pieces of a summer

I know summer is not over yet, but the word "school" is scrawled on the bottom of the current page on our calendar. The end of summer is on my mind.

I tend to measure my summers by the following

books read- this summer I have read the last book in The Millenium Trilogy, Evelina, The Count of Monte Cristo, The help and The Passage, I think I am not missing any.

ice cream cones consumed- only two (not enough), both soft-serve, one too watery the other just right.

variety and number of slices of pie eaten- only one. very. sad. indeed. But, thanks Tina, for the apple pie (with apples picked from her tree, and the perfect sour/sweet ratio). This weekend Matty has promised to make me a peach pie, my second favorite.

lobster rolls consumed- 2, both excellent. Not sure if there are enough lobster rolls in the world to satisfy me.

camping trips, quantity and quality- One great camping trip. We had a second one planned but we can't afford more Cape this summer. Especially with my lobster roll habit.

number of BLTs eaten (ok so food is clearly important to me)- zero. zip. You know what I am doing for the rest of this summer, (remedying this serious omission).

ocean visits- 2. Our family loves us some ocean. There could always be more.

weddings- 1. A beautiful, very emotional Quaker wedding. We have been to quite a few Quaker ceremonies. This was the first one that featured two paper airplanes being thrown in the midst of one of the moments of silence. And, alleluiah, it was not one of my kids.

lakes and ponds visited- 4 . Lakes, Owasco, Cayuga and Wyola, and Puffers Pond, for fishing, barbeques, swimming, stone skipping and general happy-making.

trips sans kiddos- 3. NYCx2 and Home. Sigh.

# of s'mores- When I am eating a s'more my brain momentarily loses function so can't remember this factoid. But I am guessing, 4-5, reasonable.

am i missing anything?

c a m p i n g

Noho Staycation

There are times when I indulge in a bit of Northampton bashing. I like the place but is is just so chock full of "cool" people, it can get annoying. And by "cool" I mean: hipster dad with sleeves and primitive bling in both ears wearing vegan shoes and carrying mohawked baby in $200 sling while he sips his soy latte and buys 7 hardcover books for his daughter in the independent bookstore. And by "cool" I mean baristas who spend way too much deciding what will make them look toughest and not enough time deciding how to be friendly. And by "cool" I mean, maybe I am a bit jealous that I am not as fancy as them, and also maybe I am a bit smug that I just throw clothes on in the morn, without a thought. Moving on...Amherst is way more lo-fi, and I like that about Amherst. And yet, Amherst does not have the Tunnel Bar or Paradiso Pizza or Herrels ice cream. And I gotta say, I sort of like walking down the street and seeing girls with closely cropped hair holding hands and kids with mohawks and spikes and other folks with dreads. Amherst just has a much smaller portion of that brand of diversity.

With the heat reaching 96+ today, and Matty and Hen. on their mini-break in the Finger Lakes, I decided to treat Ez. to a matinee. Amhersts' theatres were only offering G-Force, and in consideration of Ezra's personality, I thought it best if we left any movie about a renegade band of violent guinea pigs alone. Northampton, here we come. Our first stop? Local Burger. Only, it was way too hot for me to sample one of their locally grown beef burgers so I settled for some of their amazing fresh cut fries. Ez. ate half a hot dog. You know it is hot when I can't finish delicious food. Then we scooted over to the Pleasant street theater: Amherst Cinema's sister theater and Noho's independent cinema. Miyazaki's latest creation, Ponyo was playing at 2:30. It was excellent; beautiful, sweet and a little weird, of course. It may be one of his kid-friendliest flicks but parents will love i just as much. The mother is fabulous. Afterwards...How could we be in Noho on a hot day without eating some Herrels? I got the grapenut raison (if you have not had grapenut ice cream, shame on you, although that is hardly fair of me). Ezra got chocolate. And if you think for a moment that is a boring choice than you don't know Herrels (and yet, maybe I should have suggested the chocolate hostess cupcake). I couldn't even finish my cone, which is pathetic I know, especially since it costs as much as one of my textbooks. But Ez finished it. Then we walked back to the parking garage (which always gives you a FREE first hour) and came home. WOoohoo.

