At the Fair…

Recently my grandchildren have been enjoying the book Angelina at the Fair  that was given to their Aunt E in 1986.   It is inscribed “Happy 4th Birthday E!  We’ll be going to the fair soon – Just like Angelina!”.  The story concerns an adventurous mouse who takes a younger cousin to a fair where they go on a ferris wheel, a roller coaster, and a Haunted House before the little cousin gets lost.  

Maybe because of this story, when he heard that we were going to the North Stonington Fair Mr J immediately was interested in riding the ferris wheel. 

It was difficult sitting through dinner…

The animals were a little more fun…

 

Dels Frozen Lemonade was enjoyed…

Ribbons were earned for being good farmers…

That ferris wheel was always within sight…

And finally we were there…

He wasn’t frightened at all…

We could see Mom and Miss E waving from the train…

Unlike her brother, Miss E really didn’t like the rides…

Mr O got some great shots of us on the roller coaster…

I like roller coasters and now have someone who will go on them with me…

Miss E did not want any help catching this fish…

Before we left the fair Mr J got to go on a pony ride…

I have been going to county fairs since I was in a 4H club showing my rabbit.  It was nice to return with grandchildren and to remember how hot, dusty, and fun it had been.

The Simple Things of Summer…

There is a birthday party going on over at Christina’s blog, Soul Aperture…and what better way to celebrate than to join Se’lah and list a few of those simple things that make me happy. Here is just a small summer edition…

• Summer birthdays top the list…
• Hair that curls in the humidity…
• Ice cream cake…
• Road trips…

• A backyard pool…
• The smell in the air after the start of a rainstorm…
• Outdoor flea markets…
• Mowing the lawn…

• Dining al fresco at a city restaurant…
• Riding in the car with the windows down…
• Listening to the cicadas drone…
• Queen Anne’s Lace and Bachelor's Button on the roadsides…Just the names of those wildflowers…

• Water lilies in the pond
• Having a really good belly laugh first thing in the morning
• The smell of a ripe cantaloupe melon…the taste of cantaloupe with prosciutto…
• Tide pools…

• County fairs…
• Swimming in the ocean…
• Listening to thunderstorms…
• The color gray of rain clouds…

• Breakfast on the porch…
• Reading a good mystery book…
• The smell of honeysuckle in the air…
• Listening to baseball on the radio…

This list is never ending…Summer is full of wonderful, simple things…

A Perfect Day For the Beach…

 

On the holiday weekend, the state beach was full and cars were being turned away…but our little sailboat could easily take us to a quiet,  almost empty beach…where the sand was so hot our feet burned and the water was so cold our skin tingled…

Sailing back, Mrs R and I tried to remember the lyrics to “A Perfect Day”…because it was a perfect day.

 Lou Reed
Transformer (1972)
Perfect Day
Just a perfect day,
Drink Sangria in the park,
And then later, when it gets dark,
We go home.
Just a perfect day,
Feed animals in the zoo
Then later, a movie, too,
And then home.
Oh it's such a perfect day,
I'm glad I spent it with you.
Oh such a perfect day,
You just keep me hanging on,
You just keep me hanging on.
Just a perfect day,
Problems all left alone,
Weekenders on our own.
It's such fun.
Just a perfect day,
You made me forget myself.
I thought I was someone else,
Someone good.
Oh it's such a perfect day,
I'm glad I spent it with you.
Oh such a perfect day,
You just keep me hanging on,
You just keep me hanging on.
You're going to reap just what you sow,
You're going to reap just what you sow,
You're going to reap just what you sow,
You're going to reap just what you sow.

 

The Pursuit of Happiness…

Deciding how I was going to spend this 4th of July holiday was not easy for me this year.  For the past 59 years I always knew that I would be spending the day celebrating my sister’s birthday and this would be the first that I have spent without her.  I thought of going away…but happily ended up spending time with my daughters, their husbands,  my grandchildren…and of course Mr O.

  

We had a peanut hunt…I can remember doing this at my grandmother’s house when I was their age.

Some of us got wet.

Some tried to relax.

We grilled.

And we played with sparklers.

I do love sparklers!

Happy 4th of July…

 

Guess who had fun watching some fireworks last night!  Hope everyone is enjoying their right to the pursuit of happiness today…

More NYC…

After going to bed early and getting up early we returned to the city via train…There were a few things I still wanted to see.   First we went to the Metropolitan Museum to see the summer roof installation The Big Bambu.

We even stood in line for awhile to sign up for the tour which takes you climbing up into it…

…but Mr O and I aren’t good at waiting in lines and you weren’t allowed to take a camera with you…

…so we just enjoyed the bamboo patterns above… .

and the shadow patterns below…

as well as the view…right from the rooftop.

We went directly from bamboo garden to a replica of a Chinese garden court…

..to an exhibit of Leon Levinstein photography.  Although I liked his quote, his photos were not my favorites…

…especially when compared to those of Henri Cartier Bresson which we later viewed at MOMA.

“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson

This exhibit was exquisite, crowded, and HUGE…room after room after room…and was really more than should be seen in one day…but when you rarely get to NYC and it is the last few days of the exhibit…you carry on… We also took in the exhibit Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography which deserved an entire day to itself. Thankfully MOMA also has a wonderful cafe that serves wine…

Museum hopping is one of my favorite things to do and I am fortunate to have family and friends who are patient and kind enough to go with me.