Food and Flowers

We had a low key Fourth with my in-laws. Very nice. And please consider yourself invited to our house, next Independence Day, all day, for seafood, national parking, over-harbor fireworks, and a blast of a good time! (Pun intended.)

Freedom, Liberty, God, Bounty. I believe it.
And, of course, I have a few tips to vault on this here blog for next year.
First of all: the Food.
Exhibit A--  Clams. If you order Fried Clams at a restaurant or dive, please note they will be kind of tough, chewy, tiny strips, and a bit reliant on the sand. THESE, I tell you, are absolutely delectable. The size of a deck of cards. All you'll ever need is lemon juice. So very moist and tender (deep fry in panko, almost dangerously hot, for a mere 20 seconds. or less.)! Save the rest of the clam (whether you know how to recognize it or not) for chowder.

Exhibit B-- Coleslaw. My made-up recipe. Apparently, I have stuff like coleslaw recipes ready to manifest from my mind. Like art. So it is.
Exhibit C-- Crabs.  Distract the kids. With a sandbox.

Playing in Grandpa's boat.

Bubble blowing.
Fourth of July Cupcakes.

Are they still looking away? Just warning you...because my three year old is asking when the crabs are going to wake up. And asking as we prepare to dine-- despite the distractions. Arg! We did get to talk about life, though, and death. And the Lion King. And now I might be vegetarian.

Anyway. Jake always shells my crab meat for me. It is like a dance. He uses his teeth.

He makes a pile. He uses the crab's own claws as utensils. A true Nor'Westerner.

In case you are a little sensitive, I'll move on to flowers. But boy was that good! Like spectacular and dazzling display--For the mouth.
Okay, now I'm done.

Happy Glorious, Abundant, Independence in America Day!
And: the Flowers.

Summer: A Form of Flattery

Summer adds a special something to who we are.
For example, I'm flattered when the sun comes out.
And when it supplies me with ingredients.

And there's something special for her in those pretty pink sunglasses. Day or Night. In or Out.

Nothing flatters a summer like wearing bright nail polish. And a bright shirt. And sparkley pants. And the sunlight like the kind that swims in her bright blue eyes.

Yep, even our garden is proving to flatter my ability to grow things (how ever meager that might be).

(These are little spiders that just crouch on top of each other, and then around dusk, destroy and rebuild their web.) I thought they were pretty cool!

Please Enjoy All that Brightens This Summer!!

*Pitter* *Pat*

When it has been as cold and rainy as it has, we have been consoling ourselves inside with the following:

Baking and exchanging fresh, beautiful treats with friends (rhubarb coffeecake- sans coffee).

 Video Chatting with long-distanced family and friends.

Baking so many treats that we are eating treats while watching others bake....

*Pitter* *Pat*

Washing our hands under a trickle of water, for like, 20 minutes.

Discovering the arts. Touching the arts? Tasting the arts? How ever you want to look at it, of course.

Exercising.  *Pitter* *Pat*

The outside "pavilion." When we HAVE to go outside and play. (Sad, huh?)

Did I mention we warm our house and bake? With as little conflict as possible.

Granted, it is the best seat in the house, right now.
(Hey, we do go out. And, at least they're not 100% watching tv.)

Memorial Weekend Report (published draft)

I felt like I filled every square inch of time and space that holiday weekend.
Jake and I even snuck away on a date. We went bowling. We were sore afterward. Don't ask me how.
(Does bowling make any of you youngsters sore??)
And before we even met up with family for festivities, we went on a beautiful hike. Refreshing. Wonderful. Jake did most ALL the work.

oops.

The thing I love when it comes to hiking around here, is that you can sense every season of the year in a one mile to-the-river-and-back. There were late spring flowers blooming, green summer growth, and the smell of fallen leaves still moistened on the ground. The air was cold and still.
And all this freedom isn't free. T'was the perfect thing to do that weekend.

I made a dumb assumption when I asked Jake why it was "second growth" forest; assuming I'd see a lot of cut stumps on this little adventure. Well, the second growth is about 50 years old. And the "old growth?" the stumps were like gigantic gloomy, thriving mushrooms that muscled around to watch us all along the way.

By Monday, we were pooped. Jake had some paint balling injuries, and I was grateful still for all the Boyscouters of America that have made a habit out of dutch oven feasting.

Hope you had a great Memorial Day 2010. We surely did!