Harper is always the first one to wake. She went downstairs and found Dolly Parton on Roku. "I Will Always Love You" was on. She snuck back upstairs. Trying to gently wake me she says, "Mommy, the sky is really blue, and purple and pink. And, Dolly Parton is on. And, purple."
We go to Weaver Street for breakfast. Ava is still on break, and it's one of our favorite things to do. I read parts of the newspaper with Ava. Carrboro, like many other towns is having a problem with over-population of deer. They are playing around with the idea of allowing bow and arrow hunting of deer. We're trying to come up with solutions, when I say, "what about a dog catcher (I explain dog catchers to Ava) but, you have someone who catches deer. I'm implying that the deer are relocated (I know, now, this will not work). Ava says, "who can have a deer for a pet?" And, I tried to explain Occupy Wall Street to Ava. We went to the library, and I showed Ava, Grandma Mary's photo in the newspaper. Mary was caught hooping at an Occupy Louisville event. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=B2&Dato=20111009&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=310090052&Ref=PH
After we picked up Harper, we went to a play date at Anita's house. This usually involves outside play for the kids, and coffee for me. We do a lot of playing, too. Then, we took Harper and her buddies to dance class.
We have lots of yarrow growing in our yard. The top photo is a photo of yarrow. Mark Bittman has a recipe for shrimp with yarrow. I tried a variation of this recipe, and the gentle herb with the shrimp was delicious.http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/shrimp-with-yarrow-and-baked-lemon I packed up the shrimp with mashed potatoes and pan fried shishito peppers in my favorite covered basket. And, we went to Saxapahaw for choir practice. We had a new member tonight, Chelsey. Chelsey is the granddaughter of a choir member. She is in the sixth grade, and has brought the "show" to our show choir. Chelsea and the girls became instant friends, and were allowed to dance on the stage (photo above). Colin and Harper made Lincoln log cabins. Today was a great day!
Today started with knowing we had three parties to attend and the Friends Meeting. We all knew that was not possible, so we started by missing the Friends Meeting. We had a nice, big breakfast. We try to have pancakes and sausage or bacon for breakfast either Saturday or Sunday. Harper had her fingers in her ears saying, "la la la la." Harper: "Mommy, What does this mean?" Me: It's very rude. And, means I'm not listening to you." Harper: "But, they do it in movies." Me: "They do a lot of things in movies. Some of them are nutballs. We don't do everything we see in movies." Harper: "Mommy, you look beautiful."
While I was cleaning up breakfast, I thought the girls were playing with Colin upstairs. About twenty minutes later, Harper comes downstairs yelling, "Who has a stamp for the North Pole?" The girls had written their letters to Santa.
Letter to Santa from Harper. Dear Santa, I love you very much! For Christmas this year I want:.. 1. Big Pink Tedy Bear! 2. Jewery SET! 3. if your elfs can manage to make this I want a Big Pink chandeller in MY Big Bed room! P.S. How old are you?
Letter to Santa from Ava. To: Santa from: Ava (aka live in NC) (aka Fairway place) DEAR, Santa! for Christmas this year... 1. A Flatscren TV for my Family! 2. Makeup set! 3. A Hot Pink fuzy Big Papasan chair! P.S.! Santa, I just want to thank you for all the things you do for people in one hole night. And I think we should thank you. Love Ava And I love Christmas.
The first party was a play date with our "little gnomies" (Harper's friends from Little Gnome Nursery). It was so great to see these friends, that we had not seen since the September 11th peace retreat/camping trip in Virginia. We celebrated Ada's belated birthday with a gluten-free cake. This top photo shows most of the kids on a tire swing.
Party number two was Dylan's birthday party. The kids painted pumpkins, pulled strings on a pinata, and raced around the yard in toy cars. Ava and I both agreed that the screened-in porch, where they had pizza and cake, was our favorite room. Lili made a wonderful cauliflower salad. Colin missed this party to go to the third party at OCSC. It was OCSC's 10th anniversary party. Everything was fine until we tried to leave the second party, after their second piece of chocolate cake for the day. Total melt-down. Harper cried, "I want to go home." And, I knew the third party was not going to happen. At least Colin was able to spend some time there.
