I've been busy entertaining, working, running my children around, shopping for back to school, dating, and studying actually. As a result, I've neglected some of my domestic responsibilities - including weeding. My front garden looks too terrible to show you. But this one weed that took over a little wrougt iron table turned out to be a beautiful Morning Glory.
Sometimes there is beauty in letting things go.

Last weekend we were lucky enough to have some old friends come see us for the weekend. Our kids enjoyed touring DC together, although it was the hottest day of the summer (until today that is.) They did a great job maintaining proper decorum in the sweltering sojourn through Arlington Cemetery. By the time we got to the WWII memorial, proper decorum had been stretched to far.



Annapolis was fun, as always. We got to watch the midshipmen practicing their sailing techniques while we rode the Harbor Queen. Of course we had to have crabs for the full Maryland experience.
Laura, who you've met on this blog, and I have a unique bond. We are friends because our ex-husbands were friends. So even though they don't communicate anymore, we bonded over our divorces. It seems our exes have some similar issues being big jocks from the same small town. So we had a weekend long psychotherapy session - with margaritas.

Laura is an amazing mother, overcoming odds that most people simply couldn't face. You can tell by how cool her kids are.

Whew!
I'm back and getting caught up from all the fun happenings of summer. Here are a few pictures of our beautiful visit with old friends in Idaho. It was great to see my high school friends and have my children renew their friendship with their children.






I also learned that the less I spent on an event, the more fun it seemed to be. It was a pleasure to watch our children play, unplugged, for hours. We all delighted in the ice-melt Payette & Boise Rivers, climbing on the boulders, and the high desert scenery. Those Boiseans love their libraries!






I came home with jet lag, an interesting new drink recipe, an easy dinner idea, loads of pictures, and a renewed closeness for my friends that I've known for 21 years. What a long strange trip its been.

Thanks Lisa & Big! Thanks J & B! I love you!

Harry Potter Spoiler Alert
Don't click to my comments if you aren't up to chapter 7 yet.
Please don't tell me the end yet either.

I ran out of gas today for the first time ever.
Ultimately, it is my fault and I suppose I should direct my anger at myself. But I'm mad at Toyota too. Here's why.

I have a tank that supposedly holds 11.9 gallons of gas.
I have a computer read-out that tells me the mpg I'm getting on this particular tank: 47mpg.
Although my "add fuel" light was on, I had only driven @450 miles. So by my calculations - and I'm an English major - I still had at least 50 more miles 'til empty, leaving myself a cushion at that.

So my car just stopped and seven different dashboard panel lights came on. I thought it was a problem with the hybrid battery that appeared to be depleted.

No. The service techs said the Hybrid gas tanks are bladders rather than traditional tanks. Sometimes it doesn't "see" the remaining gas. So even though I've driven my Prius that many miles before, I shouldn't let it get below 1/4 tank.

That would have been useful piece of information for the salesman to have mentioned. Everything I've heard is that you get better gas mileage when the tank is low. Hybrid buyers are generally concerned with gas mileage.

Even if I had pushed my car to the gas station less than a mile away, I would have still had to bring it in for service to have the computerized dashboard alerts reset.

So it could have been worse. I have my car. I wasn't stuck on a sweltering day on a busy highway. But I lost 4 hours, $65, and a little of my pride. I didn't even have Harry Potter with me to read.

Shoulds vs. Wants

I should be working on my column, or that boat story. I have research for a couple of new projects to work on. I have several ad contacts to follow-up on. I have the cover story for the next issue that needs a ton of footwork. I'm behind on invoicing.

Dust bunnies are having an orgy under my kitchen table. The post summer camp & vacation laundry is piled high. Old food is crowding my 'fridge. Weeds & grass have taken control of my flower bed. There are 12 messages blinking on my answering machine.

But the new Harry Potter just arrived on my doorstep.

I am at my favorite local beach town: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Every year here, things change - I guess just like everywhere. It is just that when you only come once a year, the changes seem so dramatic.

The shops and restaurants have all seemed to shift around this year. My favorite quirky store, Abizak's, is gone from the beach. It doesn't seem right. I had to drown my disappointment with a pitcher of margaritas from Dos Locos which is in that same space now. I suppose if it had to go, it was thoughtful of them to replace it with margaritas.

At least the candy apple stand is still there.

I meant to be more sensible tonight.

I just got home from the midnight showing of the new Harry Potter movie.
It was so fun! Four theaters were packed. There were capes, hats, and wands in the audience. The audience hushed, cheered, and jeered with enthusiasm.

