cake, a jane austen party, and birthday chaos!

 

A birthday cake for Miss Ruth and Miss Maeve, 4 years old and 2 years old.  We celebrated their daddy Sam's 30th, too, which was yesterday.  I told him he was born when I was thirty!  But, I said, the crazy thing isn't that he was my eighth and I had eight kids when I had just turned 30, it was that I had 9 more AFTER thirty!  :)

Zucchini bread, reciped doubled, baked in a 13 by 9 pan.  With plenty of Ghiardelli chocolate chips.

Sunny destroyed her hedgehog toy.  It was the toy Evelyn gifted her as a consolation when Suri died.

The Jane Austen party!  This is my sister's granddaughter Grace.

Margaret made an old fashioned cake, Cam and I did the cupcakes

Cam's tea box and our tea cup collection.

Lemonades and ice water with lemon

Baguette and brushetta, capresi skewers, grapes, crackers and jam...

The girls dancing...That's Cam with the floral dress and white top, and Char with her tea...Margaret at the keyboard.

Emily in the back, Rhys, Jonny and Rosi, Elise, Anya

Camille, Suzanne holding Ellis, Paul, Jamie, Mariel

Ruth, Jamie, Tenny, Rhys...

Margaret with the birthday cake!

Ruth and Maeve...

Maeve, Ruth, Rhys, Blythe...

Miss Camille.  I didn't get pictures of Josh with Ophelia and Denzel, or Wulf and Tenny, Achilles, Grant, Evelyn and Nate...it was such a good day though.  I baked that chicken that marinated in the sauce for two days, then Nate grilled it, with lots of bbq sauce, and it was so good.  We had corn, and Mariel brought two big bowls of fresh fruit, all cut up.  Evelyn made an amazing mac and cheese, Kathryn made pasta salad.  Margaret made chocolate coconut caramel brownies for Sam too.  I put out the zucchini bread, and some pepperoni, cheese, and crackers before the meal, oh and cheese balls.  The kids love those so much.  Are they even food?  

The girls opened their gifts, and Maeve, two year old Maeve, liked her new socks best.  She had Char open them for her so she could wear the pink ones.  

The day turned to evening, as all days do, and people started packing up and leaving.  There were three visiting dogs today too, Newton, Junie, and Winnie (Suzanne's black lab).  They all got along okay, no issues.  The weather was perfect, absolutely perfect.  Warm but not too hot.   

This week we have some nice weather, but those Canadian wildfires are going on again.  I'm going tomorrow to pick up a new to us travel gas grill, a Coleman Road trip, for $40.  I hope it works well.  Then I'm going, at some point, to look at a really old fashioned couch for a renovated room Emily is doing in her house, she's going to have a library.  Then...we're going camping for the weekend!  

I'm tired now, so tired I can't even get up and go to bed.  I walked almost 5,000 steps today without even leaving my house/yard.  :). (I will have some aches and pains in the night for sure, but oh dear, it feels good to be so tired!). You all have a good night!

one dollar. just one.

 Well, this fine afternoon, Evelyn and I had a quick trip to the Amazon store to peruse the dollar bins.  She was in a semi-hurry, as she had to get back to work.  Time flies when you're pawing through junk!  I did find this shirt though:  

(oops, bathroom mirror needs a wiping!)...but one dollar!  

I also found some other things, totaling ten dollars.  Some Target dolls, for a granddaughter's birthday, a package of five pairs of adorable Christmas socks, and a few other fine items.  Evelyn found a bikini, for one dollar.  And, a cute little basket to put flowers in.  

My morning started off with babysitting for three small grandchildren.  We played with kinetic sand and playdough, and I watched them almost break their necks making forts and jumping around.  They are happy kids, and didn't give me a lick of trouble.  We did have a good time.                                             

I brought them some raspberries and Norwegian chocolate, and we had our snack and solved the world's problems.                                                                                                                                                      

Home for long enough to husk and cook six ears of sweet corn, and pan sear some steak in the iron frying pan, with butter and rosemary to finish.  (It was in the freezer, a half price find from Target a few weeks ago...and it was SO GOOD.)

