August in New England

Walks, hikes, drives. We camped in the White Mountains, first time as a family. It poured, soaking us through the walls of the tent. The brook next to the campsite became a raging river, the noise making it hard to sleep the night after the rain. The top of Mount Washington is other worldly, cold and windy not accurately depicting what it's like to stand on top of the world in a cloud dressed for summer. Amira and Adrian braved the weather, Max and I jumped back in the car. The kids caught fish, and fed birds from their palms. We spotted turtles, but missed seeing moose. Around home, we grew better vegetables and flowers than last year. The sun scorched the plants for a few weeks, but they survived, some barely, some incredibly. No more training wheels. Max lives in goggles, jumping from the pool, to the beach, to the bathtub. Batman persists. Amira runs back and forth between our house and her friend's. Family visits. Birthday parties. And now we are in September. A couple of the best weeks of the year happen this month, a sweet way to part with summer.

And We're Back

And our vacation is over...
We spent our time on Seneca lake tasting wine and exploring gorges. We dipped a little in the lake behind our house, but there was a fair amount of lake weed in the water, which tickled our legs and gave us all the chills. Amira must have drank some of the water during one of her swims at the base of a waterfall, as she became sick half way through the trip. We spent a day in the air conditioning and relaxed. She just cuddled up to me a fell asleep.
Adrian and I took Amira for her morning walks in the vineyard near the house we stayed in. When she fell asleep we made some watercolors. (We should do this more often as we both need the practice.)
I ate as many sandwiches as I have in a year thanks to our companions Jess and Bill. But these packed lunches were life savers when we found ourselves hot from hiking, or a little famished from too much wine.
I picked up some yarn and started a collar for a new little dress. I can't wait to share that.
I saw an old friend, my sisterbaby sat, Adrian and I had dinner out without Amira, and I visited the Woman's Rights Museum.
And now back to my routine, with some new inspiration from a week away.


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