It's been a while since I read the 5th installment. I know some things weren't exact, but I think most fans will find it wonderful.

I may regret this late night tomorrow, but for now, I'm glad I enjoyed the indulgence with my kids. It is summer after all.

Peggy & I went for a walk in the woods this evening with our daughters, Dawn & Suzy. The whole night was a great metaphor I can't resist sharing.

We two moms were on the same path as our daughters. Sometimes they blasted ahead of us and we hurried to catch up and sometime we waited for them to catch up when they were distracted by a swarm of ants, a frog, or lightening bugs.

Once, Suzy waited for us to catch up to her to point out a fatally injured squirrel, in its last gruesome throes. It's not often in our air conditioned lives we witness this moment in the circle of life. She was fascinated. I didn't want to look.

The path forked, with one path crossing a stream that was perfect except for the unnaturally orange water. Peggy & I watched as our daughters scrambled down for a closer look.

They were beautiful and daring, cooperative and challenging with each other. We moms watched from the bridge, murmuring our concerns to each other, but not really wanting to stop them.
That water looks rusty and the rocks look slippery.
New shoes.
Poison Ivy.
I don't want to go down there and fetch an injured one.

But we didn't stop them. We sometimes called out advice and encouragement,
Are you OK?
Try another route back.
Watch for leaves of three.
- but mostly we watched.

When the sun began to set, we waited for our daughters at the fork in the road to make sure they were headed down the path toward home.

Suzy tried Dawn's bike. She's still learning even though she's 9. I tried to help her balance. Dawn advised, "Relax and good things will happen."

I took that walk to relax. Dawn was exactly right. It was a good thing.

I hope you all had a chance to enjoy your 4th of July.
To add to the excitement of the fireworks, I invited the new man in my life, Mark, to meet my children - and then 60 of my closest friends at my party. He was very graceful in such a large crowd of inspectors.
At age 42, I don't really feel the word "boyfriend" is appropriate. "Lover" seems unnecessarily shocking, or simply TMI, and "Friend" seems insufficient. Any suggestions? I'm sure my witty friends can solve this dilemma for me.

Here I am with a couple of other men I met in California. The guys I've dated in the last three years all fall somewhere on the spectrum between Groucho & Albert. I kept accidently saying Moucho Grarx. Either way, my kids had never heard of him, which does make him like most of the guys I've dated.











This is the Foucault Pendulum at the Griffith Observatory. If you look carefully, you can see I am trying to explain to my children how this pendulum shows the earth's rotation. My oldest appears to be listening. My son is enduring. My youngest is busy looking fabulous in her sunglasses.
The observatory cafeteria is called "The Cafe at the Edge of the Universe." It was a great place to watch the sun set over the Hollywood Mountains (although that is not the official name of those mountains, I'm sure.) The fascinating planetarium show did make me feel like a tiny fleck of stardust.





This is Venice Beach on my ankle and my children. For more on that parade of humanity, check out my mother's posts.

Finally home. Too bad a lovely vacation ends with such travel hassles. We were delayed significantly at DFW due to nearby weather that re-routed many flights into our airport. We only lost one suitcase, which I suppose isn't bad, but at 4am in Baltimore, I wasn't really feeling amiable about standing in the lost luggage line.

So now is the follow up day of groceries and laundry and jet lag, answering machines and backed up work appointments. The morning scale reflected the pier funnel cakes overdose of Southern Californian guacamole, so I need to re-install my diet and exercise discs. But first, I'm going to brew a pot of coffee and read up on my blogger friends.

I have been vacationing with my children and my parents in Southern California. What a cornucopia of characters out here!

Here I am matching my hands with Bette Davis' at Grauman's Chinese Theater.


I have been amazed by the brown cloud of smog sitting on top of this town. So I decided to treat my children to a breath of fresh air at an oxygen bar in Hollywood.

This past weekend was dance recital weekend. The girls' dance school is huge. They have 5 different recitals, and of course, my girls were in different ones. That's 5 hours of recital for a combined total of 5 minutes on stage.

But they were beautiful, energetic, and nimble. We enjoyed seeing old friends from competition days, seeing the polished dances of the competitive troupe, and the disoriented babies in the youngest classes.

I hate being sick.

This top photo is by the crab wharf on Slaughter's Creek where we purchased lunch, the eastern side of Taylor's Island.