Out the door right after dinner with Miss Char and Miss Cam, they are having a Jane Austen party on Saturday, and needed refreshments.  Aldi, Hobby Lobby, and Target, all just quickly for what they needed.  We're home now, ahh home. 

It's been a DAY.  I stopped and saw Margaret and Wulf, Tennyson, and Blythe too.  I dropped them off a few donuts and some pants I had gotten for Wulf.  I went in to visit for a bit, they are too cute.   

Tomorrow I am going to the pool, then making the birthday cake and cupcakes.  I bought all the chicken, so that's done.  :)

It's almost bed time, and I am ready for bed.  The weather has cooled off here, 72 or so today, with some much needed rain.  Mmmm, very nice, although I do like the heat too.  You all have a good night!

the farm state...

 ...Did you know that New York ranks fourth out of the fifty states for dairy production, with almost 4,000 dairy farms, producing over 15 billion pounds of milk a year?  New York State ranks first in the US in production of cottage cheese, yogurt, and sour cream.  So.  Soft ice cream here is a big thing, and it's very good. 

...Did you know that sometimes I am NOT busy?  Today, for example, was a quiet day.  The girls went to work, I puttered around.  I vacuumed, did laundry, then steam mopped the floors.  I bleached the sinks and counters, and put some things away. I picked up my car from the garage, it passed the annual inspection.  I read, I did the crossword puzzle. Then I joined Kathryn and Darius and their kids for a nice swim, ahhh.  

Now the girls are home from work, and they're making dinner.  They put chicken breast in buttermilk and pickle juice yesterday, to marinate.  Now it's in the air fryer, and they're making fries, and a chipotle sauce, for sliders.  We bought rolls yesterday, and picked some tomatoes from the garden.

(Yesterday we brought a car load of stuff to the thrift store, which always feels so nice.  It was too nice of a day to dilly dally too long, cleaning out the storage room, but we got a nice start.  It was the only day of the week the girls would be home.  We stopped for a coffee, and to BJ's to get milk.  We didn't get just milk, of course, we got some seltzer, heavy cream, and a bag of Ghiardelli mint cookie chocolate squares.)

We went for a swim, then home.  I was not feeling the greatest and skipped dinner.  I just didn't want to eat.  That never happens to me, ha.  But it was hot out, and I think I had too much coffee.  

This fine day though, all day when I would think about dinner, it would be like a little bubble of contentment:  Char and Cam were making dinner.  :).   I felt fine today, but made sure I didn't overdo the coffee.  

I wrote this earlier, now it is after dinner, and it was good!  The Hawaiian rolls were so good, I had one, could have easily had more.  

Tomorrow is swim class, then maybe I'll get some of the things for Sunday's big birthday bash.  I'm hosting the party here for Samuel, who turns 30, and little Ruth turns four, and Maeve turns two.  The birthday cake has to be pink with strawberries and raspberries on it, as per Ruth's request.  I can do that!  Sam wants bbq chicken, the kind with bones in it, which I totally get.  I will get that and marinate it for a few days, bake it a bit, then grill it.  I did say that I would host the party, not sure I can grill too...there is a lot to getting the house ready for a big crowd, and I love it, but my body doesn't always love it.  Our grill is down the deck steps, and no matter how efficient I try to be, it's three trips up and down.  

Sam said he would grill.  It's his own birthday, but...:). We're also having sweet corn, and Kathryn is making macaroni and cheese.  Cam is making some special cookies, and I'll make cupcakes as well as the cake.  I have birthday presents bought, just have to get some wrapping paper or gift bags.  (I think kids like unwrapping presents better than just taking them out of the bag...)

Summer is speeding by, like it tends to do.  I am not tired of it yet.  I am living in my yearly state of denial, not wanting to even know the date, trying to pretend it's endless.  

We are talking about a puppy.  We want a Black Lab puppy.  I know there are dogs to be rescued, and it breaks my heart.  but.  Having small children in the house so often, I want to make sure any dog we have here is good with kids (it goes without saying that the kids have to be good to the dog too).  So, I would prefer to raise a puppy.  Our experience with Labs has been that they are so gentle with the kids, nothing phases them.  Suri would look mildly exasperated once in a while, but the worst thing she would do would be to get up and move, but mostly she would just sigh and put her big clunky head on her big fat paws, then close here eyes.  

