lazy saturday

It's a beautiful day and we're getting ready to fire up the grill for the 2nd time today! It's July 31st and in the 70's. We have to enjoy this glorious day!

So, I can't be bothered to get all the pictures off my camera of this week's exciting highlights (?!), but I do have these from last week's rainy day. Where Moose distracted me with his mischief.

Behold, "the meadow," which is what our neighbor calls it, and is much more glamorous sounding than "the field."

The Meadow, it is, then.

Down by the water I found this tropical beauty:

The upcoming storm provided some interesting lighting.

And then it rained and rained and rained.

don't forget about the moosey.

It has been a while since I wrote an entire post dedicated to Moose, so I hope you can put up with this one. Or rather, you've been missing him sorely, and this is a little Moose fix to tide you over until you can rub his little booty yourself.

Last week a storm was rolling in and I noticed wildflowers blooming in our field so I thought I'd take some pictures of the flowers and wander down to the water and wait for the rain. I invited Moose along since Matt was gone until forever at some meeting.

Moose was dragging his feet, and though he looked beautiful in the evening light, was not really in a good mood.

Glum.

Ill, even?
Well, he knows how bad I feel about leaving him at home while we're gone all day. Especially during the summer, when it's too warm for his delicate constitution.

I knew how to cheer up the old boy.

Doesn't he look sweet, getting ready to chew on that stick?

And then, a change starts to overtake him as his primal instincts kick in.

He gets a little . . .

WILD!!!!!!!!!

All clear.

He was pretty proud of himself.

"Yeah, I've still got it."

Turns out he's not as young as he used to be and needed an hour or so of recovery time.

summer's bounty

A few weeks ago I noticed a hint of red in the tangled bushes growing next to our long driveway. Upon closer inspections, I found wild raspberries and tried pick some a couple times a week so that they don't all go to the birds!

Raspberries seem to have gone out of season over the weekend but blackberries are coming out in full force! The ones along our stretch of road are smaller but by our neighbor's house . . . wow, they are huge and juicy, and I admit I may have borrowed a few. I also discovered some patches while out running that seem to be more 'public domain.' Sunday morning I decided Moose and I would go out and pick a blackberry breakfast.

It's like we're prairie people. Picking berries, sheesh. It's kind of a thorny experience and I was immediately attacked by 800 mosquitos.

But then I made these little cobblers . . .

And Matt smothered his in ice cream.
Hardly a nutritious breakfast, but certainly self-sufficient.

a first

This post is dedicated to Kelly Keller, Allyson Nagle, Joanna McMahan, and all the other women who have sewed for me or created things out of fabric and thread. You are an inspiration.

For years, I have been in a prison of my own making. "I don't sew," I would state confidently, and then scurry off to a tailor for all my hemming needs. This became more and more inconvenient when I left Dubai/Kenya and tailoring was no longer as accessible or affordable. I began to wonder at all the things I could create if I could operate a sewing machine . . .

Moving into this last house sealed the deal. More specifically, walking into the kitchen and spotting this:

Dishes in the sink! Ack! And below that . . . the under-sink curtain. In red plaid.

This just had to go. And in its place, something had to be created. I actually tried the no-sew method first. I searched many stores for kitchen towels that I could clip and hang, similar to my clipped-up napkins I used as curtains in Kijabe. I've been dealing with this lack of sewing thing for years . . . But after my latest visit to Anthropologie in the city failed to produce some towels I could use, I decided I had to learn to make my own. The red had to go.

My friend Melissa dropped off her sewing machine earlier this week and gave me a quick lesson on how to load the thread and sew a seam. Friday a trip to Jo Ann fabrics provided everything I needed - a couple yards of fabric and an "I'm a newbie" sewing-kit. I rolled up my sleeves and jumped in.

My first seam was glorious! Straight, flat, and satisfying.

It went downhill from there, as I struggled to make three panels all the same length. Apparently when you don't cut in a straight line, it's hard to sew in a straight line, as evidenced by this pitiful seam . . .

It took me three hours, or the entire nap-time of a tired two-year-old, and one of the panels may or may not be upside-down. But the feeling of triumph at actually having made something! I was so proud.

If only those dishes were out of the sink . . .

frame 'em

We don't have a ton of pictures of the two of us . . . since normally it's just the two of us. Having friends in town was nice because we got a couple snaps here and there. So you can use these over your fireplace or on your fridge . . .

hitting the city

Every time I drive past or take the train into New York City, I am always amazed by the vast expanse of it all. I always say, "Matt, can you believe we live here?" And we don't even, we live over an hour away, but in order to get off the island we have to go through or around the great mass that is NYC. And every time we get close, I am thankful again that God brought us out to Stony Brook, as Matt was this close to doing his residency in Brooklyn. It would've been so different, and I'm sure we would've been fine, but I am Thankful for our wide open spaces and our life out here!

However, the city is still fun to visit and each trip we get a little more familiar with the routes and a little better at navigating. Truthfully I prefer to lean 100% on Matt's guidance through the subway system, but in a pinch I suppose I could get us home. Thankfully I didn't have to do much this trip. I didn't even take any pictures, as Dexter and Jenna dared to do what I will not - lug a heavy camera around the city all day. So, sit back and enjoy the fruit of others' labor.

The World Trade Center construction site was buzzing.

I hadn't visited the nearby St. Paul's since college and it is a mini-museum now, incorporating newer artifacts from the 9-11 attacks with history. Firemen's jackets next to George Washington's pew.
We stopped at Katz's Deli for lunch, which I'd never been to.
It was . . . an experience. Obviously a favorite with the locals. I might be happier at one of the french cafes down the street, but if you love pastrami on rye, this is your place!
Their camera has a nice wide angle - you try to get Rockefeller in a shot like this!
The old Times Square. Did you know there's a Naked Cowgirl now? Sorry, we don't have any pictures - and trust me, you got the better end of the deal.

Patience. Or is it Fortitude?

I love that the statues outside the New York Public Library are named. I do not love that it was closed when we got there. They host the real Winnie-the-Pooh, after all. Who wouldn't want to visit? Oh, and the handwritten Declaration of Independence. TJ's own penmanship. Again, I'm disappointed. Next time.

So long, Big Apple. We'll catch you - and the Pooh collection - later!