On the East Coast, you can't see the sun set over water unless you are on the eastern shore of a bay. Sunrise, although beautiful, is much more difficult to catch. How lucky for me to have spent sunset on the Eastern Shore.

I had my lunch on Saturday on Taylor's Island, a small residential island the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake.

I learned that softshell crabs have a very small window of edibility. These crabs, caught as "peelers" are molting. Within 4 hours of molting, their new shells are hardened again.

So they are kept in these troughs and monitored. I am a novice at eating softshelled crabs and don't even know how to cook them. But it was fascinating to see who the crabbers deal with their catch.

Our lunch was fresh off the boat. They were delicious.

I don't know if it is karma, or providence, but someone is sending a message to me today.

Had Plan A gone according the script, today would have been my 20th wedding anniversary and I would be packing my bags for Tahiti. I'm hardly moping around about the significance of today, too busy with all the blessings in my life.

One of those blessings is a fun job as the School Columnist. The job I am covering today of all days, is the installation of a "Peace Pole" at a school as part of a Bronze Award project for a local Girl Scout Troop. The pole, like hundreds of thousands around the world, says in several languages, "May Peace Prevail on Earth."

Hhhmmm.
Some days peace is easier to achieve than others.

I have the wonderful dilemma of stretching myself between two fun jobs. Yesterday, after hosting the farewell Bus Stop Breakfast, I was able to make my deadlines - whew! I kind of like that adreneline rush of trying to beat the clock, although it sometimes makes for late nights & early mornings.

I like how Calvin explained it to Hobbes:

C: You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
H: What mood is that?
C: Last minute panic.


How are youwith deadlines?

The book review I wrote has finally been posted. It was fun to do, especially because I got the book pre-release. If you look through this website and its archives, you will want to go directly to the book store. If you are into it, you can sign up and be added to their list of potential reviewers.

The review that I wrote is for Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble. Meg Cabot is most famous for her Princess Diaries series. She writes a lot of adolescent lit and some adult. The one I reviewed was in between those two categories.

womenwriters.net

I'm camping with the Brownies this weekend. Thank God it's cabins and bunk beds.

But I'm in charge of campfire songs and skits. It has been a while for me, so I need your help.

What are your favorite campfire songs?
Do you remember any silly skits? All I can think of is "Pebbles in the Lake."

They let me preach at my church again last Sunday.

You know how you always think of the right thing to say later that day when you are lying in bed? Well, being given the opportunity to preach is a weird kind of notice to avoid that situation. I knew that if I stood in this spot, in this room, at this time, on this day, 150 people were going to listen to me. So I could head off the "I shoulda said" at the pass.

Since I have an in with the website manager at my church, not only is the sermon posted, but the audio is available. (Thanks Dad.) I listened to it and was relieved that the mic didn't pick up my pounding heart. I learned how to fake not being nervous as a teacher.

"Daring Questions"

Here is a picture of the Lab that recently processed the ring I purchased last fall at Tiffany's in NYC.

I couldn't believe it, it all happened so fast. I was interviewing a photographer for a magazine article. He had asked that I conduct the interview at his house due to the new puppy. Cute dog, but a rambunctious, not-yet-trained cutie.

I extended my hand for her to investigate and she just reached up and pulled off my ring, that was apparently not sized accurately.

The photographer and his wife valiantly tried to save the ring - and their dog, but stood and faced me, stricken, when they realized what happened.

"Your dog just got more valuable," I said, trying to lighten the moment. "I want that ring back."

I have heard of the ring's safe return. I inquired and was satisfied that the sanitation process was adequate.

I picked that ring because of its symbolism: a heart, a little squished, but still beautiful. So it is appropriate that the ring went through a little shit. I just meant that to be a metaphor.

Would you wear it?

I've been busy!

Anybody have a good recipe for sangria? A friend of mine was talking about a white sangria too that sounds refreshing.

Any other good new drinks out there?

Did anyone notice that Diet Coke came out with a variation that has vitamins? I guess they were worried about the junkies getting some nutrition.

Did any of you play with Matchbox cars? We had those orange track strips that you could link together. We started the ramp on top of Mom's china cabinet, put a loop in it, and sent cars way off down the hall. (Did you know about that Mom?)

Well, I think all the kids who played with those are now buying cars. It seems I keep seeing cars with flames on the front, big wide racing stripes running down across the top of the car, bright colors with fancy paintwork. Whenever I see one, I want to ask the driver if they played iwth Hot Wheels.

