It's another glorious May morning here. Summer seems to be sweetly slipping up on us. A hot day here and there to remind us of the baking beach days ahead, but cool evenings and mornings. Memorial Day has come and gone, and I guess that means that summer is here.

We had a good weekend. I got some work on Fetching done. One wrister almost down, one to go. This was (and knitting usually is) my morning and evening work. I've been doing some super secret sewing that will be revealed later, and a lot of cooking.

These are the Maple Baked Beans from BC: At Home.

First you assemble the sauce.

Then the bacon and maple syrup go over top. Bake for a million hours (6-8), and you're ready for a cookout.

Sometime when the needs of a weekday morning (making lunches, drinking coffee, taking showers, feeding dogs, pulling out clothes, last minute snuggles, locating karate uniforms, watering lawn...that kind of thing) aren't pressing upon solo-me, I'll tell you about my neighborhood. What a surprise and delight it is.

We started the day like this: Bloody Mary's in the front yard. (I love living in a place where my jammies are not out of place in the front yard on a holiday morning!) And then we gathered for a Memorial Day cookout, and our chief mixologoist brought the Planter's Punch (I'm linking to a recipe, but Tyler's version is more art than science. Still, this should give you the idea.)

There were salads and burgers and brats and babies (we're overflowing with babies!), and oh, browines and rice crispy treats. Perfect picnic fare. After the food there was much lazy hanging about until Callum and his buddy Zach-Man hit the sprinkler.

Zach is a bit trepidatious now, but it's early days yet.

And those beans? They were a hit.

It's re-entry and back to the regular rhythms of the week. Happy day, though, Neel returns tonight!