Dear Nickerson State Park and Cape Cod, We love you.

I always wanted to be one of those young moms who strapped her wee babes to her back and took off for the woods. Alas, my mom-martyrdom only goes so far. And waking up to give mabubbah to a hungry baby in the wee hours with pine needles clinging to my back and sand on my front is not my idea of fun camping. But now, the little monsters are the perfect age. Of course there were moments when they were ruining "nature" with their squabbles and shrieks, but mostly it was a fabulous time.

Matt and I both grew up spending time at the Cape. Matt had a few summers with Rufus on the their private island. I had many summers with my family staying at various cottages and a few enormous houses, courtesy of the cousins and my aunt and uncle. I remember these times fondly. Lots of beach time, plenty of lobster redolent with butter, corn on the cob, enormous candy bars, movies we weren't supposed to watch when the moms went shopping, hubba bubba, sand everywhere and laughing a ton with my sibs and cousins.

We made friends with some dogs. Henry wants a German Shepard now, of course...

We loved Cold Storage Beach for it's quietness and gentle waves. Coast Guard beach was a bit more exciting, with much larger waves.

This cairn's for you Emily..

We can stand up in our tent. It is amazingly large and has lots of windows which is helpful for a person who doesn't like to sleep in a bedroom with the door closed.

Ezra is growing so fast that he outgrew his shorts on our trip. Or maybe I have been negligent and ignoring the fact that his trunks were a size 2. I'll let you decide. I bought these shorts at a used clothing store in Eastham, with ridiculous prices. I haggled for them. I offered her 5 and she was asking for 9. Proud of me mom?

Rock Harbor was a place we always went to on the Cape. At low tide, you can walk for ages and collect buckets of hermit crabs. Endless fun for the kids.

We ate out once but mostly cooked our own food. Our last meal was an amazing one, with grilled mussels, corn on the cob, hot dogs and baked beans. We finished it off with s'mores.

We concluded that we are gonna do this every ear. Nickerson Park is amazing. The sites are beautiful and the park is dotted with Kettle ponds, freshwater ponds created eons ago by the glaciers and dependent entirely upon rainfall for their water. The ponds are sandy and the water is clear and the perfect temp. The rail trail goes right through the park and every site has close access to showers, sinks for dishes, bathrooms and spigots for drinking water. Nickerson is located in Brewster, which is right in the middle of the Cape, so you can easily get to any beach and Ptown without much time in the car.

Next year we would love to have friends and family join us. We could easily get a string of sites together and have a blast....

Our trip, in a nutshell...

Can ya tell that I like my salt shakers?

We had a wonderful time in NY. The boys and I went early enough so that I could visit with some special people, including Constantina and her husband Mark.

My friend Marianne, who I have known since we were four yrs. old, came with her family from Indianapolis (on the way to their annual trek to the Adk.s) and we had our annual barbecue and cocktail party. This year's menu included grilled salmon, grilled sweet potatoes and a big salad. Our cocktails were pomegranate liquer spritzers with lime and mint.

Laurie and I went to Dano's Heuriger, a fabulous Austrian restaurant on the Wine trail. We even gave the chef/owner a ride home.

The boys and I went to the lake 4 times and swam in the Otis's salt pool twice. All this swimming contributed to Henry swimming for the very first time in his life!!!!

I took a bath in the lake for the first time in a decade, there is something very special about washing with soap in the lake.

My childhood cat (Phoebe) died, she was sixteen and had a good life.

My mom and I got to do all of five minute of work on my latest quilt. Thanks for fixing my many mistakes, mama.

All of the Ferrari's came home. Cian and Imri enthralled their older boy cousins. They have fans for life now. Cian is like a wood elf. All arms and legs with big brown eyes and silky hair. His fingers and toes curl with excitement when he sees something interesting that he wants to touch. Henry can't wait for him to talk more and run around with him. Imri is half Cians age. Imri has a near-constant grin. Henry and Ezra were ecstatic when they were allowed to "hold" him.

