Sunday in Burbank

means swimming lessons--

 Sharing a secret before getting in the pool.

Thrilled to be floating (Maddie's big hope, now that her ear is healed, is to quickly learn to swim).

Max getting used to putting his face in the water.

And a celebration lunch in Pasadena afterwards (that's Jess' dad on the left) for good swimming lessons and S&J's 10th anniversary!

Short Burbank Visit

to check up on houses and see the KP's

 

Saturday was very busy with classes!  Ballet, gymnastics, hockey and soccer.

I missed all the sports but got to see Max proudly wearing his shin guards.

Sam and Jess got a chance to dress up and go out on Sat. night

and Maddie and me to make pancakes on Sunday morning.

Cleaned Up--Just About!

Toby and I have spent some time trying to bring order to the little house up the road that our good friend Malcolm left to Rachel when he died.

Malcolm was a fabulous bird expert, knowing more than anyone about cranes, but his skills and talents didn't extend to housekeeping.  Just this week a crew came to give it a real clean.

This is the kitchen before we started,

and now.

The library before

and after.

The windows are all starting to shine and gleam.

And Toby started work on cleaning up the outside

as did I.

 

Yellow

 

 

 

 

 

seems to be a favorite color for early bloomers like this iris

 

 

 

 and lemon lily.  It's exciting to be up here early enough to enjoy these first arrivals, so peaceful, so quiet

 

 

 

except that there's an arrival we're not very fond of--that's Motorcycle Week in New Hampshire.  Motorcyclists convene from all over the northeast, maybe further--and many don't wear helmets---New Hampshire doesn't require them (remember, it's live free or die up here). This photo doesn't show what it's really like: coming down from Conway the other day we passed probably 100 motorcycles--I stopped counting after a while. The noise is deafening.  Very happily today's the last day so they can all go home.. 

Ours!

 

 

 

This is a pretty bad photo, but yesterday Toby and I got the house we'd wanted in Burbank, after only 4 months of back and forth. 

Feast in Tamworth

 

 

 

Last week we dined out at The Other Store.

 

 

 

 

 

Local chefs come on different days and prepare various cuisines using locally grown foods.

Katy Thompson (second from the left) runs the show.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a good stir fry and this picturesque salad--didn't know you could eat pansies!

 

 

Dog Days

 

We've had a couple of very hot, humid days here. Tulip wilted right away--not eating, hardly walking, panting in spite of lying right in front of the fan.  We finally took the shears to her and got off three times this amount of hair.

It wasn't an artful job--came out more like a butch cut which is kind of cute.  She didn't seem to mind and is better now, especially since the weather has cooled down.