It Was a Dark and Rainy Day

When I was 11 and starting my sixth grade year, we were threatened with Hurricane Gloria. I remember that they talked about it on the news for days, non-stop. Adults fretted like they are prone to do, and we all mostly ignored it. My mom got the idea in her head that she should tape up all the windows in the house, just in case the wind broke them, so that the glass didn't shatter everywhere. She used masking tape, which still amuses me to this day. They cancelled school, and all we got was a really tropical day, with some rain and mostly just wind. The neighborhood kids, free from the obligations of higher learning, all got together and we played a pretty rocking game of kickball for the afternoon. The wind added a challenging aspect that we enjoyed every minute of.

Love In a Freezer Bag

Part of living in an allergic household, is having to do a lot of your own cooking and baking. I love cooking and baking, so this really doesn't bother me too much, I just don't always have the time for the things that we don't need for dinners. Part of my "New School Year's Resolutions" is to make time to get safe breakfast foods into the freezer on a regular basis. Knowing that we were due for a hurricane on Sunday with potential power outages, I spent a good part of Saturday in the kitchen.

One Thousand Gifts

78. Crossing things off the never ending to-do list.

79. One last sunny day of work up the hill, and a genuine feeling of "we'll miss you" at the end of it.

80. A new, male OB-GYN doctor (it was a surprise), and the unexpected immediate acceptance of him due to his gentle and thoughtful personality.

81. The way she listens without judging, and lets me complain, even if it's about her dad.

82. A bountiful basket full of delicious produce from my C.S.A. farm share.

83. Love in a freezer bag.

84. That the storm wasn't as bad as expected, and all my family and friends are safe.

A Bountiful Harvest

A tisket, a tasket, an overflowing basket....
This little rhyme runs through my head each week when I arrived at Tracie's Farm to pick up my C.S.A. share. I have wanted to buy a share each year for the past few, but finances kept me from being able to do so. Last summer, my good friend C worked at the farm for her single share, and it was more than she could eat alone, so she shared it with us. That was enough to convince me that this summer we needed to get our own. On top of that, since discovering I have a sensitivity to chemicals, pesticides and preservatives, it just made more sense. I love that I can reach into my crisper drawer and pull out, well, anything, and not have to worry about how it was grown.

Farewell to Summer

It always saddens me, every year, when we get to this day... the one before we go back to work. Oh, I know, we still have the weekend, but weekends don't really count, do they? This is, however, the first whole weekend I've had off since early July, and for that I'm thrilled. I'm less thrilled about the hurricane that is coming as it's mucked up our plans to go to the lake (sigh, why has this been such a hard thing this summer, every time we plan it, it rains!), but I think we'll head out to the movies tomorrow afternoon instead. What we do, really doesn't matter to me as much as doing it together.

In Which We Find the End of My Summer Job

During a rather cold and bitter day in the middle of February, I found myself daydreaming about being up the hill at the farm picking blueberries. I remembered how warm the sun felt on my skin as I spent the days outside, picking berries in the morning and helping customers get to where they needed to be and grading/packing in the afternoon. I thought about how nice the solitariness of it was.. just me and my music passing away the time in the fresh air. It was a nice daydream that got me through some rather awful winter days.

One Thousand Gifts

71. An effort being made for more discussions.

72. A rainy day to spend doing whatever I pleased.

73. The way her bangs flip across the side of her eye, and she brushes them away while she eats.

74. The conversations they have about technology that only they can understand.

75. The gift of acceptance, and love.. no matter what.

76. A large watermelon, given away at the end of the Farmer's Market.

77. A stolen moment, shared together in the kitchen. 

Randomness on a Tuesday

1. It has been raining since the middle of Sunday afternoon. On Sunday, I felt cranky about it, because The Boy™ and I were going to take a picnic and travel out to a winery in VT to celebrate our anniversary which was on Saturday. Our original plans involved a weekend away in Burlington, but that wasn't going to work, so we modified. Mother nature had other plans and so we will push it off, and maybe a winery in the fall will be nicer. As a result of all this rain, I had the day off today. It was too wet to pick berries and so I crossed a dozen things off my should've-done-this-already list, did far too much screwing off, and worked on a new crochet project that I started this weekend.

One Thousand Gifts

64. The first hug I've gotten from my son in I can't remember how many years.. as he left for his last week at MIT this summer.

65. A lovely day spent just wandering around shops with good friends, good food and good laughs.

66. He makes dinner on the nights I work at the farm so that I can come home hot, tired, and dirty and get right into the shower.

67. A pile of flip flops and some giggly girls who filled my unexpected day off with endless entertainment.

68. My boy coming home.

69. A smile and a kind word from a stranger, when I was feeling far from friendly.

70. Flowers, in honor of our anniversary, and the most touching card I've received in a long time.

A New Kind of Normal

pizza dough, rising on the counter

When Ashley first was diagnosed with her food allergies back during the winter, I remember how relieved I was that it was only soy and nuts. I still recall how hard it was those first weeks when we would go grocery shopping, and realize how much of the food supply contains soy, or is manufactured on shared equipment with nuts and/or soy. We adapted, and over came, and as a result, do more of our own cooking at home. We did a lot of home cooking to start with, but now we rely on a lot less processed foods, which has been such a blessing in disguise. I have always enjoyed cooking, and as a result of all this, we have tried some pretty delicious recipes and discovered great new products, such as Back to Nature crackers.

Who Has the Pause Button?

It has been a busy summer that has gone by far too fast. The weather has been beautiful, in my opinion. Sunny and hot, just like summer should be, with enough rain thrown in to keep things green and watered. On August 29th I will head back to work at school, and I am So.Not.Ready. Usually I get to the end of summer, and I feel ready to go back. That I've done all of the "summer things" I wanted to get done, and I'm ready to get back in the swing of a school routine and see the kids and my coworkers and we all know that I love fall. But not this year.

One Thousand Gifts

57. The quiet voice of forgiveness, even when my heart is still hurting.

58. The rain that is watering my garden and giving life to my yard, that came at the end of my work day and not the beginning.

59. The way she smiles while she is txting her friends as she sprawls across the couch.

60. A sunny afternoon picking plums in an orchard. I love my summer job.

61. A husband who steps up and makes a delicious dinner when he knows I am too tired to lift my arms to hug him at the end of my work day.

62 .Having my boy home, even if it's just for one night and tomorrow morning.

63. Our Armed Forces, who give their lives every day so that I may enjoy living in freedom. God Bless them all.

Strong Legs Run...

.. so that weak legs may walk.

Today was the 58th annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, played up in Windsor, VT. NH's All-Star football team, made up of this year's top graduated seniors took on VT's All-Star football team in a game that also serves as a fundraiser for the Shrine Hospitals of New England. The three hospitals treat children, regardless of ability to pay, for things such as burns, spinal cord injuries and orthopedic conditions. It's a great day, fueled on in part by the fact that NH has kicked VT's butt every year for the last 11, including this one.

Rainy Afternoon Fun

A while ago, I made plans with my friend to spend some time together and end the day with dinner at my house. On Thursday, I realized that I was feeling overwhelmed with how my life has been so crazy as of late and how I hadn't had a real day off in ages, and she offered to give up our plans. She's a great friend. I asked if we could change them, and instead just plan on her and her mom (who's staying with her this summer and I love) coming for dinner and games after. We play cards or a board game or something fun to pass the evening. Because she's so awesome, she never once complained about our plans changing and happily accepted.