We came home and crashed from this whirlwind of a day.
We have lived in Hillsborough for 17 months, now. And, this was our first trip to the Historic Occoneechee Speedway. This 44 acre site along the Eno River, was first settled by the Occaneechi of the Saponi Nation in the seventeenth century. In the early 1900s the land became known as Occoneechee Farm, owned by General Julian Carr (who Carrboro is named after) who trained horses on his half-mile oval track. Years later in 1947, the land was developed into one of NASCAR's main venues. The three mile trail takes you along the banks of the Eno and the only surviving speedway from NASCAR's inaugural 1949 season. From the brochure, "The 1-mile oval Occoneechee/Orange Speedway was active from 1948-68, attracting the best stock car drivers and thousands of spectators." Earlier this morning, while I was at the Farmer's Market, I spoke to the "egg man" about the Speedway. He didn't know about the speedway, but his neighbor at the market had a lot to say about it. I love this farmer with his heavy eastern NC accent. I can honestly only understand every other word he says. But, he said "Orange County was the first county offered a much larger speedway. And, do you know where that speedway is now? Talledega! Orange County only cares about houses with 10 acre lots." It's hard to imagine what Orange County would be like today, if Talledega were in our backyard. In the photos above you'll see Harper cheerleading. We like to say she got that gene from Mimi. The girls got into the cold water of the Eno. In the photo of Harper and Colin, you can see Harp's red pants drying in the sun. The Halloween decorations belong to our "country neighbors" the Wagoners. They have alpacas, Shetland ponies, goats, and more. We're going to ask them if they can bring a pony over for Harper's birthday party in November.
It was a funny night at work. A high school exchange student from the Ukraine was on a date. He secretly asked one of the servers if they would buy flowers from the grocery store. Laurie couldn't resist this romantic gesture. The whole scene was really sweet to watch. The girl was so nervously excited, I could see her wiping her sweaty hands on her pant legs under the table.
The La De Dodd family was a little grumpy this morning. It was an angry, rush to the Park + Ride. After breakfast, we worked on our quilt squares, which have turned into pockets for the Little Gnomes. The pockets are the perfect size for acorns and other treasures. We also vacuumed, folded clothes, and cleaned the kitchen. Pandora, through the Roku, has become our background music. We listened to the Cat Stevens station, which played Sir Elton John. Ava declared her love for Sir Elton John. She is my girl.
The only thing we had to do today was go to Dr. Maura Partrick's office, Ava's orthodontist and our family friend. Me: "I think we should stop at Starbucks, next to Dr. Partrick's office, and get a strawberry smoothie. Since she's going to adjust your retainer, and your teeth might be sore." Harper: "Me, too- cause my foot is sore."
Colin went to a "fancy" luncheon in Cary today, near Dr. Partrick's office. Red Hat was voted one of the best companies to work for in the Triangle. The theme for the luncheon was 1950s sock hop; with sock hop dancers, 45 records on the tables, and root beer floats. Since we were around the corner, we picked up Colin at Embassy Suites. And, I didn't get lost in Cary. Harper: "Mom, you have something." Me: "What's that?" Harper: "You go and you get there!"
On the way home, the girls were playing a riddle game. Here is a little video.
Off to work. The highlight of the night was the adorable 70-something year old, former Playboy Bunny/Persian cat breeder. True story.
This morning was a little frantic and rushed to get to the Park & Ride. Harper asked me, "please zip up my jacket to make the birdies kiss." After taking Harper to school, I took Ava to Weaver St. for breakfast. Ava ate almost two chocolate chip pancakes, tofu scramble, and a hard boiled egg. I read part of The Daily Tar Heel with Ava. We talked about Steve Jobs, the construction delay on the Chapel Hill library, and John Harrison's Minus Sound exhibit.
We hiked Occoneechee Mt. and saw lots of trash near one of our favorite spots. The spot is where the state park ends and crosses over into private property. There is a large rock that hangs above a rope swing. Apparently, high school kids hang out there during the summer, and don't clean up after themselves. Ava and I want to clean it up, and leave a sign. We're open for suggestions for our sign. Respect Your Mother?
