Gray…

Looking through the photos I’ve taken the past few days I notice a gray theme…

…I’m off to look for color tomorrow…

Thriller…

I certainly don’t consider myself a Michael Jackson fan although I think he was a talented musician and dancer…but it is hard for me to listen to some of his music without wanting to get up and dance….The recent bombardment of news of his death and the stories of his life reminded me of a Christmas gift I once gave to my daughter, who was a little too old for such a gift so it went into a store room basically untouched…It ,in turn, is a reminder of my younger self dancing in the kitchen to “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” with my young girls…

It also inspired a little dancing in the kitchen to “Thriller” by the same girls and their mother this evening…no photos available!

June weather…

According to the Providence Journal on June 20,2009…

•April and May had only 3 clear days each, and there has been none so far in June.

•The average temperature in June has been 62.6, or 3.5 degrees cooler than normal.

•In the first 18 days of June, 12 were cooler than average and 6 were warmer than average.

•Precipitation for the year was 1.32 inches less than normal as of 6 p.m. Friday.

•In the 90 days since March 20, 55 have brought measurable rain or at least a trace of precipitation

All in all we were very happy to see the sun today…

Finally got the lawn mowed, screens put in the porch windows, the shed cleaned out, beach chairs put in the car just in case…

Sluggish…

…That is exactly how I am feeling while fighting a summer cold and living with this unusually chilly, damp weather…

At least one creature is happy…

…

Strawberry Galette…

More local strawberries from the farmer’s market…

…and company for supper made a good excuse to make a recipe that I had been eyeing for awhile…It was really simple…a rolled out butter pie crust…filled with sweet strawberries and a little cornstarch…

some egg wash around the edges…

then baked until brown…

Very yummy!

The basic recipe can be found here…but I obviously made it much simpler and I’m sure it tasted just as good…

Pot Luck Dinner..

In my experience, pot luck dinners are not usually held in such unique and beautiful venues…This dinner, in honor of library volunteers, was held last Friday at a recently built local equestrian center…

…the meal was served in the stables with the horses looking on…

...We got a chance to meet some of the inhabitants…

…and to explore the grounds…

…the locale, the food, and the company were a treat that I’m glad I got a chance to enjoy…

The Guard Dog…

Why is the best spot to dig a hole and lie down in always have to be in middle of a flower garden?…To discourage her, I put bricks or rocks in her favorite places to dig…until there were just too many rocks…

Oatmeal Cookies…

With the recipe from the box…

…and a willing assistant…

…We baked some delicious cookies!

Road Trip…

Last weekend Mr. O and I took a road trip to the Adirondacks…It’s only about 5 hours away but I had never been there before…I don’t know how that happened and I hope to go back again with more time for exploring…

Our trip started with a detour to the DiaBeacon Museum…No photos allowed there…which seems unreasonable to me…

It was fun to explore the large space …the exhibits are large and fill an old factory…

That night we attended a house-warming party for a house designed by Mr. O then stayed at the Keene Valley Lodge…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…It was too dark to take good pictures of the house…I just have a few from outdoors…

Sunday brought sun…lupines…and a trip to Lake Placid…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a boat tour around the perimeter of Lake Placid…and raced the rain clouds…

…before we headed back home.

Between the Raindrops…

I really do try to look on the bright side of events…Even though the rain is really starting to get to me, I try to see the beauty of the deep green, almost tropical look, of the New England woodland during this very wet and cool spring rather than worry about the water-logged irises. I try to think of how much I’m getting done indoors rather than think about the overgrown lawn. I try to think about cooking a primavera vegetable lasagna without overheating the kitchen rather than cooking steaks on the new grill. I try to think of all the reading I’m finding time for rather than taking time for my daily walk….I really am trying…but I still hope for sun this weekend...

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Fruit…

The constant, dreary, cold, and rainy weather is getting to me…I have had little inspiration for photos lately…just the weekly grocery shopping. I’m the only one in the household that eats much fruit but it was so beautiful and irresistible I’m afraid I overdid it and will be eating fruit for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert…