the dock...

the cove was great for a few days. We had a feast of lobsters the first night. There 16 people, including 7 kids. we had a dozen lobsters that we got for $60!!! yum!!! I was just starting to feel like wI could settle in to being there on the third day, when we had to leave. too short this year. will have to make up for it next year! :)

you can see the boathouse in the distance across the cove to the right. Was so nice to have stayed there last year.

Best blueberry pie

Luz Zulema, my little niece, decided she was going to be my helper to make a killer yummy blueberry pie for dessert. She became my constant sidekick from then on, and was so cute! She chose the pattern we cut for the top of the pie.

It's the best damn blueberry pie.... not too sweet... just right, and fabulous with fresh whipped cream.

Blueberry Pie
From the Wilson Farm Cookbook. The absolute best blueberry pie recipe!

1 qt. blueberries, (4-5 cups)
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 pie crust- for top and bottom

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Mix berries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice.
3. Spoon into bottom pie crust and dot with butter. Cover with top crust and seal carefully. Cut vents.
4. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until top is brown and juice starts to bubble through vents. Serve warm.

mom to boys

why is it they can't just smile for a photo? they seem to need to be gross too. I had to take about 15 photos to get one of them smiling!

Glad I am a "boy mom" though... not sure if I'd be as good a "girl mom". I can handle all of their 'boy-ness' and things they do better than I think I would deal with girls being catty, and also glad our house isn't overrun with dolls and stuff. Doesn't really matter though. I am a mom to two boys. It is what it is, and I like it... most of the time. :)

great back

Did this cool tree for a girl the other day. Beautiful on her. I thought it came out great and it was fun to do something so different. She loved it.

before and after

I am amazed, impressed, and happy. To look now at the before photo of my feet and what they were for so long, it is strange, and gross! I am so happy that I had the bunion surgery. I am 6 weeks from the first surgery, and three weeks from the second. My first foot is doing great, and the second one is getting there- still tender and not really flexing, but slowly but surely it is coming along.
I am looking forward to wearing some nice shoes, without having to compensate for ugly bunions- nice sandals, and more. I will be getting my ski boots tweaked alot to fix them for the new shape of my foot. Skiing should be alot less painful next winter. Yeah!!
I am certainly happy that I didn't get swayed by all of the horror stories of bunion surgeries! Great surgeons exist, and my physical therapist is really wonderful too. How nice to have a good base to stand on.

best friends

I am sad that Emmett will not be going back to his school next year. His best friend of the last three years will be sad too, but he doesn't know yet. His mom doesn't want to tell him yet, as she knows he will be devastated. They have been best friends for the last three years, and in their short lives, that is half of their time here, and most of their memories.

Emmett knows he will be going to the public school nearby, but I don't think it has occurred to him the impact that it will have of being away from his hard and fast bonds he has. He is also not happy about the prospect of having homework next year. I agree. First grade should not have homework. He needs time to be a child. He will get home at 4pm, and he heads up to start his bedtime routine (stories, etc) by about 6:30. That is not much time to play and just be a kid.

I have enough issues with the amount of homework that is given to his brother in 5th grade. I certainly have issues with homework in 1st grade! I think the whole schooling system in this country is not focused well, and there is far too much teaching to the testing. I don't really have any alternative where we live, so it is off to public school for my kids. I often hear people say, "oh, you have such good schools in your town"... I always respond with "what does 'good schools 'mean?... the test scores are good?" so what. Does that really mean that we have fully educated our kids? It doesn't mean the kids are well rounded or confident or able to express themselves on different levels. it just means that they have had certain things drilled into their heads, and can spit it back.
I also have issues with the fact that our school district teaches the "everyday math" program, which has been shown to be detrimental in the long run, as the kids don't really learn the breakdown of how and why they are doing things. And the other thing I have an issue with is that they have to learn cursive. To me this is archaic. As my older one said... "why do we need to learn a different font?" hmmm... doesn't that just sum it up a bit? More on that some other time.
In the meantime, I am glad that both of my boys got the good base in their early years. I am sad that it will no longer be part of their day. Things will change now on many levels.

little cozy ones

they like to all sleep together in a lump. Eli found them like this inside his comforter the other night when he was ready for bed. They really have been such good pets for the boys. So glad we didn't get hamsters!