Charlotte Claire and Camille are starting college this fall, but will have mostly online classes the first year.  They say it's a perfect time to get a puppy.  What about my surgery?  How on earth will I be able to help with a puppy!?  I am voting no for now, but oh dear, I am tempted.  

count those blessings!

 Oh, how could you say no to a soft ice cream cone?

Summer, slow down!  We had a busy day here, Sam and Grace were here around noon with Grant, Ruth, and Maeve, then Kathryn came with Achilles, Rhys, Jamison, and Ellis.  Adrian called and asked if he and Margaret could drop their three off, so they could go out to dinner...of course.  I wondered how crazy it would be, but we managed with Wulf, Tennyson, and Blythe.  Jonathan and Rosi came over, too.

I had put chicken in the crockpot early this morning, with seasonings and salsa.  Then I made two loaves of zucchini bread with chocolate chips.  We had cheese and crackers and pepperoni for a snack when everyone arrived, then fajitas with black olives, green peppers (from the garden!), ect.  

My girls are home from Norway, that's why we went for ice cream tonight.  It's fun to hear their stories.  

Char is playing the guitar now, and Camille is doing something on her computer.  It's nice to have them home.  :).  The crickets are cricket-ing, and the air conditioning is whirring, it's quiet in here.  It's been a day, and I'm super thankful for it.  :)

as far as fridays go, well...

 ...not too shabby.  I went to the pool this fine morning, and exercised with my friends.  After a nice hot shower, I headed to the small city, first for a coffee.  One Venti Blonde Roast Iced Americano from Starbucks, and it was NOT good.  It was so bitter.  dang.  Five dollars.  I went to the thrift store, and found a few books, and one cross stitch, which I will show you later, it is still in the car.  

I stopped at a small local place for an iced Americano, and it was absolutely delicious.  

Then, to meet Josh at Ollie's.  Molly was there too, and Kathryn and her little ones joined us.  It was great fun.  

Jamie, that's you in the mirror!

We found some fun things, like new blinds for the guest room, and popcorn, and a bag of Twix bars.  

Home...ahh, home.  Lydia and Ophelia came with me in my car, as Denzel needed a nap, so Molly and Josh headed home with him.  Kathryn and children came over for a bit.  The kids played on the swings, and it was so hot out there, they came in to rest and cool down.  Kathryn got out Bananagrams and that kept their interest for quite a while.  

They colored pictures and played with little things, then went outside again.  Before long, Molly was here to pick up the girls.  I brought Achilles, Rhys, and Jamison out to water the garden.  They all had a turn with the hose, and by some miracle we weren't all soaked.  I let them bring their mama another yellow squash and some grape tomatoes.  We stopped by the front garden bed and picked some mint, basil, and rosemary, and they got to smell it all, and taste it if they wanted.  

They were getting tired, so Kathryn packed them up and took them home.  Jonathan stopped over to get his hiking equipment, and I gave him some muffins:  

They are actually quite good!  They're made from almond flour and zucchini, and have heavy cream, melted butter, cinnamon and spices, (recipe calls for cinnamon, I added ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice...:)) blueberries, and some have chocolate chips.  The recipe called for 1 cup of granulated sweetener, like monkfruit or stevia or something, but I do not like those artificial sweeteners, so I used a scant 1/3 cup of honey, and they're plenty sweet enough.  I made 30 muffins, so that's not really too much.  (The recipe is by Carine Claudepierre at sweetashoney.co)

Paul and I had our simple dinner, taco salad from the meat I cooked up the other night.  I had mine in corn tortillas with peppers and black olives.  

It's quiet here now, and lovely in here with the AC humming.  I can still hear the crickets and tree toads, and the sky is a gorgeous purple as the sun sets.  I love summer.  I want to grab hold of it and keep it, but it just keeps moving on.  I admire the flowers on my deck, and know full well their days are numbered.  Next year we start the whole thing all over again.  

