Catching up

I was feeling emotionally down for a few days. That has abated, but I am tired! It has been hot and muggy-ish all week. I am grateful for my air conditioning...but long for fresh air.

Gem was under the weather last week, fine over the weekend, but back to under the weather this week. A friend described having a symptom-less virus at common meal last night (I went solo, I really needed to get out of the house for some company) and it struck me that this is what Gem seems to be dealing with.

Cap comes home tomorrow, storm gods willing. We are looking forward to his return. I actually like this annual threesome time...but we do miss our fourth.

We will finish off Gem's birthday celebrating with a family gathering on Sunday. Then we will go into something of a summer mode, I suppose.

Here are some pictures to tell the story of the past week...

Snapped at Kate's during a feed-the-cat pop-by.

Shot out on the sidewalk in front of the house with my Precious (iPhone). Super moon. I am sensitive to the moon and weather. My mood dip may have been related to the special lunar event.

I ran out of my new favorite coffee so picked up this local blend. It's flavorful and refreshing. (Cap will be bringing home some more Momoko coffee tomorrow, yay!)

Recalling something funny and then telling me the story...

...and then getting back to long division.

The iPad was propped up against that blue back pillow and they were homeschooling via Skype with Cap.

Mystery bag piper. S/he has been practicing/playing across the street this week. Our street is very wide and not conducive to impromptu chats so we don't know our neighbors well. I don't think s/he is one of the kids who lives there... Regardless, I adore hearing live music and have enjoyed their playing enormously.

The lately daily "I don't want to go to school..." ritual of re/iterating the day's work/tasks and bemoaning the lack of hours in a day and attempting to negotiate personal burdens down.

Sag and I have been enjoying cream cheese, something we don't often have in the house. I introduced him to a childhood favorite of mine, cream cheese and jam on toast. This, though, is avocado with cream cheese. I stopped buying avocado for awhile after having some less than satisfactory ones (one of the things I miss about living in California is the abundance of fresh avocado year-round). I picked up a bag of 'em this week and they have been yummy.

Speaking of abundance, the CSA is fast having a "win some" kind of season (as in you win some, you lose some). That is a frakking motherlode of green stuff! Two kinds of lettuce, napa cabbage, kale, escarole, arugula, two bunches of spinach...and that's just the leafy, greens.

Last week, despite cooking up the greens, I didn't eat them! I could not keep up. I was still eating veg from the week before. I have also strayed WAY off the Paleo reservation lately and have been filling myself with carby carbs and take-out...too much take-out.

What I have managed so far this week: the strawberries and cherries (fruit share commenced, yay!), the lettuce has been washed and prepped at-the-ready in the fridge, we shelled 2lbs of green peas and they are cooked...but they are old (I now know they need to be cooked/eaten within a few days of being picked), and I finally made some garlic scape pesto!

Scape pesto is one of my favorite things about summer. A sublime and snappy seasonal sensation. I had some with the last of the cream cheese yesterday and found it to taste like the best Boursin cheese, ever.

Donna has a beautiful garden. It is a lush and creative space...using design born out of inspiration and a keen eye and mind. I rarely go for white when it comes to flowers. But, these gorgeous beings caught my eye last night and had me swooning.

Peace and love.