Posts Tagged ‘summer’

Excuses, Excuses . . .

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

The blog has been a bit neglected lately. We’ve been remiss, slackers, cyber-bums, etc. But as usual, excuses are plentiful! Here are 10 reasons that the blog has been a bit slow:

10. We finally took the plunge and bought a Nikon D60 last weekend. For the first 24 hours we just stared at it. And the user manuals. It’s been at least as distracting as a new puppy.

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9. With our newfound equipment, we decided to enter the professional arena. We signed up for an account on Shutterstock. Then we snapped the required ten pictures and sent them off, confident in our photographic prowess.  48 hours later all ten pictures were rejected. Not one, not five, but all ten. Perhaps we’ll keep our pictures within the confines of Bona Vita where we can rest comfortably, self-deceived about our abilities.

8. Elliot returned from college and then turned around and left on a mission trip to Nicaragua. The resulting laundry/unpacking/laundry/packing flurry was almost as distracting as the camera.

7. Memorial Day Weekend. Not as much  a celebratory barbecue as a frantic pre-vacation three-day spring-cleaning plant-the-garden-in-an-afternoon event.

6. It’s the last week of school. Need I say more?

5. Mom’s slightly obsessive tendencies result in a desperate need to force her children to finish every single last page of every single textbook.  The last week of school is both eventful and emotional as a result.

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4. Seven National Piano Guild auditions, one SAT subject test in Latin, one freshman pre-registration, one senior piano recital, and standardized achievement testing all fell into the same fourteen-day period.

3. The family van is dying. After 220,000 miles, it’s making strange noises. Groaning, grunting, grinding. It doesn’t accelerate like it used to. It has also been attacked by rust, that malicious culprit that seems to take joy in destroying cars, especially those originating in Michigan. However, Mom and the mechanic are conspiring together to force one more year of miles out of the van.

2. Our first set of guests. We’ve been preparing our Michigan home for our first set of vacation renters.

1. Frantic planning and packing for summer vacation that solidified not a moment too soon. More on that coming soon.

So what are your excuses? Why does preparing for a relaxing summer take so much energy?

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Aqua Fina

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

Young children love to play with water.  Inside, they enjoy filling the sink with water and playing with dish soap bubbles or washing their play dishes. Their child size  kitchen play takes on a new dimension when they can fill their cups, teapots and pans with water.

During the summer the options for water play open up. There are always the usual opportunities like playing in small pools, running through the sprinklers and playing with water guns.

Our children never tire of playing with water balloons. They do not simply lob the balloons at one another (although this is what occurs most of the time particularly as the older children get involved). Younger kids enjoy filling the water balloons. They always need help tying them. Then they float them in their little pools and create games centered around the water balloons. Our children have occupied several afternoons defending their fortress (play equipment) while the enemy attempted to overtake them… all with the assistance of water balloons as their weapons of choice.

One terrific water activity for younger children is ”painting”.  I equip my little ones with a buckets of water and large inexpensive paint brushes and I send them off to paint.  They, then, proceed to paint everything in sight: their play equipment, bikes, toys, outdoor furniture, garage doors, the barn and even their father’s tractor.  This is an innocent, harmless, cool and relatively clean activity that keeps children busy and content for hours. They absolutely love it.

During the warm, summer days water play can be an easy, terrific activity. You can enjoy playing with your children right in your own backyard.

“Summer afternoon – summer afternoon… the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James

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Perfect Refreshment

Monday, May 26th, 2008

Memorial Day is here, marking the moment we step into summer. Up here in the north, plans for summer outings include biking on terrific trails, boating on crystal clear lakes, canoeing down lazy rivers, and definitely dining al fresco.

Whether you find yourself at a picnic or simply in your backyard, dining in the fresh air should be a lovely, notable experience.  To enhance the al fresco experience, bring the indoors outside.  Utilize crisp linens and  beautiful glassware instead of the traditional picnic paper goods.  This is easily accomplished in your own yard as everything can be set up outside without much trouble.

Simply spread a white tablecloth over a table outside, hold it down with unusual rocks set in the corners, and set the table in a traditional manner or buffet style.   You can enhance the atmosphere with unique serving pieces.  Present a summer punch served in an attractive bowl punctuated with slices of lemons and limes.  During the day, utilize fresh flowers from your yard for a centerpiece. In the evening, candles always add a nice touch to your al fresco dining experience.  Don’t forget music; it adds so much to the ambiance.  Breakfast, lunch, or dinner will be a beautiful experience al fresco.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time…” – Ecclesiastes 3:11

Crystal Punch

Raspberries

Ice mold (any kitchen mold will do; I use antique copper molds)

Equal amounts of ginger ale and white grape juice (adjust according to taste)

Thinly sliced lemons and limes

Mint leaves for garnishing

Several hours ahead of time, freeze raspberries in pretty molds filled with water or white grape juice.  If you choose to freeze grape juice, you will not dilute your punch when you add the ice molds.  Pour equal amounts of ginger ale and white grape juice into a punch bowl (some cake plates invert into a pretty punch bowl).   Add the ice mold and garnish with the fruit slices and mint leaves.

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