Well, we had a great weekend, how about you? Y'all were so sweet to wish us a great dinner party on Friday night. We had a really lovely time with some new friends. I said to someone that if these were old friends who were coming over, I wouldn't give cooking a meal for friends a second thought, but new friends...then I have to do a little planning. I couldn't plan for a six-hour thunderstorm that dupmed over four inches of rain over us, but who can plan for things like that? Poor Neel had to grill in the shed. But we had fun. I took some pictures, but these were new friends. They're not quite used to my camera in their faces. So no smiling happy people. I can't take pictures of everything, you know! Did you see the trifle on twitter? I'll try to post on that later this week.

By Saturday morning, Cal was on sleepover number three for the week. That boy is tired! So much of weekend, when we weren't scrambling to locate a free canoe (it was already in the dumpster, so no canoe for us) was spent scrambling to recover. Why am I so tired after he stays up until 3 a.m.? He threw the ball in the front yard that morning with a friend who's trying baseball for the first time, but by Saturday afternoon he was crashed out on the sofa watching The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Once he got his second wind, we headed to our friend's pool for a bit (and I keep meaning to tell you Annie, much as I wish it was, sadly, that's not our garden), but for us, Saturday was an early night. Since all my mornings tend to be early, I like early nights!

We had Callum's baseball party on Sunday, and now the season really is over. One mom asked if we weren't all grateful, and I'm not. It's all still so new to us, that it could have gone on for me. Cal too. After the party, Neel and Cal headed straight across the street for a poker party. This cracks me up. Two 12 year olds, two 14 years olds, and a few grown men all playing poker until about 10 on a Sunday night! They played a bit in our backyard on Saturday until we insisted that Callum needed to be tucked into bed. I'm glad to see it. These kids played poker a lot summer before last, and it's nice to see them reinstate the tradition. It gets hot here, really hot, and sometimes playing outside is just not possible. When they play poker, they're not playing video games or locked into the iPods. And, in my book, that's a good thing.

So I did some research on the Disqus thing, and it's just not going to work. That's the bad news. The good news for Squarespace users is that version 6 is coming out (and is usable now, apparently) and it does have threaded comments. Let me say, this whole, "Schedule computer time" is hard when you get absorbed in projects like this. They can get absorbing. So I'll be doing more research on that in the coming weeks. And thank you so much for your comments to Friday's Five Things. Aren't lists great?

Did you guys have a great weekend? We're scheduled for more storms today, and I dearly love thunder storms. And a busy week. I have mixed feelings about those. But some fun will creep in there for sure. Since it's summer, I've been doing our grocery shopping on Mondays and so far I have nothing on my list and no idea what I'm going to cook this week. Hmm. And isn't Violet sweet? That's her favorite spot under my computer when I'm working, but how can it be comfortable?

1. I think, all things being equal, we had another good week. Cal had a couple of sleepovers (one here and one there), and we went on several bike rides. Getting things crossed off the list. I got into the studio with my camera (and had trouble keeping the props out of my mouth), and I got the business cards ordered. Months and months later, but whew. I had coffee on Wednesday with some gorgeous women. It's so funny. Seeing these women were once part of my every day routine. And coffee or breakfast with them was a ritual that gave structure and meaning to my weeks. I haven't seen some of them for months, and some for years, but it was so lovely to reconnect. We talked about some somber stuff but some inconsequential stuff too. It was easy to slip into the old patterns of laughter and conversation, and easy is so good sometimes.

2. I think I'm thinking about moving over to Disqus for comments. I'd really, really like threaded comments, and so far Squarespace doesn't offer that feature. I've heard great stuff, and I've heard horror stories (like about every comment that was ever left on your blog getting lost forever). Anybody have any experience and care to weigh in?

3. I think that while it was nice to get into the studio, I'm feeling frustrated with my space. It needs a good clean out for sure, but the light isn't the greatest (that's hard to fix), and it's small. So small. The cleanout will help for sure, but I'm not sure what to do about the rest. I know I shouldn't complain. I'm lucky to have a space at all. But if I don't accept that it needs some work, I won't work on it, right?

4. I think I'm really looking forward to a small dinner party we're having tonight. Just another couple, parents of a new friend of Callum's. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you may remember that I love dinners with friends, and I've missed how our life doesn't seem to include them in a more formal way here. In California, we had dinner with friends on Mondays and Fridays every week. It's a different life here. But today we'll get ready, and tonight we'll gather around the table with some new friends. That's a nice thing to look forward to.

5. I think I'm so glad I pulled out Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project to finish reading. That, more than anything has helped set my intention for the summer. She has a blog, if you want to check it out, but several things from the book resonated with me. I'm trying to keep them in mind as I move through the summer. She has some great lists and good practical advice. For starters, she each night she has a ten-minute tidy up before she goes to bed. Too often I drag myself from the sofa up the stairs to my cozy nest without one single glance around. So I've been trying the ten-minute tidy up, and I've been quite enjoying the results. It's nice to come down to a clean house in the morning, and I feel better going to bed too, knowing that the house is more settled. Rubin also has a one-minute rule. If a task takes a minute or less, do it now. These simple rules have helped me a lot this week. So we'll see if I can keep them up.

She also has twelve resolutions, which you can find on her blog. I really like these too. I'd like to try to follow some of hers and add a few of my own.

Put down my phone.

Schedule/limit computer time.

Think about what makes me happy and do that.

Let it go.

Stop stalling.

Strive to be nicer.

Reach out.

My friends, have a delightful weekend. I'm hoping for lovely meals and cooler temperatures (if that's what you're wishing for!). What is everyone up to?

monday mash up, June 25

five things, june 22 edition