The girls will be back from Norway on Sunday, and there will be noise and nonsense in the house again.  I do miss them.  I was thinking today that I am so glad we were blessed with those two last girls.  After losing Robert, who was baby #14, I doubted we'd be able to have another, yet Jonathan came along 10 months later.  I lost a baby when Jon was a year old, it was a rough one.  Then Miss Char came along, all healthy and radiant, then the pregnancy with Camille wherein I bled and cramped and thought I lost the baby...for weeks, I mourned that loss...but I was still pregnant all along.  Anyway.  She was a huge-0 gift, a blessing for sure.  

I know now how quickly children grow up and move out, and now there are two left here.  They're both going to college this fall, commuting from home, hopefully having lots of online classes.  I won't hang on to them, or ask them to stay with me forever, no, their job is to get to their own two feet and stand on them, just like their 14 siblings before them.  My job is to help them do that.  

Oh ho, I don't feel sorry for myself.  No sir, I have been blessed beyond comprehension.  I am never bored or lonely, and I love each of the kids immensely.  I have all the son and daughter in-laws, and of course the grandchildren, my heart overflows. 

And shh, Paul and I also have lots of fun together still.  :). 

Anyway, the bathroom is almost finished, and I'm not pushing for any more projects for a bit.  We can just enjoy summer.  

There were three, yes THREE lightening bugs in our room last night...so I just went to sleep.  :).  Have a good night!

just absolutely heavenly...

 Here in the northeast, we are having some beautiful weather.  The humidity is cranking up, so it will be unpleasant this afternoon, but this fine morning, ahhh.  I walked out the front door to turn on the hose, and Sunny came out with me.  A bunny rabbit in the front yard paused and looked our way, Sunny scampered after it but didn't catch it.  Orange Guy was out there too, followed me to the garden.  There is nothing like walking through the grass in bare feet in the summer.  

There are now three zucchini on the counter, and one yellow squash.  How does one justify turning on the oven on a day like this?  Zucchini muffins!   I think I might...low carb, a bit of honey...mmm.

Paul and I are going over to Evelyn and Nate's for dinner tonight.  Last evening, I made some really good taco meat, four pounds of it because the 85% beef was half off at Target.  (I froze some).  We had black olives, green and yellow peppers, some grape tomatoes from the garden all chopped up, and sweet corn.  Paul went out to mow the lawn, and I ate my dinner all by myself, I hadn't eaten all day, and couldn't wait any longer:)

After a nice swim yesterday, I went to Marshall's with Sonja and Oscar.  I found a few birthday gifts for Lydia, and some nice conditioner for myself, super clearanced.  I also bought some lime popcorn to save for one of those nights I simply have to have something munchy.  

Our bathroom project is almost finished, I hope I'm not saying that for years and years!  Paul has done most of it, but has cried uncle on some of the final trim.  The tops of the bead board need trim, and he isn't confident he can do it properly.  It seems like an easy thing, Oh yeah, bead board will be nice!  But, it's so much measuring and cutting and you need the trim and the corner pieces...

Our pool is probably not opening this year.  We have just had other projects, and last night we booked one more weekend of camping, so we're going three more times this year, just long weekends.  

And...I wrote this yesterday.  It's not as if I'm super busy, but the day gets away from me sometimes...I'm headed to the pool now, and then to meet my son-in-law Josh at Ollies with Lydia, Ophelia, and Denzel.  So you all have a good day!

 

wait, what day is it?!!!

 Yeah, this fine morning, I woke up and thought what a fine Tuesday it is.  I went outside bare foot, with Sunny, and watered the garden.  Kettler (Old Kitty) went with me too, and when I set the hose down in the grass, it was dripping just enough for her to get a drink.  I picked two zucchini, and admired the bumper crop of grape tomatoes we should be getting soon.  

I wandered back in the house and made that first morning cup of coffee, then sat down here in my comfy chair to google low carb zucchini bread recipes.  I decided I don't have enough zucchini yet to make what I want, the two are quite small (in my hurry to pick them, soon I'll probably get sick of them ha!), so I decided to vacuum the sand out of the camper today.  Well.  Here I sat planning, and Paul asked why are you not at the pool today?  Well, it's Tuesday, I said.  Um, no, it's Wednesday.  I had to look at my phone, I didn't believe him.  It IS Wednesday!  ooooops!  I missed my swim class!  

