hazy summer days.

I need to make these! And in other news...

I'm loving the summer weather - being able to hang out with my hubby, enjoy the freedom to rest, and the time to do the crafts/cooking/baking I've been planning!

This past weekend, we took a trip to a beach on Lake Erie. I wasn't expecting much, since it's a lake beach - you know, stones, cold water, not-so-attractive swimming conditions - but it was great! The sand was mostly soft, and there was a bank of smooth pebbles leading into the lake water. It was a lovely 70 degrees outside, with a breeze, and the water was warm! and shallow! It was so wonderful to just relax all day. Peaceful waves, seagulls, colorful umbrellas, my hubby and family right there, a couple magazines...

I picked up some sea glass (pieces of broken glassware, tumbled smooth by the lake), got slightly burned shoulders, and enjoyed my new swimsuit and coverup. Thankful for a joyful time together! Perhaps we'll make another trip soon!

the pleasures of home

DH and I went home for my grandfather's 80th birthday, and incidentally, my sister's 19th. It was a fabulous weekend - temps in the 70's, sunshine, lots of family, lots of pie.
We are a pie-eating family. Birthday pie is a tradition. Grandpa's brother, Unc, used to tell us of the days when his mother would make a pie each day for dessert after supper. All kinds of pie - from classic apple to elderberry to mincemeat. Unc insisted that, since pie slices are wedge-shaped, there's always room for dessert. He never passed up a slice of pie! And always had stories to tell as he lingered over the accompanying cup of strong coffee (with a bit of cream, no sugar).


This birthday party for Grandpa reminded me of Unc (who passed away in 2008) because of the many pie choices there were! Peach, key lime, cherry, pecan, concord grape...and then there was cake and ice cream besides. My mom decorated both cakes - a white, Swedish themed cake for Grandpa, and a chocolate one with vibrant orange and yellow flowers for my sister. These were completed with the exact number of candles for both my sister and my grandfather. Yes, there were eighty candles on that cake...

Earlier that afternoon, my siblings, husband, and I enjoyed the outdoors. Frisbee, feeding the cows and horses, petting the cats, taking pictures of flowers, hitting some golf balls, shooting a few hoops...


It was a beautiful weekend, completed by horseback riding, hiking, painting toenails with my mom, picking wildflowers, and taking pictures.
yellow violets (a study in opposites, no?)

a rare red trillium

a possibility

i applied for a K-5 Vocal Music and General Music position on Friday! i'm excited that there's the possibility of a music education job out there for me. i'm hoping and praying that i will be called to interview. i'm a little bit apprehensive, since i haven't taught at the K-3 level before, but i think i'll be able to do well with some help from my colleagues, a curriculum, and some extra study during the summer (for me, that is). it looks like a good opportunity for me to build some more confidence in my teaching, to have some more experience to put on my resume, and for a lot more money than i'm making right now!

it has been tough to stay with the job i'm in now - a lot of the work takes very little brain function to perform well. the flow of work is also tricky. some days there is absolutely nothing for me to do but answer the phone and greet people when, or if, they walk into the office. other days, there is so much to get done that i can't possibly finish it all in one day! dealing with realtors can be frustrating, too. some of them get so worked up about the smallest details, which reminds me of myself when i finally get home from work, i'm tired, and i can hardly deal with life. it has been good to be the one to encourage them, but hard to see adults acting like this. is it normal for someone to get screaming mad when the fax machine copies instead of faxes? or to completely abandon a project when the copy machine jams 3 times in a row? or to yell at me for naming their pictures the wrong thing when they didn't send me labels for them at all?

you see what i mean.

the environment has also been eye-opening for me. i come from a very conservative background, but here, i am surrounded by liberal thought. this is too much "real world" for me.
as you can read from the previous post, i'm a little shell-shocked, as I believe i should be.

happier note, though:

i have been reading C.S. Lewis's book, Surprised by Joy, which he wrote as an autobiography. the book chronicles the moments in his life as he lost his faith in childhood, took up atheism, discovered Joy in his adolescence, and found the truth of Christianity by his adult years. it's so enjoyable to read his writing and to think along with him (if you can call it that, since he's dead now, and since it's the written word) about the things that bring us joy, and what we truly desire in life. sigh.

this past weekend was absolutely beautiful, and such a blessing! i woke up saturday morning feeling like it was a vacation (well, plus laundry and some housecleaning), with sunny, light-filled rooms, and warm breezes. so nice. my dear husband and i even took a picnic down to the lake and enjoyed being quiet with each other there. i took a few pictures, which i hope to post soon. we needed the break - i'm so glad we could be with each other.

sunday, i finally got to practice piano! it has been months, and i'm really sad about that. i've lost some of my skill, but i think i can get it back with some more practice. and time. and diligence. i really hope i can be more consistent about the whole thing.

and with that, i'm going to go back to work. meaning, i'm going to try to find something to do until 6.

maybe i'll make a salad. :o)