the weekend: family album

Let me say it right at the outset: you may find this post to be too over the top. Too photo heavy. You may want to shout at me (though I know you're too polite) -- Nina, reign it in!

I will have to respond: I understand. But you see -- this weekend was so intense and beautiful, that slighting favorite photos is impossible for me. I've whittled it down and still it is, I agree, a handful. For you. But honestly, not for me.

So here's the deal: I promise no denouement, no interesting revelation. No good story, no mishap or adventure. You can skip this post and no one would be the wiser.

Or, you can look at my photos and smile, because surely they are not really just mine. We all have these superb family moments when everything about life seems fine and beautiful. My weekend was not unique or unusual. It was yours and everyone's. For all the days that go wrong, there are these -- the ones that go very very right.

Because there is a photo overload (understand: I will not see my daughters or Snowdrop until after I come back from Poland, so for me, it's not an overload at all), I'll keep words to a minimum. I'll merely give a phrase that tells you what I think a given scene represents.

Let's go back to Saturday. Remember? My younger daughter and her husband are at the farmhouse for the weekend. We meet my older girl and Snowdrop and, too, Snowdrop's grandma Charlotte (who is in town for an extended visit) downtown, for a market stroll.


 



(I love having you all here with me!)






(Playing with my aunt and uncle is the coolest of all cool things!)






(After the market: a quick peek at the toy store...)






(Snowdrop gets a balloon, grandma Charlotte makes sure it doesn't blow away.)






Lunchtime: at Snowdrop's home. Can I have some of your baguette?






Mommy, can you read me the book about how we belong together, again and again and again?






Later, at the farmhouse, Snowdrop wants to show her uncle (who always comes with good music to share) how she loves to dance. I mean, she really loves to dance!






In the meantime, my younger girl helps me cook. I've chosen a Jamaican curried chicken with squash for the main course.






And a rustic apple tart for dessert.






My daughter's husband is also very good in the kitchen. She consults with him about the caramelization of the tomatoes.






Finally, dinnertime. Snowdrop entertains her family with an intricate tale that keeps us spellbound!






The dinner draws to a close. Snowdrop (who has insisted on wearing her new winter boots all evening long) gets a spin holding on to Ed's big hands...






Late night story sharing, sleepy hours, not willing for the night to end and then boom! It's Sunday. I offered to do brunch at the farmhouse. The young family (and grandma Charlotte) arrive...






A happy Snowdrop.






My younger girl helps me with the frittata (this time it's with yellow and orange peppers, mushrooms, corn, gruyere cheese and fresh herbs)






We all love our time around the table.






To be clear: it's not just one table: we're again using a combination of square and oval tables brought together from various farmhouse corners.






Before and after, Snowdrop, at play...






... getting ah-ah to dance.






... showing grandma Charlotte where the cheepers roost. Then, happily running back to the farmhouse.






... where she practices independence on the very steep farmhouse stairs.






And here you get a break from family photos, because in the afternoon, Ed and I go out, just the two of us, to the Arboretum. We drive over, listening to This American Life (no. 599, entitled "Seriously?" I highly recommend it). You need to exhale after that. We try to reclaim the peace that this day offers.

Just six photos from that walk (plus a selfie!):










































And then it's evening. The young couple has left. I'm cooking dinner again. The colors of fall are just outside my kitchen window,






And the young family comes over. We're having predinner drinks, but Snowdrop wants to work the stairs again. Her mommy keeps an eye on her.






Snowdrop is irrepressible.






Dinner. Shrimp and pasta with tomatoes, fennel, garlic.






Snowdrop hurts her finger. She lets me kiss and make it better. Ed snaps.






I have a tiny bit of heavy cream in the fridge. Enough to whip up for Snowdrop. To put over raspberries. I'll end my family album with three photos of an appreciative Snowdrop.


















An incredibly busy weekend. But I wouldn't rewrite a single minute of it.

Tomorrow I leave for Poland. I'll be there for a week and it will be a very busy week. I have an apartment to get to know, but, too, I have one of my very closest American friends (and her husband) there, in Warsaw for the week as well. And of course, I have my sister and my Polish friends -- all to merge together into one  cohesive whole.

Confusing? It wont be, if you follow along. My next post will be en route. Sometime tomorrow.