At one point this weekend, I was in a room with five German Shepards and there were two guys in the basement making bullets.

Family.

We opted for a last minute escape-from-Irene and headed northwest to see Mark's sister's family near Syracuse.  Can't believe it took us a hurricane to get there -- somehow years have passed since we made that 4-1/2 hour trek.  That's just too long, right?  Now, I'm sure they could post some similar wide-eyed kind of statement when they visit us in the NYC burbs.  But really, it was funny.

My SIL's boyfriend trains police dogs and used to be a US Marshall so Max and Alex were just about in Nirvana.  He gifted them with some real police targets to be taped on trees here and used with their plastic bb's.  Their saucer-sized eyes just glowed when he showed them the dent in his calf where he took a bullet and I bet one of them wet their pants when he showed them his guns.

When I was a kid, our only out-of-town family trips were to my dad's hometown in Reynoldsville, PA.  Things seemed so exotic up there.  People burned their trash in the back yard, called soda "pop" and knew everyone in town, plus everyone from the three previous generations.  My grandmother's boyfriend (for 50 years), Clutch, was a retired coal miner who owned a car wrecking company though my grandmother claimed he just "loafed" all day and spit.  He and my grandmother lived three miles apart and he came to her house daily for dinner and stayed to watch the news.  He would take my brother and I over to the junkyard and let us poke around some of the wrecks and get bottles of coke from the machine.  He took my brother for illicit rides on his dirt bike and only had Clark bars, beer and cheese in his refrigerator.  He taught us to play Black Jack for pennies and always offered my parents a shot and a piece of cheese when they came to watch the Pirates games.

I loved every minute of it.

And I'm so glad we got to visit my niece and SIL and her boyfriend who filled my kids heads with all kinds of intrigue and adventure.  And the cousins, who never see each other, warmed up and actually laughed and goofed around together.  We got to go the state fair and Jack sat on a cow, which rocked his little world.  And I almost entered a calf raffle, but then I saw the woman standing behind the cow catching its poop in a bucket and figured I'd stick to goldfish.

(here is Jack sitting on said cow)

I think that's the country girl that lives inside me somewhere.

We just don't get those velvet black skies down here in the NY metro.

I thought I deleted Barcelona.

Actually, I deleted Barcelona, Nice and VillaFrache, France.  Somehow I erased a memory card too soon. But, in my post-travel delirium, I made a copy on iphoto.  I have been primarily using Lightroom as my archiving, organizing program, but since iphoto opens every time I put in a memory card ("pick me! pick me!" it fairly shouts) I guess I imported there too.

Sorry for the vacation photos overkill, but I have thousands of photos and I have a few, ahem, new readers.  (Hi Mom! Hi Aunt Debbie!).  And so, more Barcelona.

But quickly, so I remember, a few observations.

* They do sell chocolate milk, but everyone looked at us askance when we asked for it cold.
* Sorry, second trip to Spain, and I'm still not a big fan of the food.  And this is from an anchovy lover.
* Spanish people dress their children beautifully.  Not that nylon/polyester track shorts and t-shirts from Target aren't chic.
* Spanish people were much nicer to us this trip -- it was all about the kids.
*Open air food markets are generally awesome. Better than restaurants.
* Europeans take much longer to eat.  I think my hair grew a bit waiting for the check sometimes.
* Kids don't have a language barrier with other kids.  Jack was in the playground talking to a little girl in English, she spoke to him in Spanish and they were still fast friends.
* I love a city that loves dogs.  I think it's because it reminds me of NYC.
* If you wear a Lands End tankini on a beach in Barcelona, you will feel like you are wearing a bathing suit from the roaring '20s compared to the women of all shapes and sizes somehow looking comfortable in two pieces or less.
* Spanish coffee (espresso) is as good as Italian.  And that is high praise.

Renewal

You might think that spring is the season of renewal, and of course, Mother Nature does a mighty fine job of it then, but fall feels like a season of renewal as well.   Bring some order back from the heady chaos of summer.  The lazy days begin speeding up, guided by other-people's-clocks and the calendar fills up behind your back. 

Inspired by tara's beautiful entry in this joy+ride

what's on the nightstand:

Painters in Paris 1895-1950 (some of my favorite paintings, picked up at the Met)
Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch (overdue library book)
The Art Spirit by Robert Henri
The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman (great book on composition)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (old and utterly untouched)

and a rotating tall pile of other things which strike me just before climbing into bed. 

am loving:

my gigantic coleus plants.  not the container gardens I had planned this year at all, but the coleus is enormous
having the kids home for one more week before the grind begins
iced decaf earl grey tea
training for the Avon breast cancer walk (why does it surprise me that I need a goal to get in shape)
the noticeable buzz as the town readies for fall


summer inspires me by
Setting me loose into the world.  I love walking outside in my pjs and bare feet, garden peeping and dreaming about next year's gardens, spontaneous dips in the pool, the freedom to choose our curriculum, as it were.  Dropping my role as a chauffer and school marm for a bit inspires me to reacquaint my kids and myself with my fun and spontaneous side. 

Summer wardrobe staple that I can't live without

Has to be bare feet.  My feet can get clausterphobic when my shoes feel too hot and sometimes I feel like socks are strangling me so in the summer.  I a also love the look of a fresh pedicure even if the rest of me is a complete mess.  Plus, no socks = less laundry!

Perfect homemade summer meal
Late August corn-on-the cob, chopped tomato and basil from the garden topped with sea salt and ground pepper, salmon on the grill, a hunk of rustic bread and watermelon for dessert.  A trip to the ice cream shop later for an evening walk through town with an ice cream cone.


Three constants in my day
Public radio
Chocolate milk (I have a child who needs a 12 step program for dairy)
Dishes

the inspiration for these photos
sometimes the everyday chaos of three boys and a busy husband makes my head spin.  Shooting them helps me appreciate the beauty of the everyday moment and lets me keep them little forever (and quiet!).  My camera was stolen a week after these pictures were taken, along with a 400 new pictures.  I shudder to think of someone just erasing my memory card with two clicks of a button.