Family Sunday

It is the pinnacle of the peaks: (in chronological order) maximum lily count ever (986 this morning! I wanted to reach 1000, because, well, why not! But the lilies are as they are. I could not find 14 more to snip!)...

 

 

  

And maximum family love. All here, at the farmhouse, for brunch. Total bliss.

(The arrival of the Chicago kids -- both plow their way along the super secret path.)

 

 

 

 

 

I did one of my easy peasy meals: Madison Sourdough has the croissants, breads, and pastries.

 

 

 

I have the peaches, turkey, smoked salmon, local blueberries, and of course -- farmette eggs. 

The big three love closing themselves off in the art room. The little ones are still tied to the toys in the playroom. Everyone is content. Just the way I like it!

Shortly after the noon hour, all parents depart, taking with them the two littlest ones. But wait, the kids are feeling playful...

 

 

 

And there is a group photo to take. (Thank you Ed.)

 

And now I'm with the older threesome and the official summer 2025 Grandma Camp begins.

We start with cleaning up the toys left behind by the little ones. And then I launch one of my two projects for 2025, gratis guidance and suggestions given to me by crafts person extraordinaire, my friend Barbara. We do Mod Podge tissue cut outs, over glasses hiding battery candles. 

One fantastic aspect of this is that it allows for many mistakes and tears and irregularities. Perfect for us.

 

Next -- swimming at the big kids' neighborhood pool.

And finally, dinner at their local eatery -- Longtable. Grilled cheese, mac and cheese -- all fun stuff.

One more activity for this first day: a movie for Primrose and me, back at the farmhouse now. But I'm pushing it timewise. We stop in mid scene so that I could point her toward her bed already.

Camp ends with lights out. For Primrose, not for me. I exhale, on the couch, with Ed. But not for long. I have a very early morning tomorrow. I need to be ready for it! Day two of camp begins at sunrise for me. I am so hoping that the lily count will drop, but if not, I'm there for them. And for the kids. With July strength to meet the moment. 

and so much love... 

the buzz in the air

You think I'm once again referring to mosquitoes, don't you? Well yes, there were those. We had a lot of rain once more and this is very pleasing to those mozzies. But I'm thinking of another type of buzz -- there is a lot going on today and it began very early and lasted pretty much the whole day. And it just got better and better. It went sort of like this:

I'm snipping lilies. It is tough going today because everything is so wet. I'm drenched, my pickings are especially slimy. But, the flower beds do look good and I am grateful for that.

I nudge Ed to do what he promised to do weeks ago -- find a replacement for our couch cover (it has tears in it). I have guests tomorrow and I'd like the couch to look good. And he found one he likes: instead of the soft organic cotton throws we've been using (they wear out ever so quickly!) he found something akin to burlap. We spend the rest of the morning discussing the pros (according to him) and cons (many, according to me) of sitting on burlap,

I get a call, too, from my friend in Poland who has been helping me find a place to host a dinner this summer. One place closed, another is cavernous and weird. A third may work but it requires my initiating a conversation with the managers. Okay, I'm on it! Sort of. This is when I remember I'm supposed to be getting tickets for a movie this afternoon for the kids and a few grownups. Okay, I'm on it! Eventually. And this is when I get an email from Delta that on a forthcoming trip, I've been rebooked to a connection that has a 37 minute layover in an extra stop airport. There is no way that I would ever choose that kind of a connection. I must call them. Ah. Wait time to reach a rep? 1 hour and 16 minutes. Great, I can finish doing the laundry and settle a cat fight. This is when my last much delayed lilies are set to arrive. Just six, but they will need to go in. I'm NOT on it. I'm somewhere in between cleaning the bathroom and washing up breakfast dishes. Yes, there was breakfast. On the porch. It went by ever so quickly, what with our discussion of burlap and all.

And now I see that it is time for me to leave for a lunch meet-up on the Union Terrace with this group from Chicago!

Of course, this is the fabulous part. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Without Snowdrop this afternoon because she is over in Illinois, picking out a hamster. Not for her, thank goodness. She's assisting a friend. The remaining four? Happy as clams to be up on a Union chair again.

 

 

 

(ice cream for the youngest two) 

 

 

Lunch isn't really leisurely because, well, I did book an afternoon movie for three kids and three adults. 

And in the evening, all of us, including Ed, go out to Sardine. Such a family place it has become! So many important events and insignificant but still lovely dinners we have had here! 

Equally lovely are the minutes after dinner. We walk down to the edge of the lake and the evening colors are just right, and the lake waters feel to refreshingly wet!

 

 

Oh, these kids! So good to and for each other, so good for us big guys too...

 

 

True, I do feel like I've mashed the throttle today. The trick will be to stay cool, focused, but also calm in the days ahead. I'm on it! I think.

with so much love... 

getting ready

I was not unhappy that the number of slipped lilies this morning went down to 831. These peak days are very beautiful, but the work of cleaning up the garden each morning is grueling. Not boring (Ed asked -- how can you count to 831 without being bored?). Just hard. The bugs, the tall wet plants, the soggy snipped flowers -- you love doing it until you don't. I'd say that right around the 400 count, you switch from "lovely" to "ugh."

And yet, just because it's tedious stuff, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop. Flower growing is like that: lots of excitement, pleasure and visual rewards, alongside tedium, exertion, frustration. If you are in the business of creating gardens, you are agreeing to both sets of emotions. [I remember the first person I met -- aside from my grandparents out in the Polish countryside -- who loved plants: her name was Carol and I was her au paire, taking care of her little girl for several summers and months in between. Carol had a room full of plants in their summer country home. Each morning, she would spend some time trimming or watering them, picking out those that needed replacement. For a long time, these were my images of a gardener: a person with a lovely little watering can and a pair of special snipping scissors and an account at a plant store. Until I got my hands on real soil in a couple of balcony flower pots, and soon after -- a patch of dirt by a small house. Then I understood -- the challenges, the sweat, the joy. A lifetime of learning how to do it better, knowing that you never really are guaranteed a good outcome. A thousand things might, and will go wrong. And yet you continue.]

Today's photos were of a cloudy morning, with a hint of coming rain. And yes, there were bugs. The frogs were ready for them!

(the secret path)

(the "porch lilies: where it all began...)

(a glance at the peach orchard meadow...)

 

 

(a glance out the mud room window) 

 

 

Breakfast? Right here:

 

 

 

With a view to the flower fields.

 

 

 

(Dance had an unusually long morning amble outside; this is her, after breakfast)

 

I then made many attempts to do some weeding, always interrupted by either drizzle or excessive bug presence. Still, I pull some weeds. That's always a good thing. It speaks of not giving up yet!

 

(Big Bed) 

 

 

(flower field by the parked cars)

 

 

The day is otherwise devoted to making very detailed plans for the week before me. Tomorrow, my younger girl is here with her family and on Sunday, they're leaving Primrose at the farmhouse with me for a week of Grandma Camp (or Gaga Camp, depending on whom you ask). My mornings will be with just Primrose, my afternoons and possibly evenings -- with all three older grandkids. I expect that Ocean posts will be brief!  

In the meantime, allow me to take a 72-year old's nap in anticipation of the week ahead.

 with love...