These little ferrets have been more than entertaining for almost 2 years now. It is so good for kids to have a pet (or a few). I grew up with such a menagerie- cats, kittens galore, a dog, pet mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, and even my horse (although that isn't really a pet, but she was right out the door). There was always a plethora of four legged things at our house. I like having the boys learn to be kind and care for something that can't care for itself.

post-op

Four days post- op, this foot looks better than the other one did at the same time. Notice the left foot, which is now 3 1/2 weeks out, is looking pretty damn good! My physical therapist is encouraging, and says my left foot is making good progress. I have no pain in it, and can walk pretty well, with a slip on sneaker. My right foot however, is still quite multi-colored, and is painful. If I don't stay off of it, I need to take more pain killers, and it feels like there is alot of pressure in it, and it throbs... painfully. I have most of the sensation back in the first foot, but have not got much in the right toe at all.
overall, I am happy with the whole thing, but now going stir crazy with not being able to drive. I bagged using the crutches 2 yesterday. was just 'done'. I am still wearing the surgical shoe though. and still tired alot.
can't wait to have the second one feeling as good as the first one now does!

henna party

I did a fun party and hennaed about a dozen women. They chose really diverse patterns, and it was fun to be there for 3 1/2 hours.

3 weeks out

Looking pretty good after 3 weeks. These photos are just before leaving to go get the right foot done. I'm feeling really good about walking on the left one now, and have some great mule sneakers that I have been wearing for 3 days now! Yeah!!! but then will be out of commission for a few days again.
Hoping the progress for the second foot is equally as speedy as the first. My Physical Therapist says I am making really good progress and that the swelling has gone down a bunch since last week even.

inspired...

I was asked to join another henna artist at an event in a few weeks. I checked out her gallery and loved her work! I am inspired to practice some of the designs she has done. I also love that she photographs her work so well, and that I need to work on this aspect. She has beautiful backgrounds to set off her work. I would love to indulge in more silks and things to use as backdrops for photographing my work.

bunion surgery progress!!

okay, I am a week out from surgery, and must say... totally impressed! the swelling is almost gone, my foot is still a little discolored and bruised in a few places, but overall fine. I can hobble along pretty well no crutches, and can put weight on most of my foot- not on the bunion site though. I haven't needed pain meds for several days now, except for once 2 nights ago, and just a mild one. I am wearing a surgical "shoe" which is a black velcro-ed on shoe. It is shaped underneath to make me stand on my heel. I also have a little white pad that velcros around my foot to protect it. I will post a photo of that next time too.

here are the photos of my foot.

from day 5:

and now, day 7:

So glad I didn't pay attention to all of the horror stories I read on the internet, or to all of the people I asked and had heard about. I do think I may have had a different experience due to going to a foot surgeon, versus a podiatrist. The podiatrist I had gone to previously told me 4 years ago that I would be laid up for 6 weeks for each foot. ugh. happy I didn't have him do the surgery!

one down, one to go...

this was what they looked like on Friday morning.....and this on Monday afternoon.....

I had one bunion done. I had a chevron bunionectomy. So far, so good! Totally happy with and impressed with my doctor. The time was right. I have known for years that I will need to do this surgery. I found this doctor a few years ago, and he was highly recommended. Now I found out that he is retiring from surgery in 2 months. yikes! so I just needed to go do it. He says I will be in running shoes in 2 weeks, and then I will be doing the other foot in 2 weeks from now so I will finally have decent feet! yeah!
Partly I am posting this on here, since I had such a hard time when I hunted for things on the internet about bunion surgeries, and people's experiences with them. But mostly I found the bad stories. So hopefully here will be a good one, which is what I am feeling. :)
I went in on Friday and had the surgery, and yes, took lots of pain meds over the weekend. But I woke up this morning with it feeling much better. I had taken it really easy for three days, and had been really good keeping it elevated. It paid off. Today was great.

emmett with me at the post-op visit this morning....

Dad turns 85!!

we went out to lunch with him....

me, Dave, Dad, Sue, Sandy

Dave, Sue, me, Sandy

(ugh! not wearing that sweater again! I look 20 pounds heavier!)

this is all of us from 2 summers ago... (Adam wasn't there)

back: Sue and John, Eli, Mom and Dad, Sandy, Kate, Robby, Dave
front: Emmett, me, Charlie, Grace, Janey, Vicki, Jack