Matty and I were given a tour of the new Ferrari abode by Mark, WHICH. IS. AMAZING. When pressed for words to describe what I think about it, I am speechless. Anyone wanna see me do an interpretive dance? No really. The Palatte is perfection; dark earthy black walnut, "white washed" walls, golden wood of ahem I can't remember the tree, blue gray tile floors, Other um wooden floors. The uh thing of cement that hangs of over the uh gorge with invisible support? Exquisite. Rustic/Earthy modern? Like I always say, I wanna live in the barn. And, I wish I had taken pictures.

The day before we left, we went to two parties. The first party was for the Lebanese side of Matt's family. Lots of great food; mishis, kibbeh (including"real" kibbeh made with raw lamb which I unknowingly ate a heaping mound of), hummos, and of course mahmouls. Henry ate everything but was most excited about the soda, of which I let him have two small cups.

The second party was Zachs bday party. Which translates for me as: Howard's homemade ice cream party. Of course all of the Friday night clan was there with the next generation of babies. I had the coffee ice cream with a side of chocolate chocolate chunk. And I got totally obliterated with a water balloon in the water balloon toss.

The next day we left for the Pioneer Valley pretty early. And got home in time to do a bit of work in our garden. Like picking a TON of beans, three summer squash and our first TOMATOES. There is nothing like getting STUFFED at dinner with fresh vegetables from your own garden. That certainly helped tame our post trip blues.

This weekend we are off to Cape Cod for some camping in Nickerson park. We had planned to go later but it turns out this weekend works best for us. Next weekend my mom visits and Matt and I take off for NYC to visit some friends and my cousin Rebecca (if you are around Reb?). and the following week is all about the Berkshires and the Carlisle FR. Hayes Pond Camp, here we come!!!!! So our summer is pretty wrapped up now.

Goes by fast. Yikes.

Lake Wyola

Bostonia

A painting of Molly's.

Amy's living room.

Fish n chips at the Black Rose.

He did not finish this.

Indian food with Nicole, Molly and Mamie.

I guess this bears repeating? Damn blogger.

This past weekend, Henry and I went on a weekend date to Boston. I picked him up early from school and  we took the commuter rail. We spent Friday night with Molly in swanky Brookline, where she shares an apt. with a slew of Mt. Holyoke Track team alum. Saturday night was spent in a Portuguese neighborhood of Cambridge where  Amy resides. We had a fabulous time. We walked a ton, ate delicious Indian food,  and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. The highlight might have been visiting the stellar playground near Amy's apt., that or the enormous lollipop I bought for Henry.  

home again, home again, jiggety jig

We were greeted by many overgrown weeds and giant zinnias and cosmos when we arrived.  And  few volunteer nasturtiums, thanks guys.

An overgrown bean vine ( Henry's from school) was climbing all over our gold currant tomatoes. The boys set to work quickly making me a "meal" out of beans, mint and pretzel rods that they had skillfully chopped up with a butter knife.

Henry and Ezra both had open houses for preschool and first grade on Friday. They both went very well. It is a bit early, but we seem to have been blessed with great teachers again. Henry's Ms. Michel gives off a serene, glowy and intelligent vibe. I asked Henry if she seemed sweet and he said "Yes, and she is very pretty too."  Ezra's teacher reminds me of Henry's last year, artsy, clever and motherly. The open houses were a success, both kids seem in good spirits about school. In between visits we learned of great nana's passing. Bittersweet. I had just seen her and felt sure, inside, that it was good bye. She was really suffering so I feel she is in a better place. Tonight we will tell Henry.

the berkshires

a photo of aunt sheila and a beau that i love...

charlie got posted twice...

sara picking blackberries...


the main lodge...
we sleep in the bunkhouse...

salamander and frog searching

molly might hate me for this picture but i think she is always lovely...

What I did not capture: vibrant (a.k.a noisy and yummy) meals. It is difficult to wield a camera and a glass of wine while keeping an eye on two boys. I did not get many pictures of people either, though they were plentiful. It was a whirlwind weekend. We had lots of fun.