Rabbit rabbit!

Ahhhh, June. Doesn't that sound lovely, my friends?

every flower enjoys the air it breathes

such a lovely weekend, and i'm kicking myself for my lack of documentation. i.e. i have been bad lately about taking pictures with my picture-ma-phone* (i also made somewhat of a resolution to learn how to use mark's actual camera, but as usual i am all about planning things out in my head and not doing them in real life). anyway, on friday night we took the freshly fifteen year-old boy out for indian food at tandoor, where we met up with m. meiklejohn. we then had a bit of a poker party, complete with isaaccash, bills printed out with isaac's face where the president should be.

anthony and jason and leander also joined us, and we had a great time and ate cake, vegan devil's food with creme filling and a thick ganache to be specific.

we also skyped with zoë and max and got some glimpses of their generous host in tokyo, josh. zoë was happy to get to chat with her pals jason and david (pictured below in the rabbit costume, for zoë's amusement).

there's been rain and rain and rain, but there was some sunshine this weekend, and digging in the dirt and grilling pizza outside on the actual grill and open windows. saturday our great friend heather was in town, staying at eva's house, and we attended a fun party there, with (again) grilled foods and little kids running around and party tricks (specifically, the chair trick, which mystified everyone and was performed a dozen times as we tried to uncover its mystery, unsuccessfully). and once again, i took no photos (except for a couple of strange unflattering ones of party guests standing with their heads against the wall, their bodies bent into a ninety degree angle, and holding a small chair...never mind, it's a long story). mark and isaac played tennis with leander and megan, bowled with anthony and karen, and then played tennis again (i pulled something in my neck, so i stayed home working on my pile of library books and enjoying the breezes through the open windows. oh, and i gave minnow a haircut).

so many words, to make up for the lack of (my own) photographs! i filled up the ice cube trays. a sure sign that warm weather's on its way.

zoë and max's adventures continue, only in japanese!

*two-thirds of these photos were stolen from mark

the mermaids in the basement

when i walked outside saturday morning, i thought it must be seventy degrees, it felt so warm! really, it was only in the fifties, but in april, in maine? that feels almost summery.

this morning my dancer friend bought me treats at rosemont, and we walked in the sunshine and had coffee at her kitchen table.

i spent yesterday morning with my best pal on willard beach. in every photo i took of minnow, his tongue was out, and in most of them, his eyes were almost closed in pleasure.

how perfect that my mom sent me this poem yesterday:

"I started Early—Took my Dog—
And visited the Sea—
The Mermaids in the Basement
Came out to look at me—"

(emily dickinson)

now i'll sit here with the windows open and my cup of tea and get some work done that i put off all weekend due to the lure of the sunshine. mark is home from a quick kansas trip, and isaac is getting his gear together in preparation for a school camping trip next week. meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, zoë is preparing to leave india and fly to hong kong. isn't life strange and wonderful?

on ice

i feel inspired by the sunshine to do a survey of iced americanos in portland. my budget will limit me to approximately one americano every two weeks, i fear, but here's what i have for you so far:

iced americano, 16 oz, to go. with a healthy splash of soy milk.


arabica: *perfect. $3.50

bard coffee: *perfect. $2.60

(i'm not being scientific enough, because i'm not positive how many shots of espresso are present in each of these beverages. so i may have to go back and re-survey both locations.)


*i think my scale will be terrible to perfect. where perfect = smooth, rich, crema-topped shots of espresso; a high coffee-to-water ratio; plenty of ice; and they let me pour the soy milk in by my own self.

july, july

well, april really. but minnow and i were pretending like it was july at baxter woods this morning! i was sleeveless.

congratulations, boo!

yesterday, he graduated from elementary school! i am so proud of him, and excited about his future adventures in middle school. there was a nice ceremony, at which the vice principal mispronounced boo's last name, which is pretty funny if you know what boo's last name is: she pronounced it "how." he spent the day skating at happy wheels, enjoying a pizza party, and getting his yearbook signed by his friends. i suspected that i would bawl, as i did after dropping him off at kindergarten on his very first day of school, but i restrained myself.

what makes me happiest: he doesn't mind hugging me (even kissing me!) in public. at school, even!


in other news, we built a funky little deck in our back yard. and painted it orange!



















no, no -- stay with me, here. we are going to paint the bench to the left another bright color -- red, perhaps? we are going to put up a crazy fence. by crazy, what do i mean? well, it'll probably be corrugated metal. and to the right, imagine if you will, a trellis with something viney and flowery on it, like clematis. we're rescuing one of the round silver tables from cbb, some chairs, and we've got lots of pots for plants. it's going to be fabulous, just you wait!

randomly

i just thought you might like to see the hip, retro bathing suit bean just purchased with some leftover urban outfitters christmas credit. it is just about the cutest suit ever. and even cuter on bean than it is on this urban outfitters model, i might add.

in other random news, david sent this fascinating article about bicycles in amsterdam.

summer shoes

i never thought i would say this, but i kind of want a pair of these, um, crocs. i have been so vehemently anti-crocs ever since they started taking over the world, but these are actually cute, and vegan. maybe an alternative to my standard summer flip-flops (less likely to be swept away in a gullywasher, no?).