daily life

so things are finally shaping up in the yard and we now have use of our deck - we have been working on household items (which is a common activity for northerners in the summer) and catching up with friends... soon we begin summer travel so then we will have more scintillating topics for posts- LOL

I am not really amazingly tech savvy so I am always surprised when something happens "by itself" like the photos that google sent me that "they" had edited and changed- here are my photos followed by theirs -

LOL- I apparently now live in an old fashioned post card- LOL

but I actually like MY flowers better- if I had wanted pink or fuchsia flowers I would have picked that color- LOL  anyway- here are some more photos of the yard - so you will know we have made some progress-

about the time we are heading south it should look mighty fine- LOL....

the fourth party at our house was lots of fun for me because I did the cooking I had to do well ahead and just hung out with folks - everything was cleaned up (thanks to many pitching in on kitchen duty) by an hour after the last guest left... so an easy and fun day/evening for me...

the weekend weather was not so fabulous so last night we were pretty stir crazy and decided to go out to dinner... we had been meaning to get back to Magnolia Cafe for a while and had Open Table checks to use so we headed there late on Sunday... I like this place. It has good memories for us because it was at Magnolia Cafe in November of 2007 that we met our friends Laure & Arnaud (known as "Larno" for short) through Keith Ross who had arranged a dinner there for winos... No one has seen Keith in years but despite Larno moving to NYC three years ago we still keep in touch...

back to Magnolia Cafe- the food is decent, the corkage fees reasonable, service good and it is a warm friendly neighborhood place- so that's how we end up there late on a Sunday night of the holiday weekend- I had the short ribs and Phil the bouillabaisse and we drank one of Neil's 83 burgs which turned out to be excellent-

and a final thought for the day- someone posted this on FB and I couldn't agree more so I am posting here-

and this holds true for people too- before they are your friends they were someone you didn't know- sometimes you don't remember exactly where you met (like we remember Larno) but certainly in each instance there was a time before you knew them and a time when you did know them... and no matter how much you see them or don't see them- you never go back to not knowing them  (I guess unless you lose your mind of course- but luckily we're still young enough that we haven't had that issue!)

so our summer goes on and we are heading out of town for our road trip in the heart of Midwestern America...will keep you posted!

some fourth fun

an old friend of Phil's named Richard and his wife Irene hold a party every year on fourth of July Eve... it gets bigger each year and last year they finally went for a catered main course, so that Richard, who was manning the BBQ grill for hours and not seeing friends except when they stopped by with a beer for him- LOL would be able to enjoy his own party -

however, folks still bring other things (mostly appetizers and desserts) and there were some festive desserts worthy of a few photos-

the view from the back yard- if you go down to the beach you can see the local fireworks show-

this one needed someone to put it right side up - but you  can see we have the appropriate theme going-

a giant cookie that someone bought at the grocery- this isn't a fancy party store bought is OK with them...

daughter Ali's cake - she was upset her sister Carol hadn't been home in time to help decorate it "Carol's is way better at this than I am...." LOL I told her it was very festive!

art with fruit part one

art with fruit part two-

for the healthy eaters - just plain fruit (which really doesn't need art it does quite well on its own...)

so today is our "wino" get together - and I made a new dish which is baking even as I type- lemon chicken -
it looks good for prep stage-  LOL

so far looking good---

will report back on the success of the venture.... happy Fourth of July everyone!

happy birthday

America!

I think I mentioned we are taking a class on forgotten US presidents at Northwestern this summer.  And an interesting side affect of the information we are getting in the class is a greater understanding that our situation these days politically is really not new - there have been other periods of great divisiveness (is that a word?) in our history and it has given me better perspective on the whole awful mess we have for politicians and political parties today.

so maybe things are not as broken as we think they are and so let's celebrate America's birthday with pride in the good things and hope that over time we become a more tolerant society - generous of spirit where people really get the concept of united we stand... we are a country of vast wealth and resources - we really CAN  afford to take care of our own -

this small excerpt comes from  NYT column that makes a similar point:

Given the nature of our founding and the documents that created this country, we seem destined to quarrel endlessly about who we are and who we’re supposed to be. This sounds like a flaw, but, in fact, it’s a peculiarly American virtue. Our history may read like a narrative, but it’s really a debate, sometimes bloody, usually peaceful, but always unresolved. We remain divided on nearly all the major elements of our constitution: the role of religion, the balance between federal and state authority, the risks and consequences of unlimited opportunity, the boundary between self-reliance and shared responsibility.

so maybe we still have hope that "the better angels of our nature" will prevail and we can come to some consensus on how provide the American dream for one and all and truly make this the land of opportunity.

and in celebration of the day - we went to friends for an annual picnic/BBQ and fireworks viewing... just like John Adams said we would all those years ago...

"It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

so just a few photos from the dessert table- the lovely young women who are the daughters of our friends really outdid themselves in the cake baking department for the celebration- thank you Carol and Ali for your wonderful spirited efforts for our enjoyment on the celebration of the USA birthday!

so back to class today in nearly 100* heat... thinking about the "founding fathers" in Philly in the summer - and feeling blessed for their efforts on our behalf.