memory lane is my favorite road...

When I was growing up, I lived at 111 Ridge Rd. One eleven, Ridge Road. Our street had eleven houses on it, with houses neatly lined up behind ours, and so on, with proper little blocks to walk and ride bikes around. There was a steep hill, which was too much fun on bikes and rollerskates, once Casey went over the handlebars of his bike and split his chin open. We had a few vacant lots in the neighborhood, with scrawny trees growing, excellent for playing in the woods. One of the lots had a little creek, oh dear, that was a heavenly place to play. We learned how to start fires there, a useful skill for any child ha. I've driven through my old neighborhood, and wouldn't you know it? They've stuck houses in on those empty lots, the poor kids, where will they play "living in the woods"? Here's a recent pic of Baby Tennyson Paul:

And big brother Wulf:

I went for a walk with Camille the other day...

Sunny and Suri, Suri sort of blends in...they're good dogs.

Christmas, anyone? Already? Okay, so I know I said I love summer dearly, and don't want autumn to commence, which I still stand by, but. But. It's so refreshing and lovely, and I do love fall too. Maybe, just maybe, I love everything. ha. I love my warm furry slippers, and the blanket throws all around the living room, and lighting candles, and the girls making tea in the evenings. Last night, I finally made popcorn. I have been wanting it for WEEKS. Stovetop popped in coconut oil, with butter and salt, oh dear. The girls were having leftover homemade Chinese food, orange chicken and fried rice. I had one steak in the 'fridge, so instead of grilling it outside, I pan-seared it, poured a bit of lime juice on the uncooked side, with salt and pepper, flipped and seared more, then put a loose cover on the pan, and left it on low for a bit...then turned it off, and let it set...oh dear it was good. A $2.99 a pound sirloin, so tender and yummy. So I had steak and popcorn for dinner, like I'd died and gone to heaven. Jonathan made it to Oregon, all by himself, safe and sound. He is homeschooling, but I didn't have him fill his backpack with books. He has some simple assignments, but probably won't do them. He'll be fine though, he'll make it up. He's such a compentent kid. He fixed our minivan, trial and error and watching you-tube videos. He's so smart and motivated, he'll do fine. He's at that age, 16, where he pretty much knows everything. Yet, he posesses a rare treasure: humility. He forgets he has that humility sometimes, then he remembers and apologizes for being so strong and argumentive. He usually IS right, that's the thing. He's a smart cookie. He recreationally argues with his sisters sometimes, but they mostly get along fine. I'm heading off for another walk. I'm so lazy, I don't want to go, but I always enjoy it. I need to get into better shape, and one thing that's motivating me is going to Florida again next month, we're taking a three day island vacation...it's a small island, and you can walk everywhere. So it'd be good if I could actually do that! I am just a comfy chair person. I like being more fit, I like being able to do things without getting out of breath, but I don't like actually doing anything. So I'll sit here and drink my coffee, then make myself put on the old sneakers...