I let Anita borrow a vintage dress for a 'Mad Men' party. I can't wait to see the photos. We watched a little 'Dancing with the Stars' and rested. Ava cheers for Rickie Lake, I think because I told her, Rickie was in the original 'Hairspray'. Ava is a big 'Hairspray' fan.
On the way to Girls on the Run, Tiny Dancer came on the radio. A favorite song for all three of us. Ava asks, "Is she really tiny? Is she a human? Does she love him? Does he love her back?" Big questions. Then, she ran 2.5 miles. Gloria Gaynor "I Will Survive" came on the radio, a favorite of Harper's. Harper has been a little worried about going to Mexico. She says, "This is all the Spanish I know- cuantos, cinco, say." I'm off to work. During the ride home from work, I massage Ava and Harper's feet. We talk about Steve Jobs' adopted parents, and our regret over missing Sharon Jones at Shakori Hills.
Harper: "I tickled Daddy's feet while he was asleep. hee hee. Armpits, and chins are the tickle- AND feet are the tickle-ist spots."
Ava and Harper really want to have a Halloween party. Ava (looking through old Martha Stewart magazines) "Mom, we have to take everything new out of the house. It needs to look like an old abandoned house. We can keep the fridge, but we have to put cob webs on it." Me: "Are there any recipes?" Ava: "Mom, Martha has LOTS of recipes." After Harper's drop off, Ava and I went to Weaver St. for breakfast. We ran into our friend Nancy. We chatted and played catch up during breakfast. We talked about Ayr Mount and how her house is near this incredible, historic property. What I didn't realize is her two acres backs up to to Ayr Mount. Ava and I immediately think of Mimi and her love for Ayr Mount. Nancy says, "give me a couple of years and I'll sell it to her." Its Wacky Wednesday at the thrift store. Multiples of four are 50% off. We found a BBC Earth game, a rubber bat, a parrot Halloween bag (perfect for Harper's Halloween parrot costume) and a bag of quilting scraps. Our friend Reya came over after school, and we cut out quilting squares. We decided to make pockets instead. They also played dress-up. Harper was a dragon with fire in her belly. Luckily, Colin was home by 5:30 again. And, I was off to work. I waited on a couple who at the end of their meal the man says, "what kind of iced tea is this?" I say, "I'm not sure, Lipton's?" The man: "This isn't Lipton's." Me: "Really, it doesn't taste like the Lipton's you make at home?" "I'll find out." I come back and say, "It doesn't taste like Lipton's because its Luzianne." The couple roared with laughter. On the way home, Colin and I talked about Steve Jobs.
The photo above is of the girls working on quilting squares. And, yes we have a saddle in our living room.
The girls were playing "mean girls" in the bed. Ava: "I'm the prettiest in the family." Harper: "Mom, who is the prettiest in the family?" Me: "me." Harper to Ava, "Mom and Dad are the prettiest in the family." This conversation continues over breakfast, where of course Colin claims he is the prettiest.
Then, we see two baby goats (kids) butting heads on the way to school. Coincidence? Harper has been a little concerned about missing snow on Christmas this year. We're going to Mexico. But, we'll be in Tennessee the day after Christmas. Harper is thinking about the snow we played in last year and the sled Papa built. She says, "I love Papa, he works all day and all night." After drop off, we go to Weaver St. with Anita, Luke, Lisa, and Rowan. I love these mamas and kids. Ava, Luke, and Rowan are all on Fall Break. They had a great time running around in the fall breeze. We decided to walk down Churton to see the scarecrows for the Orange County Historical Museum scarecrow contest. There were only four scarecrows- because they didn't advertise. Seriously, if I didn't know about it until it was too late to enter the contest? We all agree that the museum should hire me for their publicity. After school, we let Anita borrow our big crock pot (from Grandpa Terry). She's going to make spinach lasagna. Yes, spinach lasagna in the crock pot. You don't have to boil the pasta! We rush home to make lunch, hang Halloween decorations, and mop the kitchen floor. We have a mystery squash or pumpkin growing in the compost bin. We go to Girls on the Run at 4pm. Ava ran 2 miles. I swam with Harper. Colin made it home by 5:30. Red Hat bought a $160M company. I'm off to work. I waited on a woman tonight who said, "you have such a calming presence about yourself. It really is a joy." Ha! And, I overheard a couple talking about Halloween costumes. One says, "zombie T.S. Elliot."