The camper is all vacuumed, and cleaned up with Mrs. Meyer's Lavender cleaning spray, and I am all set to leave in ten minutes to go visit Kathryn, with Sonja, and swim.  It's not my swim class, but I can still get in the water and move, and see some grandkids too.  

A trip to the library with Kathryn and kids...they loved putting the books in the book drop.

Just so summery...

The guest room...can you see who likes this bed?  It's Orange Guy!

Old Kitty on a paper bag...she's so silly.  

Barbecued chicken...I was wanting some, not just boneless chicken breast, the real stuff with the sauce charred onto the skin...so I bought two whole chickens, and cut them into halves.  Cornell chicken sauce marinade (vinegar, a raw egg, oil, seasonings (I used Kickin' Chicken from Aldi, and salt and pepper), for several hours....I also grilled some boneless breasts, put those in the same sauce.  The halves went into the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hr., then onto the grill with sauce...oh dear, so good!  We had salt potatoes and watermelon...Jon and Rosi came over, Grace with Grant, Ruth, and Maeve, and Kathryn with Achilles, Ruth, Jamie, and baby Ellis.  

Anyway.  Summer is very sweet.  We have two more camping trips planned and are contemplating fitting in another one.  The house is quiet because the girls are in Norway, Paul is in his office working, but Sonja will be here in four minutes to pick me up, so off I go to hurry hurry...have a good day!

it's so nice to be back home again!

But first, not sure if I posted these the other day or not...

Aunt Camille and Rhys

The cutest little outfits!

Char, Sonja, Cam with Ellis

The new curtains in the camper...

Our cute little camper...it has pop out ends, which you can unzip for the breeze.  

This is from our campsite

 

Lake Ontario, so lovely

Woke up in the morning, looked out the window...ahhh.

Sunny loves camping.  

So do I...morning coffee in my new "Grandma" mug, got it at Target the other day for $1.50, couldn't resist it.  

That clear clean water, was warm too!

So many grandchildren:). Margaret and Adrian and their three camped for the weekend, as did Ben and Ashley and their three.  Kathryn came up for the day with her four...Evelyn and Nate visited too, with Newton.

Ben took this today before we packed up and left...Anya is as tall as I am now.  They are such good kids, loved seeing them have so much fun camping.  Elise can ride her bike like a champ now!

Home...walking in and seeing my house again, ahhh.  The kitties were super happy, although one of them had left a welcome gift, won't say anything else.  (Char and Cam left for Norway yesterday, so the cats were only home alone for one day.).   I put away the cold things, spilled a container of blueberries all over the floor, vacuumed, put in a load of towels, put more things away, then limped over to my comfy chair.  Dang knee, wouldn't let me do more.  I overdid it as it was, could barely bend it to sit down.  Now I've rested up, and am ready to switch the laundry over, and check the garden.  The girls will be gone all week, so it's just Paul and I here with Sunny and the kitties.  It's so strange.  But I don't mind.  

We had such a good time camping.  We went to the Dollar General to get these little fishing nets Paul spotted....he knew the grandkids would love them.  The two of us went to get ice cream, and drove to an island, which we couldn't end up getting on to, but we parked at a fishing spot near a bridge and took some pictures.  We had a really windy strong stormy night, then another night where it was just windy.  Sleeping in the camper with the rain drumming is pleasant, but a tiny bit scary too.  The first night we were there, Mrs. Loudness was at the site next to us.  They were just having a campfire but she was SO loud.  Then the rain started, and their campfire came to an abrupt end...ahhh.:)

The first day we were there was very hot and humid, but the water was wonderful.  We just kept going back in.  Being so close to the beach is super nice.  Sunny agrees.

We had a rainy day, but only intermittent rain.  Then Friday was sunny but only in the seventies.  Saturday, so warm and sunny, a perfect beach day.  Then it rained last night , making for another pleasant night for sleeping.

I could have stayed longer, I wasn't sick of camping.  We just had a really nice time.  

Now we've had our dinner, bacon and eggs, and low carb thin sliced bread toasted in a frying pan with butter, and some cherries.  I washed our bedding and we made the bed, and now it's eight o'clock and I'm old, ha, because I keep thinking of that nice clean bed, it's calling me.  It's been a good day, a busy day.  Paul mowed the lawn while I watered the garden and put things away.  You all have a nice evening!