Garden Triumphs

What a growing year this year has been! I ate the first (and sadly only) canteloupe out of my garden earlier this summer which was pretty amazing! and watermelons! I have a bunch! I have tomatoes coming out of my ears and well you know about the flowers. Today is tomato canning day, which to be honest isn't my favorite day of the year, but it can't be put off any longer. You can only eat so many tomato mozzarella salads, tomato pies, etc. Canning tomatoes is a lot of work and really the only part of the process that I find fun is the winter day when you crack the jar open and get "your" tomatoes into a meal. Every other part is a pain!

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My birthday was Sunday and it was LOVELY! Raph surprised me with a SURFBOARD for my birthday which was a shock and SO exciting. He actually gave it to me on Sat. night, and on Sunday we were awakened by the beeping phone telling us we had a text message, which turned out to be from our dear friends, John and Gwen, telling us, "Surfs up!" And by 8:30 I was in the water off of Long Sands surfing. It was great! I have a new wet suit, and even though I am quite self-conscious about it, I decided not to let that stand in the way of my time in the water. It took me a long time to figure out where exactly I wanted to be on my board and I was exhausted about four seconds after I went in, but I had SO much fun and can't wait to surf more. The day was pretty much like a blast from the Hawaiian past, since that is where John and Gwen live, and some other friends we know from Hawaii (who now live in CT) also showed up. It ended up being a great beach bash with a bunch of friends, followed by a motorcycle ride with my sweetheart (babysitting services provided by Ann and Larry - thanks!), followed by an outstanding dinner shared with friends and family. It was such a perfect day! I am so lucky.

A Goodbye Party for Rudy

We had a memorial for Rudy this week. We had two in fact, but I was working during the second one. But the first was at Fort Foster, and we were lucky to get to see many relatives we don't see too often anymore. Like any Matty event of late, it was a baby-fest, and I never tire of photographing the babes as they grow. I'm glad my kids are lucky enough to grow up with other kids their age in the family.

Rudy's brother, Uncle James, attended, along with a lot of Rudy's wife Virginia's family. Virginia died when Larry was 23, so we never knew her, but it is fun to imagine what she might have been like by getting to know her siblings and nieces and nephews. (Rudy and Virginia were both from families of 10 children!!!) The crew spread Rudy's ashes into the Atlantic there at Fort Foster, and they "divided the estate" which consisted of two suitcases full of clothes and old lottery tickets, which we're pretty sure aren't worth anything.

Anyway, some pictures from the party, mostly of the babes.
Virginia's siblings - from left to right, Bobby, Gardiner, Ruthie, and Lawrence.
The cousins (and sadly I don't even know all their names. Help me out here!)


Jo wearing Rudy's jacket while dividing the estate.


Little Rudy growing big to fill Big Rudy's shoes!

Uncle James is fascinated by the babes...

No back up.

When you drive four hours to go camping, you can't back out. Not even if a certain one-year-old screams his bloody head off all night and you end up having to drive out of the campground into the parking lot and sit there for the rest of the night because you feel bad for the other campers.

BUT, not being able to back out has its perks. For us, it meant we were able to explore Acadia for the first time. We stayed in a breath-taking campground right on the ocean, went on a horse-drawn carriage ride, enjoyed the tidepools, and views and were overall really proud of ourselves for making it happen. And of course the kids had a good time. Even if they were tired.

Branford 2010

We were lucky enough to get to stay with my Aunt and Uncle and cousin at their house in Connecticut recently. Boy do we love it there, and really, what's not to love? Great family time, delicious food (Suzanne outdoes herself) and an absolutely gorgeous location. Pretty perfect.