Harper woke up yodeling this morning. Harper, "I'm hodeling." Ava, "it's yodeling." Harper, "You say yodeling, I say hodeling."
Our car rolled over 100,000 miles. Ono brought us a bird. We dropped off Harper at school. Ava and I came home and made my favorite breakfast: smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, Cherokee tomato and gluten-free toast. Then, we made some tomato sauce with our last of the summer, tomatoes. The smell of that sauce cooking was incredible. I wish I could bottle it. We spent some time with our "sweet kitties". I worked on bills, calendar, passports, getting organized, blah blah blah. I finally found Ava's birth certificate.
After school, we went to a play date at Talulah and Matilda's house. The girls were having too good of a time, because when it was time to leave Ava and take Harper to dance class- Harper flipped out. It was the second worst tantrum I've seen from her. She unbuckled herself while I was driving. I had to pull the car over. She was screaming, "I love Ava. I loved her when I was a baby. I loved her when I was one. I loved her when I was three. I loved her when I was two. I will love her when I am seven. I will always love her!!" At this point, I was ready to call it a day. There was no way we were going to dance class. Harper fell asleep within ten minutes. Monday is also our Saxapahaw Show Choir day. We grabbed a pizza at Whole Foods ($9.99 on Mondays). We picked up Colin at the bus stop at 6:30, and rushed to Saxapahaw by 7:00. My sweet family was upstairs having pizza while we rehearsed. The upstairs coffee shop is also a balcony that overlooks the Ballroom. And at the end of rehearsal, we sang "I Was Here" on the stage. This was our first time on the stage, and everyone sang a bit louder. In the photos: Ono is at the door, Flora is on the chair in the double decker kitties photo.
We went to the Friends Meeting this morning. The girls sat in silence for the first fifteen minutes. I had to help Harper sit in silence, by doing a little cross stitch with her. I helped assist in the Kindergarten-2nd grade class. We talked about SPICE, which is an acronym for Quaker beliefs. It stands for: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, and equality. Then, we read Horton Hears a Who, and tried to find examples of "spice" in the story. After meeting, there was a potluck, ice cream, and a small yard sale benefiting Quaker House. Quaker House was founded by a member of our Meeting, Chuck Fager. Quaker House is located in Fayetteville, NC, and is a resource for GIs who have second thoughts about serving in the military. http://quakerhouse.org/ Harper found a yoga mat for Flora, our cat, and a potato masher. After Meeting, we went to Whole Foods. We go on most Sundays to buy the rotisserie chicken special. We ran into Louise Jarvis. It was nice to catch up for a few minutes. Ava enjoyed meeting someone from my high school. We had a chicken dinner with mashed potatoes (tried our new potato masher) and green peas. Above is a picture of Flora with her yoga mat, and some doodles Colin made with Harper. Good Sunday.
