Midsummer's Update

Two pictures of recent happiness, one sitting outside at lunch time in a hand-me-down swimsuit (thank you AuntE!) and one inside in the corral, with only a slightly less goofy smile.



And here's one of Cora in one of those bow headbands I swore my baby would never wear - if people want to know her gender they can just ask! - but, it is kind of cute, and she did ask to wear it and wear it for a long time this day. Every once in a while she really likes to have something on her head.





One of the best things about summer is standing at the screen door, poking your fingers in the holes the cats started, making them bigger so all the really interesting bugs can get in.

And, yes, that is a big trash bag full of yard clippings out there in the yard at the edge of the Scary Garden. Nice view, huh? :) What you can't see, or one of the things, is the raspberry patch just to the far left of the Scary Garden next to the driveway. Today after lunch Cora and I wandered down the path to the patch and ate sweet ripe raspberries right off the canes. Yum! Cora loved them and the sign for "more" got quite a workout.



This is Cora's first fortune from a Chinese to-go dinner. It is hard to get a good photo of a little slip of paper with our camera, and we don't have the graphic wherewithal to clarify it much. It says:


YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A VERY COMFORTABLE OLD AGE.

Mine from the same dinner said:
LUCK IS HOW WE EXPLAIN THE SUCCESS OF THOSE WE DON'T LIKE.

Who knew a cookie could be so cynical?

Yesterday evening my poetry group met in the evening, so the daddies could babysit, and it was a great way to celebrate midsummer - out in Oakdale on a deck overlooking a pond, with swallows dipping overhead, perfect weather, champagne and berries and cheese. We did a lot of writing, which is good, because otherwise I'd never get anything written. Here is one little silly snippet I wrote:

What is the baby doing?
Going to bed?
Hearing her stories? Watching
Daddy do dishes?
Sleep well, sweetest girl,
and don't be sad. All
is well. Momma's with
the aunties and they
are writing poems.