Afternoons & Coffeespoons

 photo frap_zps051734d7.jpg

Or, more accurately, afternoons and green tea frappucinos. I’ve been craving one of these for quite a while and the kids and I were having a “treat day” so to speak, therefore I found it perfectly reasonable to indulge. Drew is halfway across the country at a conference, Jake is at Boy Scout camp (sleepaway) this week, so it’s just me, Noah, and Laura.

Clearly I’ve just not been in the blogging mood lately. But I figured it’s a new week, so I’d try to jumpstart my mojo and take part in Sandra’s Happy Homemaker Monday!

 photo HHMbutton_zps12f5a014.jpg

The weather….. I am loving this week’s weather! Highs are in the low 80s, the humidity has gone way down… I’d be thrilled if the rest of the summer was like this.

Right now I am…. Having a glass of wine and contemplating whether or not I’m hungry enough to heat up a cup of soup for dinner. Yesterday I made a big batch of my creamy chicken noodle soup, but we had a big lunch out so I’m not terribly hungry. Maybe after the kids are in bed.

Thinking…. About what to do tomorrow. I think we’ll go to story hour at the library and I have a little cleaning to do, but not much. Boy, with two people gone there is so much less laundry and fewer messes!

On my reading pile…. I borrowed Medium Raw by Tony Bourdain from the library, but I haven’t started it yet.

On my TV….. Not much. Mostly I’ve been watching “CSI: NY” from the beginning. Maybe I’ll give “Orange is the New Black” a try, but considering how stupid “Weeds” got toward the end, I don’t know if I’ll get into it.

What I found while surfing the net…. Hmm. I can’t really think of anything! Guess I’ve been spending less time online (a good thing!)

On the menu for this week…. Since it’s just me and two of the kiddos, honestly I didn’t put a lot of thought into our menu. I think we’ll have breakfast for dinner one night (bacon & blueberry pancakes), I have some chicken thighs to grill (Jake and Drew don’t really care for dark meat, so this would be the perfect week to make them), probably hamburgers one night, and I’ll figure out the rest.

On my to do list…. 
– load of laundry
– wash the floor
– bring clothing donations to the dropbox
– start planning the boys’ birthday party
– finish purchasing school supplies

In the craft basket…. I’m still chugging away on my granny stripe blanket. I usually get at least one stripe (2 rows) done a night.

Looking forward to this week…. Some laid-back time with N & L, and not having to really do anything or be anywhere. I’m also looking forward to my guys coming home at the end of the week!!!

Looking around the house…. The cats are being really pesty, knocking things around and driving me crazy. I also have to finish tidying up before bed — some toys and art supplies need to be put back in the proper places, and a few dishes need to go in the cupboard.

From the camera…. Don’t you just love this spoon rack my dad make for me? A friend of mine took a photo of something similar (though a bit more prim in style) when she was at the Country Living Fair back in June. I knew my dad could make one so I hinted and he brought this down to me over the weekend! One of my friends gave me the brilliant idea to hang coffee cups from it, and I think that’s exactly how I’ll use it!

spoon rack made by my dad

 

On my prayer list….. My son Jake at Boy Scout camp. This is his first time away from home where he isn’t staying with family, and I’m hoping he is having a great time as well as staying safe! I’m sure he is, but as a mom it’s my job to worry 🙂

Hope your week is off to a great start and I’ll try to see if I can get my creativity back!

Just a Wednesday

tie-dye

I am loving this week! The weather has gotten cooler and I’ve gotten my house cleaned and organized. Laura was with her grandmother for a few days, which gave us some more relaxed time with the boys. Yesterday we did some tie-dying, which was really fun! It’s been so long since I’ve done that.

The kitties are still obsessed with the birds nesting in my geranium plant. I got a video of our very loud, very little feathered friend last night. It so funny watching the cats go crazy when one of them perches on the railing.

kitties

I also have gotten back to my granny stripe blanket. I don’t really have a pattern for the colors. It’s more of a “stash-buster” project for my odds and ends, but it’s easy and I’m happy with it so far.

granny stripe

Since the weather has cooled a bit and it’s not quite as humid I decided to use up some leftovers in the fridge and make beef stew for dinner. The garlic-cheddar biscuits, however, were the real hit 🙂

beef stew

As for tonight, I plan to work on my blanket a little more, maybe have some anise cookies and a cup of tea, and watch some TV. Tomorrow I have a bunch of errands to run and I need to finish getting Jake packed for Boy Scout Camp. Have a wonderful evening!

Just “Peeping” In

baby birds

Just wanted to say a quick “hello!” This week is kicking my butt. I’m coordinating this year’s library camp, and by the time I get home, make lunch, do my housework, et cetera… well, I’m too tired to do much of anything else, LOL! But it’s fun. The kids are all so sweet and wonderful, but handling 25+ kids is definitely a lot of work. I’ve gotta hand it to you teachers who do this every day!

Anyway, I’m just sharing a picture of the baby birds in my geranium plant! A few weeks ago I went outside to deadhead it and a bird flew out and totally surprised me! I looked a little closer and saw this:

bird eggs

Now they’ve hatched and they’re all squished up cozy in their nest. So cute!!! Our cat Margo is obsessed and sits by the window constantly, watching for the birds. (Don’t worry, she’s an indoor cat — the birdies are safe!)

Well, time to get dressed and get going! Have a lovely day!

Saturday Catch-Up

poet's walk pavillion

Hey everyone! I know, I know… it’s been a quiet week. My MIL took the boys to Maine earlier this week, so I guess I’ve been on vacation of sorts too. Things just weren’t on schedule, you know? We were going out more, I was being a little bit lazier… but I guess that’s the beauty of summer, right?

They came home on Friday morning and had a great time! They walked on the beach, swam in the hotel pool and had a ton of fun. Meanwhile, we kept things pretty quiet. We did go to the Indian buffet (Laura was obsessed with the mulligatawny soup!)

laura

We kept things close to home on the 4th of July. We grilled burgers and watched movies. Nothing too crazy.

I finally (finally!) got my new crock pot. Oh yes, I definitely needed an appliance lift. As I mentioned, my old slow cooker died. Today I broke in my new one with sauce, turkey meatballs, and Italian sausage. Sure it’s great using the slow cooker when it’s cold, but it is a life saver when it is hot & humid — no heating up the kitchen!

new slow cooker

This morning we headed over to Poet’s Walk Park in Red Hook. Although it’s a very popular place to hike we’d never been there before. We all had a great time!

This is the bridge I drive across several times a week to go… well, pretty much anywhere (Walmart, Target, Michael’s, Dollar Tree, any and all fast-food restaurants). I love getting the different perspective! That’s the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains you see in the  distance.

kingston-rhinecliff bridge

I also decided to step WAY out of my comfort zone and plank in public. I’ve been doing the 21-day Plank With Bex challenge. I started out at around 58 seconds 12 days ago. Today I was up to 2 minutes 10 seconds!!! It’s amazing to see how much progress you can make in just a few days — so awesome!

planking at poet's walk

Ugh, as for tonight, I’m just trying to keep cool. It has been ridiculously hot & humid lately. Hate it! I started a granny stripe blanket and I love it and I need to blog about that, too. But honestly? I think all I’m doing this evening is drinking ice water (actually, chewing on ice) and vegging out to whatever we put on Netflix.

Tomorrow Jake has SCUBA (seriously, he does the coolest stuff with his Boy Scout Troop! We absolutely made the right decision when weighing the two different troops in town). Then we need to head over across that bridge and get house stain at Home Depot. After that, who knows? Lake? Sprinkler? We shall see…