weekend recap, june 17

1. Barge on the river | 2. | TDB 3. Stormy sky, no storm | 4. Hitting lessons | 5. Neel freaks me out | 6. Garden work | 7. Saturday supper | 8. Spoons | 9. These boys | 10. Bagel shop | 11. Breakfast | 12. Doggies attend breakfast | 13. One of the best dads ever | 14. Father/Son dart game | 15. Brunch | 16. Pimento cheese plate | 17. Bloody, Beer, Water | 18. Father's Day pie | 19. Pool time | 20. Splash bound | 21. Soaker

Neel leaves today, so our weekend felt hectic. A little. Cal had a good day on Friday, just generally making good decisions and working hard, so we hit his favorite wing joint for dinner. That feels like a weekly thing these days which makes him happy, but me not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love The Dirty Buffalo, but sometimes momma wants a salad.  

Saturday was our usual. Hitting lesson, house (and yard) work, and we made BBQ nachos for dinner Saturday night. Those were pretty good! Cal's friends came to eat with us, and afterward we had a "death match" of spoons. Yes, those of you who have played, know it. Spoons can get quite violent. Part of its charm.

Father's Day was good. Had a good long talk with my dad. Took Neel out for two meals and made him make one (we grilled out for dinner). Neel and Cal played some darts, I made a strawberry almond clafoutis and we went to the pool.  I'm lucky to have a great dad, and I married a man who has turned out to be a pretty awesome dad as well. And all day long, I saw great dads going about their day. Doing things that good men do. Neel and our neighbor Tyler cleaned up the yard of a neighbor of ours who has a new(ish) baby and whose husband is currently deployed. At the pool, the dads were on it. To the point of having a cannonball contest to splash the kids while they waited out adult swim.

Good men abound, really. We should spend more than just a day celebrating them.

And now it's the week. We bundle Neel onto a plane in a few hours, and Cal and I are on our own to muck about as best we can. A lot to do (including baseball camp, but not for me), but that bright light at the end of the tunnel? That's the door to an awaiting airplane.  

five things, june 14 edition

1. I think I fall in love with my 100mm macro more every day. I know I've mentioned how much I love my Thursday Morning Photo Group (We thought about coming up with a catchy name, but every time someone brought it up, the conversation devolved into something pretty silly. Like the Crappy Snappers.) (I actually just came up with that. None of us are crappy snappers.) (Seriously.) Anyhow. Chatting yesterday got me psyched about a whole new lens possibility, AND Jackie told me that if I adjust my aperture to f8.0, then I'll hit the sweet spot on my depth of field and be really happy. Turns out, she was totally right. This picture is perhaps not the best way to judge, but trust me. And hello? Banana bread.

2. I think I totally screwed up and thought Father's Day here in the US was next weekend not this weekend. Oops. Cue mad scrambling. I could write a long gushy post about what a great dad I have and what a great dad I married, but I'll save that for maybe Monday, how about.

3. I think, speaking of Monday, that I can't believe Neel leaves for Greece on Monday. Poor Neel, all that Greek food. The littletiniest part of me wishes we were traveling with him for this leg, but we have beaches here, we have a pool here, we don't have riots and teargas in nearby Turkey here. I know, I know, our beaches and pool are nothing like what Neel will get to experience, but I'm fine with staying here for a bit, given where we're headed afterwards.

4. I think we didn't do the best job at our first week of Summer Vacation. I have yet to get you my bucket list, and I have yet to go to the beach. We were BUSY this week. Dang. Fear not. We'll get to the beach (I know you were worried.), and I'll have that bucket list up next week.

5. I think I'd like little more than to sit in an air conditioned house and edit photos. Sounds weird, doesn't it? My 365 is SO behind. Not the taking, but the editing, and I just need to buckle down and get some stuff done. But this weekend? Not so much, I fear. Neel needs to decide what he wants to do for Father's Day (he's already listed restaurants for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!), but Saturday. Hmmmm... Saturday is wide open. What fun do you guys have on tap?