It was cold when we woke up. Ava has been saving a pack of hot cocoa that was given to her by Katherine and Sarah, on our camping trip (Sept 11th). She wanted to wait until the first day of October, and it was the perfect morning for a cup of hot cocoa. Ava asked Harper, "Harper, do you know what today is?" "It's the first day of October." "Do you know what that means?" "It means we are closer to Halloween!" Colin fixed the toilet, the water dispenser in the fridge, and the door to the laundry room (all before he even read my blog). And, he cut the corners of the lawn that I missed, cleaned the shed, and went to the Farmer's Market. Our kitty, Ono, kept sniffing around the clean shed, as if to say, "what's going on here?" Colin met my "egg man" I've been telling him about. http://www.localharvest.org/turtle-hills-farm-M32485 Honestly, the best eggs we've eaten. Ava will no longer eat store-bought eggs. She says, "they aren't bright enough." We planted an orange cauliflower, salad mix, brussels sprout, and broccoli. And, we picked the last of the basil? We had tickets to Stephen Malkmus at the Saxapahaw Ballroom, where children get in for free. We were trying to figure out the time of the show and whether or not that would work. When I got a text from our friend Jenae. Jenae: "What size shoe does Harper wear? Or, should I say what size pink cowgirl boot?" The shoes were too small, but I asked if she wanted to take our children for a few hours. And, she was willing. And, she was at a park in Hillsborough at the time. I said, "you can go to the park, and come home with a couple extra kids." Thank you so much Thomas and Jenae. This is the photo she sent to me, during the show. Colin and I had a date night. I wore my very Mod, vintage "Star Trek" dress with black angle boots. We stopped to photograph an amazing sunset on Teer Road. And, we had enough time to share a local, goat burger from Sax General Store. I can't say enough good things about Saxapahaw. The Ballroom is a beautifully, renovated space with incredible acoustics. You can view the stage from three different floors. We ran into a lot of friends we hadn't seen in a while. The photo above shows one of the original dye vats from the old Saxapahaw mill, in front of the stage. I was taken in by Stephen Malkmus, with his silly banter and all. He did a cover of "Brandy" and "Wild Thing". It was a memorable night.
Colin is working from home today, because Michaelmas begins at 4:00! Michaelmas Elisabeth Pressel
The festival of the Archangel Michael, he who vanquishes the dragon and conquers him falls in late September. There are many different legends of Michael from cultures all over the world. He played an important part in the ancient Hebrew culture and legends about him exist in the Persian and Indian cultures. He has played an important part in Christianity from its earliest times.
Michael, with his sword hammered from the light of the stars, fills us with new- found courage to meet the difficult times. At times it seems that these difficulties will overwhelm us, and all around us we see a world in pain and struggle. In some ways it has always been this way, but now we are more conscious of it than ever before. Every distant war and catastrophe enters the intimacy of our home through newspaper, radios or television screens. We are united with the events of the world in a way that never before existed. We see it all. We are aware of it all and a deep-set fear can enter our being, a fear that we will not have the strength to overcome these manifestations of darkness, that we will not have the capacity to restore the balance of light. It is here that Michael plays such an important role in our modern times. He symbolizes courage, and encourages us in our struggle to overcome our fears and do good upon the earth.
Harper is the first to wake. She has figured out how to use the Roku remote, and watches Shaun the Sheep. Colin starts to work, Ava is reading in her room, and I sleep in. We get a late start on breakfast. I offer to make gluten-free pancakes and breakfast sausages. My family loves pork. Harper has had to wait too long to eat and she has a melt-down. We work it out, and Ava helps by making paper chains with Harper. They say the paper chains will be decorations for Harper's birthday party. Ava writes on one of the chains, "Harper- Kind, Funney, Nice". FYI, Bob's Red Mills gluten-free pancake mix is the best one we've found. We listen to the Stevie Wonder station on Pandora, which plays other artists like The Jackson 5, Lionel Ritchie, Marvin Gaye... The Jackson 5, "I Want You Back" comes on, and Harper screams. Michael Jackson still brings so much joy with his music. Checking in on facebook, we see Aaron and Jessica's new puppy, Marley. Oh my, what a cutie. Our old Carrboro neighbor Rebecca, who now lives in Asheville with husband James, and sons London and Micah- is in labor with twins. We're sending her and hers, well wishes. More weeding and planting lillies. The lily cutting garden has been an on-going project. But, October is a better time to transplant. Ava separated the red, green tomatoes and peppers from the last of the summer harvest. Looks like we can make one last batch of sauce. We're taking our green peppers and others carrots for the Michaelmas soup tonight. The toliet upstairs won't stop running. The water dispenser on the fridge has a hole in it. We have three broken weed eaters. Oh, home ownership. I'll take it. Michaelmas was a huge success. I exhausted my battery before we found the dragon. I'll post a photo of the dragon soon. The top photo is of Harper with the felted mouse and apple she made. There is a great song to go along with the puppets. The temperature started to drop, as we headed home. Autumn is in the air. It was so nice to sleep with the window open last night.
