Random Musings/4

Giving me joy:

A hummingbird outside my window

 

  Pouring a glass of ice cold water from the refrigerator

 

 Listening to my favorite band (outside this time) on a balmy summer night.

 Bonfires with friends in our backyard

 My favorite guy having a birthday and giving him a present that he LOVED (a Kindle)

 Realizing a boy I used to babysit for when he was three has turned into an amazing young man destined for great things.

 Sneaking in a weekday lunch with my 3 favorite friends on a beautiful summer day

Random Summer Musings/3

I love summer, esp. summer in New England. The temperature (other than those pesky heat waves) is usually wonderful. Great to be out swimming or walking, or paddling in the day time, and as night approaches, a noticeable drop. Enough to make sleeping with a fan just right.

Do we love summer in New England because it is so short? Or because it IS perfect weather?

I would love it if it summer was longer..um...like the whole year long.

I love summer evenings SO much. Watching nighttime skies roll in, crickets chirping, the peacefulness of the dark, the stars making an appearance--all of it is great..

except.one.thing.

MOSQUITOS.

ugh.

It makes sitting on our deck after dusk completely impossible.

 A couple of Sunday's ago, Jim and I had just finished up working around the house, and it was such a beautiful night that we wanted to finish the weekend off with a sunset paddle.

We are lucky that we have a lake 10 min from our house, 

so a quick sunset paddle on a work night is very doable.

We were rewarded with SPECTACULAR skies.

And, guess what? 

No bugs.

 [Although privately owned now, this building is where Jim's mom 

used to come rollerskating and dancing in the 1930's and 40's.]

 My friend C (who is a librarian) told me that this sky is called a mackerel sky.

See? You never stop learning. Even when you get old like me :)

 Wow, right?

About 45 min and it was time for hubby to hoist our boat back up onto the car.

But the biggest treat was on the ride home.

The sky was so breathtakingly beautiful I made Jim pull over so I could shoot picture after picture.

[This one was out the window, as the car was moving..]

Did I tell you how much I love summer?

Random summer musings/2

My Mom

I know you all know how much I love my mom? There are many things to love, chiefly her amazing unconditional love she has for each and every one of her loved ones.

But did you know that....

She:
-is a fashionista?
-loves clothes shopping?
-is an expert at finding bargains (clothes)?
-dresses better than anyone I know?


Yup, she may be well into her 80's, but she is still one of the most gorgeous woman around!

Check out these photos I took of her last week
during a swim together at her pool.
She was tooting her horn because she found that beautiful swim coverup she is sporting at TJMaxx for $20, and the original tag said $125.
Thus the big smile :)

Nice legs, Mom :)

Cutest mom, EVER.

Random summer musings/1

Wow, I have been a big blog slacker this month! 

Lots of fun things going on:

camping

kayaking

grilling

outdoor concert going

sunset watching

house improving

swimming...

and a few other fun things.

 I guess that might be a good thing, though..being too busy to actually post what's going on? 

I hope my blog readers haven't given up on me!

To make up for my lack of blog posts, I will be posting random pics this week of summer happenings...a few every day this week.

Monday Musing: Home Improving 

After having the house painted last month, 

we have been on a home improvement kick--discussing those projects that we can do ourselves.

And when I say "ourselves"...it usually means Jim, my sweetie, doing them ;-)

His latest endeavor was to replace all the outdoor light fixtures on the doorways to our home. They had faded, chipped and fugly lights that were years too old.

So Jim replaced the light over the garage door, front door, side door, and back deck door.

I have to say...it was a big improvement, and a low cost project to boot!

 We have been improving our diets as well...eating huge amts of fresh fruits and veggies.

Lots of fruit and yogurt lunches...

 Lots and lots of salads.....

Even more grilled pizzas with more veggies/less meat.

 A new favorite:
pattypan squash, onion and   vegetarian sausage

We are visiting Farmer's Markets even when the temperature soars into the 90's by 10am.

A new breakfast favorite:
multigrain bread, toasted and spread with goat cheese, eggs, sliced tomatoes and fresh basil

Corn!!!!

We are also grilling more and more veggies: squash, asparagus, zucchini, and anything else we can get our hands on.

And maybe having an accompanying glass of red wine to improve heart function :)

Check out this blog post:

60 Small Ways to Improve Your Life in the Next 60 Days

What are YOU up to this summer?

The best hike ever.

My very very very favorite hike is not too strenuous..it is actually easy to moderate difficulty. Some steep inclines, a bit of scrambling over rocks, but all in all, not too bad. The view at the stop is so spectacular that you are excited as the path steepens and becomes rocky..you know you are getting close.

First..a bit of background...

Acadia National Park terrain was formed by glaciers thousands and thousands of years ago; these glaciers dumped "rocks" that became compressed into bedrock that became mountains. 

(the National Park service owns all the land on Mt Desert Island that is green in the map below)

The island that contains most of Acadia National Park

was named Mount Desert Island, not because it is desert-like, 

but because Samuel Champlain named it "Isles des Monts Desert,"as he sailed by the island in 1604.

 [So how do you say Mount Desert Island? Most people pronounce it like "dessert"]

"Champlain named it with the accent on the last syllable, as it is in the French language. He wasn't implying that it was a desert. The phrase means "island of barren mountains." That's why it's pronounced both as it is spelled and as the French meaning would be pronounced (dessert)."

 [from nps.gov]

Ok, so now that I have bored you all to tears, let's get back to some photos, right?