Slipped In and Out

Last month The World's Best Bleeding Heart Attorney and I slipped into and out of New England for Parents Weekend...our last at that particular college! Older Daughter graduates in May. She has grown into the loveliest, most self-assured, happy young adult. I'm totally taken with her.

And with the foliage. But it's too damned cold up there.

Younger Daughter Gone To The Dogs

I volunteered at the Showcase for Dogs and brought my dog-loving Younger Daughter with me. We had a fabulous time, and she brought Thankless Dog Number Two with her. We were working for Hope House where I am on the Board of Directors and also serve as a volunteer. Older Daughter had an internship there this summer through Americorps/Vista. It's a family affair.

Time

As she looked out the window for her friend, Flower Girl, I caught Younger Daughter in the lens.
The time goes so quickly. They grow so fast. How did my baby get to be 17? (And a half!)

Fair Ladies

Today was the annual crafts fair in a local park. It's one of my favorite early fall outings, and this year the weather was just perfect-warm and dry with a nice breeze. Some years, it's so hot we are dying for shade. Today? Lovely.





This persimmon tree, with its ripe, juicy fruit just begging to be eaten, was causing problems for the vendors below. They had to put up market umbrellas to keep the falling fruit from breaking their wares-and their heads!


This wonderful lawn sculpture caught my eye. I love the face!


This photo doesn't do the booth justice. It was too sunny and I was in too much of a hurry to adjust my world to take a great shot. Colorful, though...

Wednesday Photo Blog-Check It Out

Go to this blog to see and contribute photos. It's cool.

Growin' and Growin'

Older Daughter and Dee have been friends since freshman year of high school-the crappy photo above was taken junior year when they were inducted into the National Honor Society. Now they are going to be seniors in college, both in New England-one looking at PhD. programs and the other at Med School.

They're still very close. And just look at them-so happy and bright and sweet. It's a wonderful friendship that both The World's Best Bleeding Heart Attorney and I are thrilled to witness and enjoy.

Don't Get Coy (KOI?) With Me

I feed the fish at the Botanic Gardens whenever I go there. The fish food is .25! Still a bargain!

Plus Ca Change, Plus C'est Le Meme Chose

As I have mentioned, earlier this month I attended my 40th high school reunion. It was an event that four of my classmates and I worked on for a year. We found people, we compiled photographs old and new, we gathered music, and we threw a dinner party for 33 people at a hotel in my home town in New England.

To say that I looked forward to this occasion with incredible hopes and dreams is to understate it. To say that it surpassed my wildest expectations is accurate. The 33 of us reconnected, laughed, hugged, reminisced, sang, and stayed up until the wee hours-in large groups, in small groups, in pairs, and in clusters we spent the weekend together just being friends. It did wonders for my soul, and how good that felt has not faded in the ensuing weeks. My sister, the fabulous Grandma Blue, told me that it seemed to her that I had had a "life-changing experience." She's right.

Here I am with my wonderful, close, terrific, funny, optimistic, down-to-the-soul friend, J. We have kept in touch through the years, and have seen each other enough that our children refer to one another as cousins. My love for her has not changed all this time, although we are far apart geographically and politically. We can each respect the other's viewpoint, and talk about the other things that friends talk about. This particular toast was the first of the weekend. It was a wonderful beginning.