OK,
I've been tagged twice for seven things. Yours is coming next if you haven't been tagged already.

1. One of my favorite snacks is hummus & Tricuits with a glass of wine, although chips & guacamole and margaritas are right up there too.

2. I have always wanted to see the Library of Alexandria in Egypt and some of those places with relics from ancient civilizations.

3. I just started a book by Ken Follet called "Whiteout." I thought it would be about the Artic or Mt. Everest, but it's about a leaked virus. Oh well, I'll keep reading.

4. I like to play the piano to relax, although I'm not very good and prefer no audience. I like the arrangement I have of Simple Gifts.

5. My first real concert was Bruce Springsteen's The River tour.

6. I have never regretted having laser eye surgery about 5 years ago.

7. I am currently wearing pink toe nail polish.

Now, I think I will tag
Miss Bunny
Julie
Mark
John
Just Me (you can post yours in my comments)
Laura (you can post yours in my comments)
Peggy (you can post yours in my comments)
(I'm trying not to take all my overlapping people)
I'll post the request in your comments soon.

You're it!

I love when the summer produce begins showing up in the grocery stores. Today in the store they had cherries! and they were sweet too.

I'm finally getting a little better at the self checkout in the grocery store. I even use it when I have to weigh produce now. You get that mechanical woman's voice:
"Put your bananas on the scanner."
"Please move your bananas."

I had to look around and see if anyone was listening when I purchased my cherries.

I had a "dinner meeting" last night that was lovely. When I got out of my car in the parking lot, a neighboring church's chimes were playing the Big Ben song. Then they began to strike the hour. I felt the impulse to run, but I didn't want to chip my glass slippers on the bricks.

Today is my mother’s birthday. She is 50-16, a beautiful age. Before I took her out for a perfect lunch on the brick patio of the Sly Horse tavern, I joined her for her weekly devotional gathering called “Health & Healing.” I have heard her talk about these intimate gatherings. It was her birthday and she invited me, so I went.

I know why she goes. I think it has been a long time since anyone literally prayed over me. It felt like crawling up into my mother’s lap.

My mother has given me many gifts over the years. Health and Healing is just today’s.

The weather the last few days has been particularly gorgeous. My skin is still stinging a bit from the bright sun on Mother's Day. I had my first ear of corn for the new season. I took a lovely bike ride.

I can't help thinking of Sheryl Crow's "I'm Going to Soak up the Sun."

For Mother's Day my kids got me a new CD by Regina Spektor that I am enjoying very much. She has a song on there called "Samson" which uses the voice of Delilah in a way that I totally get. I first heard this singer on Letterman when visiting Julie in Abilene. The whole CD is great.

Did you hear there was a honey bee crisis? You would have never known it at the arboetum last week. This field of red thistle-like flowers was an orchestra of humming & buzzing.

I'm still having fun with my new camera. So much to learn!

My son's LAX team did a Mother's Day skills demonstration at practice last night to thank us for all the driving and cold bleachers.

Well, I hope I'm surfing the final ripples of the theater tsunami that roared through here last weekend. A lot of loose ends stacked up leaving the beginning of this week to catch up. My organizational skills are about as good as FEMA's.

As I was operating two scenery curtains this past weekend, I had some observations on Shakespeare's famous As You Like It passage, "All the world's a stage."


I like this metaphor because don't we all play different roles? The people who know us best have seen us backstage. They help us into our costume and cue us with our lines. They move the scenery into proper position and direct the lighting. But they have seen the facade sideways and from behind. They have known that this is a role, and have been willing to help us shine. And sometimes, we let them play their role and we operate their curtain.

Sounds like a parent. Or a friend.

The cover story of the latest issue of US News & World Report, which I subscribed to as one of my Brownie fundraisers, is about traffic. The article has a ranking of the worst counties in America for traffic. Numbers 1-4 are all NYC feeders. Numbers 5&6 are DC feeders - #6 being the county I live in.

No wonder.

I have logged a lot of hours in the car lately that probably don't correspond well with the number of miles I've traveled. I am so glad I got a hybrid with gas at $3 a gallon. (I'm averaging about 48 mpg!) I keep a lot of convenience items in the car for traffic snarls.

I have lately resumed listening to books on CD which sometimes make me glad the ride is extended.
I keep a swiffer duster in my car and sometimes run it over the dashboard. I gather trash. I apply lotion.


What do you do when stuck in traffic?