Egg-in-the-hole

I recently taught Alice how to make egg-in-the-hole (sometimes referred to as Birdsnest) for breakfast because she loves eggs and toast. I have noticed recently more independence from both kiddos in the kitchen, especially in the morning when I am busy working in the dining room.  This morning I was surprised to see Alice in the kitchen working on this breakfast she had made.  Hooray for the little things that make my job easier! In the Fall, I think we are going to start teaching them how to make us dinner...

Cosmos

We started watching the Cosmos series with the kids in the evenings. It is a big hit! There is much about science I have yet to understand and I love that the host Neil Degrasse Tyson is a fantastic teacher.  I am learning along with kids about space, the universe, history of human existence...you name it.

Great show that initiates great couch conversation !!

Blackberries

Puttering around the garden this evening felt so good. The temperature had cooled about 15 degrees from the 90 something we have had for several days (first out of town, and then upon returning home).  The humidity, though, was dense and even brought some sprinkles of rain while I was out there.  As I rounded the edge of the back patio I spotted my bin of blackberry plants and it was clear we officially had ripe berries! This was our 2nd year for these plants, but first year for berries.  By the time I had shared these around our living room, my palm of my hand was stained purple from the juice. I didn't care, because I was still savoring the tart, sweet flavor of the last two that had been left for me.

Lemondrop Melon

To try something new on an ordinary Monday is exciting even if it is simply a new fruit.  I bought a melon at the grocer today and sliced it up to accompany dinner. It was called a Lemondrop melon. 

Wow, what a treat!  Like a sweet lemony dessert.  Great way to sweeten this summer evening.

A watched pot doesn't boil

Leaving the garden alone for 5 days without water in early August is always a little nerve racking...I always expect everything to be dead when I return. 

I got home today and things never looked better...lesson learned...they don't need to be fussed over every day.  As many times as I have tried, I have not been able to get my clematis to climb or bloom, but yet here it is in all it's beauty.

Grateful for nice surprises.

On the last night of WACAP camp all the families get together for a kid's talent show.  There is no competition...each child that participates gets an ice cream cone. As imagined almost every kid gets up and performs something, whether it be a 3 yr old singing Grand Old Flag, a 13 yr old playing violin, or a 7 yr old telling favorite joke.  This camp is about bringing kids together from all over the world who have adoption in common. It's beautiful to see them all together playing in the sun, seeing no color, oblivious to the differences.  Lots of great fun, but this is my favorite night.

The art of doing nothing

I found myself several times today sitting, thinking, and doing nothing.  It was marvelous. With no cell reception or internet being off the grid is inevitable, and a welcome reprieve. I have to walk down to the camp office here to log into wi-fi and publish this post. 

For several hours today we swam in the pool, and now I am just sitting pool side watching the kids swim...and absolutely nothing else.