Shed

In the dark last night, Martin nailed in the last wall of our shed. Here's him a week or so ago working on the roof:

Tomorrow, Merry starts public school for the first time! She's excited! More later. . .beautiful day outside--in the 70s, sunny and breezy. I don't want to miss it!

Here are Some Brave Men

SWIMMING in the Puget Sound this past summer. . .rather chilly-o.

Here at home: chocolate cake, banana bread, tea on its way. Yes, FINALLY it's cool enough to turn on the oven. And I'm SO very glad it's Friday. What a long week it's been. There's rain, which makes me feel cozy and brings back days in Kenya during the rainy season. Makes me long for Fall, which may be foolish since that season is a brief pleasure before winter buckles us into our sweaters. But I love autumn; I love what happens to the garden; I love the way everything ripens and deepens and begins to glow around us. I love the cozy nights and warm nightgowns on the girls and feeling good putting my feet in socks and slippers. I love brown sweaters and gentle rain and the nutty smell of the earth and the way it softens under my tread before freezing.

This will be a different sort of Fall, since it sees Merry go off to the public school for second grade, sees Elspeth start preschool, and me working part-time and attending a class. Yes! Yes! Yes!

A Brief Hop and Skip Through Bliss

Summer is waning, though you wouldn't know it around here. . .It's been warm, warm, warm!

I finally downloaded pictures from last summer, so here's a brief hop and skip through our wonderful, wonderful, time. Thanks to many of you who read this blog, we had an incredible season. Thank you!

Here's Bea enjoying a view of Mt. Rainer from the Edmonds Ferry:

And my nephew 'Siah and I among the lupines in the Cascades:

Martin in fabled "Cicely" from 'Northern Exposure,' which is NOT in Alaska, but WA!

Then there was a short but time-of-souls-meeting with Merry's godparents and princes of godbrothers,

and with Elspeth's godmother and my dear, gentle friend from way back. . .

Getting reaquainted with Missoula (not a hard task):

and meeting this sweet house and garden for the first time:

Back in Washington, beaches and breathtaking coastline, cool nights, good food, good beer, good company

Lots of lovin'

Cousins who are sweet friends

Grandparents devoted to their grandchildren (and vise versa!)


And a freezing dip in the Puget Sound

. . .Of course you saw the trip to Texas in part; more later! The kids want to watch 'Leave it to Beaver.' I have lots to catch up on!

Back Again to a New Shed

We're back! After a long gorgeous summer in WA, MT, and TX, and here and there on the way back to our own honey corner of PA, here we are.

It's truly too late tonight to go into any interesting detail, but I told Mama I'd get a few pics up to show her Martin's new 'do and our shed, which Martin and his dad worked on last week (there's now more to show but I have to upload the roof and one piece of siding):

Didn't they do a rather lovely job on the frame?

and--can you find--Martin (looking oddly respectable)? Merry's gap teeth? Elspeth's happy face? Bea's pixie eyes? Me smiling like I just went swimming in TX in my in-law's beautiful pool?

Thanks to Dad C for the pics since mine--including everything from this summer--are still on my camera.

Maybe I'll actually start bloggering again!