I love our extra family time together, in the car to the Park and Ride. This morning the girls wanted to listen to classical music. Classical music always reminds me of Grandma Mary. Tchaikovsky Slavonic Marche, Opus 31 was on the radio. The girls created an amazing story to go along with the music. There were Fall fairies painting leaves, collecting acorns, and marching. All of a sudden, the fairies see a giant squirrel. The fairies decide to throw their acorns into the mouth of the squirrel. Home from the Park and Ride. We rush to get dressed and brushed. I quickly make McCann's three-minute Irish oatmeal (a favorite of Ava's). I'm starting to see an Irish connection here. We recently received a box of hand-me-downs from Lily. The girls love the scent of her clothes. They have been begging me to find Nicki's detergent. It is still 80 degrees here, but Harper wants to wear Lily's cold-weather clothes. She starts to feel hot and changes her mind. I quickly pack her lunch with extra carrots (it's Soup Day at school). We gather our leftover bread from Margaret's Cantina for the chickens and ducks- and we're out the door. Galen one of the new "babies" at school wore a "cucumber hat" yesterday. Harper had the exact same hat as a baby. I gave her a picture of herself in the hat and she took it to show Galen. We arrive at Little Gnome and the apple press is waiting in the front yard. Big excitement ensues! Mimi and Papa are in upstate New York. They have been sending postcards to the girls, some of large estates. The girls jokingly argue over which is their pretend house. I go to My Secret Closet with Ava, and drop off an antler chandelier that Dad gave me, to sell. I fell for a kitchen table set, which is the last thing we need. But, I would love to have an extra one for a dinner party in the backyard. A long farmhouse-style table would be better. Lunch at Weaver St. Ava:"I love Disney's Sorcerer's Stone, it's my favorite." "I love that when Merlin changes into different animals, he stays blue and always has his glasses." Me:"Yeah, Nicki and Lily love that one, too." We bought some Chapel Hill Creamery, Hickory Grove cheese, an absolute favorite for the girls. I was reminded of something Ava said the other day, "Mom, you have two choices. Come to the dark side we have cookies. Come to the good side we have cheese." Me:"Which would you choose?" Ava: "The good side if it was Hickory Grove cheese."
Leaving Weaver Street, Ava sees a pair of neon green Converse high tops. She says, "I love them, that is my favorite color." We pick up Harper at school. Rebecca found a Hanna Anderson sweater for Harper. Brand new at the thrift for $1. It has the Swedish wooden horse icon on the front, which reminds me of Nicki. Ava rode with me on the lawnmower to cut the grass in the front yard. No problems or injuries. Ava was a great help weeding and cutting back the mostly dead, hanging ferns. I really hope they come back. While weeding I pull a roundish leaf, that I haven't seen before. An hour later, I'm reading the Carrboro Citizen where the Dollar leaf is written about in the Flora section. I'll be on the look out for it, now. http://www.carrborocitizen.com/main/2011/09/29/flora-dollar-leaf/ We rush to Girls on the Run, a little late. Ava said they talked about emotions today, and ran 1.25 miles. Harper and I go downtown to the Post Office. We see the scarecrows out, for the Orange County Historical Museum scarecrow contest. We're not sure whether or not it is too late to enter the contest. But, we start talking about ideas for scarecrows. We pick up Ava and take her back to see the scarecrows. I have an idea, there is golden rod everywhere. Me: "What if we get a bunch of golden rod to make big blonde hair on the pumpkin (all of the scarecrows have pumpkin heads). Ava says, "I've got it! It can be a 1970s scarecrow with a blonde afro!" Me:"Yes, we just need a 1970s jumpsuit." Ava: "We will definitely win with a 1970s scarecrow." We rush to meet Julie (Tegan's sister). I'm off to work. I work as an expeditor in the kitchen, plating lots of desserts. Here is a picture of our new nut pie. Laurie says, "You're a nut pie." I say, "I know." Colin and the girls pick me up from work. It's an uneventful drive home, no wildlife to speak of. And, I'm off work for the next four days! We entered the Whole Foods contest trip to Costa Rica, on the last day. Fingers crossed.
