Busy weekend. Also yesterday.

We've finally had a few summery days in a row, at least we have out here in Blue Lake. Got lots of yard work done over the weekend: mowing, weeding, tearing up a ratty-looking flower bed, replanting, pruning. We also finished the new sandbox and filled it with sand. I now can supervise a 4' by 6' construction site from the kitchen windows.

Yesterday we hosted the 5th annual Buddies 4th of July get-together. The Buddies are a group of children of some of the women I did water aerobics with while I was pregnant with Hannah. These wonderful women have become some of my closest and dearest friends, our husbands have become friends and our children are as close as siblings.
The evening was filled with laughter and good food. I cooked up a couple of tri-tip roasts and some chicken which we made into sandwiches with lots of fixings and yummy rolls. On the side, lots of fresh fruit and a potato salad with green beans and red onions in a lemon vinaigrette. For dessert I made a blueberry tart with pastry cream that looked just stunning (I dropped the crust when I pulled it out of the oven, but no one could tell). Hannah and I also made the most delicious strawberry icecream; extraordinary bright, fresh flavor and a luscious shade of pink. With homemade chocolate caramel sauce.
We broke the party up for about an hour then reconvened at Mickey and Jayme's in SunnyBrae to do sparklers and watch the fireworks display. Oooooo! Aaaaaaaa! Wow! Jonah: It sounds like a drum. Hannah: It's a fire fountain! Owen: It's a volcano. Mickey: I can write my name with a sparkler!
Both the kids fell asleep on the way home (though since we didn't head for home until nearly 10:45, this is no great improvement). I fell into bed and realized I'd barely sat down all day long. And though I planned to go straight to sleep, I wound up reading for nearly an hour (I'm currently reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell which I've had recommended to me several times and which I am nearly ready to recommend to others. Let me finish it first.).

Today I caught up with the weekend newspapers. Ran errands, took a nap with my son. Ignored the piles of laundry, including clean clothes waiting to be folded; sorry John, you have no clean undershirts for tomorrow. Had a lovely dinner of leftovers with our friend AnneMarie. And more of that icecream.