallpaper steamer?

me: Um, Sunday? And then we can spackle the walls, right?

J: Sure, but let's get all the pictures down.

I: OK, I'm off to paint that dresser now. I just finished sweeping the attic so that we can move some stuff up there. But first, a bunch of trash and yard sale stuff has to come down.

there was this wonderful purple glittery ball,

that did not photograph properly

It's like this elaborate game of strategy, where every action depends on many other small actions being performed in the right sequence. I'm terrible at this but thankfully I am married to a patient strategist who can just tell me what to do when. Add this to the fact that I usually start getting cranky with summer at about this time anyway and you will have a picture of how I am approaching my limit with summer and her lack of form and general level of chaos. (oops, I guess I am early with my whining, just like everything else this year.)

In other news, Sylvan turned 8! (Remember 7?) We had a really glorious day of quintessential summer: bowling, followed by swimming and dinner and cake at the lake with several dear friends and family. It was my first experience of big ball bowling and not candlepin, which is a unique Northeastern phenonmenon. And here is what I think of the big balls: Really Difficult, Unwieldy, and Heavy! (There was a one-armed bowler there who really blew my mind!) Potential for bodily injury is ramped WAY up.

Have we shared with you the wonders of a watermelon in the lake? For sport? It is a short-cut to pure joy and tons of giggling. You can toss it in the air or propel it underwater! Sometimes it surprises you and pops up in unlikely places! This was also part of our festivity! (No you don't need to grease it first, this sounds to me like a mess on your bathing suit.)

And we had to get the requisite dock-jumping pics!

Are you a leg-out-to-the-side jumper?

Or more of a graceful beauty?

Perhaps you're more inclined to take a leisurely stroll off the edge:

At the end of the day, it was golden, and I couldn't stop taking photos of so many beautiful faces. Here is the birthday boy, newly brave with dogs and water on his face while swimming.

A few summery items

Hydrangeas courtesy of Joanie's garden

This Friday night is the Sewing Lounge at Alewives, and this Friday there's a Buttercup Bag Sew-along! There are nibbles (sushi, chocolate, other yummies) and a relaxed atmosphere and Rhea has kindly asked me (?) to come be the Buttercup Go-To Girl of the night. I guess because I have made a few this spring and summer, but come on, I am guessing all the ladies that will tote along their machines will be WAY more qualified than me to work through this bag! ANYway. Ana, Lex, Mary Anna, Miss Smith, Emily or any other sewing readers, can you book some last minute flights from your respective corners of the world so we can have a sewing date this Friday?

We live in an area that has these crazy microclimates. At work last night I was ready to bust out a sweater, as we had been socked in with fog and damp and chill all afternoon. But when I drove 10 minutes inland to the site of our evening's relaxed summer family cookout on the lake with friends, people were swimming and it was actually hot.

Unfortunately I missed the watermelon fun in the water (hilarious). But I did not miss the above shot of glee.

I also did not miss the sun-soaked freckles and eyelash shadows, thank goodness.

Or this.