We were talking about apples in the car, on the way to the Park and Ride. Harper says, "only pick the red ones." I say, "you know who likes the green apples?" "Mamaw and Papa." "Mamaw likes to cut the green apples into small bite-size pieces, and put them on top of her oats for breakfast." Harper: "We had popsicles at Mamaw's, and cookies." Ava: "Mamaw has sugar-free popsicles." Me: "That's because she has diabetes. " Harper: "Mom, do you have diabetes?" Ava: "No, Mom doesn't have diabetes. She just likes to eat salads." I called the Efland apple orchard. They are organic, but all the apples are gone. Note to self, pick apples earlier next year. Ava finished reading, Judy Moody Around the World in 8 1/2 Days, while I finished making gluten-free crust. Good jokes from the book- What are the seasons? Salt, pepper, ketchup, and mustard. How does dew form? When leaves sweat. We finished the muscadine pie, most labor intensive pie I've ever made. We peeled and seeded 4 lbs. of muscadines. We have enough filling for an extra small pie. Delish! I loved making this pie with Ava. She was really helpful. We picked up Harper from school, and brought a little pie filling to share. Mixed reviews: two mothers don't like muscadines. All of the kids liked it except for Rowan, who thought it was tart. The children were excitedly talking about Michaelmas, and the dragon hunt. We came home and made piggies in a blanket. Harper came over to me while I was working with the dough, and said, "I love you." She tells me this all the time. I like to take note of what we're doing when she feels the need to say it. Ava added cinnamon and sugar to the dough scraps. We pulled the tomato plants out of the summer garden. Ava had a lot of fun pulling up plants. I cut the grass in the backyard. Ava wanted to ride on the lawnmower with me, until Harper discovered Disney channel on Roku. I wanted to show Ava that riding the lawnmower was more fun than Disney music videos. So, I started making figure 8s in the backyard, and ran over the water hose. I can see my parents rolling their eyes, right now. Jump in the shower. Tegan arrives to cook dinner, Irish banger sausages (the girls' favorite). And, I'm off to work. While driving to work, Roy Orbison was playing on the radio. I look down at my hands, still slightly soiled from gardening. I see my Dad's thumbs in my thumbs. I waited on violinist extraordinaire, Jennifer Curtis and friends. We saw Jennifer perform an original piece on UNC campus a few months ago. Terry was with us, and can attest to her genius. Colin and the girls picked me up after work. Ava was still awake and her dogs were barking, so I gave her a little foot massage- and she fell asleep. Colin was rushing to get home and on Ode Turner he had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting two raccoons. We have a lot of wildlife near our house; several deer, two bucks, a fox, opossums, and now two raccoons have been spotted.
Both the girls are under the weather with the sniffles. Harper stays home from school. In the car on the way to the bus stop, Ava: "Harper, don't breathe on me! Your breath is horrible! Harper:"I can smell your toe breath, and it's Horrible!" The early morning consists of Shaun the Sheep, some black elderberry, and BBQ. Our children love pork. After a nice bubble bath, we snuggle in the "big bed" and read "Sniffles for the Bear." This series of children's books by Bonny Becker is my new favorite. Harper says to me, "I like your smile to my smile." I finished putting the seeds in the freezer. We listened, sang, and danced to a whole lot of music on Pandora. We take Ava to Girls on the Run at 4pm. She is feeling much better and is able to run 1 mile. I swam with Harper, hopping across the pool, humming the tune to the Smurfs. After our swim, waiting for Ava, Harper decides to try running. I say jokingly, "Are you going to run a mile?" Harper takes off running around the building. Ava's coaches got a good laugh out of Harper's eager attempt at running and stretching after. We rush to get home to meet Tegan, our babysitter. And, I'm off to work. I waited on Ruby Sinreich and some friends as they celebrated the 8th anniversary of her blog, Orange Politics.
