Fruit

Katherine has been begging to go pick blackberries, so we finally went this morning. One patch was pretty bare, but the patch down the street had lots of ripe berries. I suggested we eat them for breakfast, but Katherine was determined to freeze them so we would have fruit in the winter.

Can anybody say "fruit gene?"

109

Our deck thermometer hit 109.2 yesterday. For all you Utah residents who scoff at Seattleites when we're incapacitated by snowfall and dying in 100 degree heat, remember this: most of us don't have air conditioning. 16 hours ago, it was 98 degrees in my kitchen. Bread and cheese and fruit for dinner, anyone?

PS I have new respect for Utah gardeners. I had to water our vegetables three times yesterday.

New Blog

I've started a blog about my writing adventures, as well as a website about candy experiments. Check them out and feel free to tell your friends!

www.loraleeleavitt.com
www.candyexperiments.com

Our Lawn

In summertime, our lawn resembles nothing so much as a worn doormat--brown fiber pointing every which way, getting ground lower and lower. You can see tracks where we rolled our yard waste bins tonight, and the wheelbarrow that I was hauling bark in this morning. This summer the brown is especially striking because we've got one spotty strip of bright green running through it: this is the trench that was dug when we hooked up to the sewer, where I subsequently planted grass. The new grass merits watering, since it won't grow otherwise; the old grass will weather the summer. So we tromp all over our brown grass, slipping on sandals when it's too spiky, and have faith that come fall we'll see green again.

Climber

She climbs on the table.
She climbs on the chairs.
She climbs on ladders
and the high deck stairs.

 

 

 

A play, by Katherine and Alex

Act one:

Alex dresses in black pants and a construction hat. Builds with blocks until Katherine enters, dressed in leotard and skirt. Alex drops blocks, announces "I don't want to be a worker, I want to be a dancer," and follows her off stage.

Intermission (very long costume change)

Act two:
Alex, wearing his stegosaurus costume, chases the dancer Katherine onstage.
Katherine cries "Don't chase me!"
Improv: Alex snags and breaks Katherine's flower necklace, which has to be cleaned up.

Act three:
Katherine enters as a dancer with wings, followed by Alex who has pulled tights over his socks and shorts. They dance. Alex gets bored and refuses to follow cues; Katherine leaves in tears.

Hey

Rebecca's been saying this a lot lately, as in:
"Hey! Don't pull me off the table where I'm having so much fun eating cherries!"
or
"Hey! Why won't you let me out the kitchen door so I can fall down the outside staircase?"
or
"Hey! Why can't I play with the power cord?"

(The "Hey" is verbalized, the rest is understood.)

Boston-rific

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite things from our Boston trip

Learning that Erik makes Britney a sandwich to take to work--every morning!

Erik and Britney taking us to their favorite dessert places, where we got chocolate decadence, cherry ortiz ice cream, and chocolate mousse cannoli...yum!

Eating lobster outdoors in Maine (while mosquitos were eating us)

Reenacting Erik's marriage proposal to Britney: i.e., buying a box of chocolates at their favorite store in Newburyport.

Comparing the 17th century and 18th century kitchen fireplaces in Paul Revere's house (17th century has the ovens in back on either side of the hearth fire, making the fireplace wider and posing a danger to skirts; 18th century fireplace has oven in brick wall next to cooking fire)

Visiting Concord and seeing Emerson's study...twice! (His study was recreated with original furniture in the museum across the street.)

Watching the fireworks display from Harvard Bridge while listening to the synchronized Boston Pops concert on a bystander's radio, with half the fireworks (the bottom half were obscured by trees), but only 1/1000th as much of a crowd.

Finding a medieval manuscript on display in the Boston Public Library, and taking our singing baby through very quiet back rooms in search of the Rare Books room (where we couldn't get any more medieval manuscripts, but did wander into a display of very cool marionettes)

Seeing the USS Constitution, a piece of the Berlin Wall, a brush fire, and a black crowned night heron on the Boston Duck Tour ("Abracadabra: quack, quack!")

Top 10 Reasons to Travel with a Baby

10. The gate attendants work really hard to help you and your husband get airplane seats next to together.

9. You can smuggle a bottle of souvenir jam among your liquid baby foods.

8. The security screeners will let you take water in a baby bottle (after they test it to make sure it's really water).

7. All sorts of people grin at the baby.

6. You make up for all the time you've neglected your baby at home by singing all her favorite songs OVER and OVER and OVER.

5. You invent new games, like "Head Bonk" (players lean towards each other, touch heads, and say 'Ba').

4. You don't get sucked into movies you don't want to watch when baby keeps stealing the headset.

3. You have an excuse to walk laps up and down the aisle.

2. Everybody next to you is astonished if the baby stays quiet.

1. You may get tired, frustrated, or embarrassed--but you're never bored!