A walk in the park.

There is nothing like spending the day in a beautiful park, hiking the trails and climbing on rocks. And there’s nothing like spending the day with Andrew and the boys – the rest of the world a billion miles away.

We’re looking forward to a peaceful holiday weekend. And we wish the same to you.

Thirteen songs (on vinyl) that we played this week…

1) I Started a Joke – The Bee Gees
2) Baba O’Riley – The Who
3) If 6 Was 9 – Jimi Hendrix
4) Queen Jane Approximately – Bob Dylan
5) Ramble On – Led Zeppelin
6) Dead Flowers – The Rolling Stones
7) She Came in Through the Bathroom Window – The Beatles
8) Crazy Blue Eyes – Lacy J. Dalton
9) Left Bank Express – Maynard Ferguson
10) Hard Headed Woman – Cat Stevens
11) Dixie Chicken – Little Feat
12) And When I Die – Three Dog Night
13) Russian Lullaby – Jerry Garcia

Summer of aught seven.

I don’t know how I came across the article, No, You May NOT Have A Sno Cone of Death, but I did. It’s a rant about chemicals and unhealthy foods and rip-offs. And while I agree that $2.00 for a cup of ice with colored flavored chemicals is a bit silly, snowballs (as we call them here) are a staple of summer. They are the perfect dessert after steamed crabs. On special nights, we’ll get chocolate syrup or Nerds on ours.

And sadly, the local snowball stand – the one by the hardware store – will close next week. Summer is over.

The pool is only open another few days.

Already, it seems like Fall. School is back in session here and it’s going great. We have plans for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur all arranged. The NCJW Fall KickOff event invitation came today. The Ravens vs. Redskins exhibition game was the other day. So football season is really here.

And, horrors of all horrors….

It’s time to start wearing long pants again.

This year, I discovered walking shorts. They’re a little longer than Bermuda shorts, I think. Whatever they are, I think they’re a flattering length on me. They’re comfortable, yet cool. They look great with a wedge sandal.

I am not ready to put jeans and slacks on. I’m just not.

I’m not denying that there are benefits to long-pants-season. Not shaving my legs, for one.

But the freedom and the lazy schedule and the traveling and the giggling with the kids. And the sleeping late.

Over.

Okay, I can still giggle with the kids. And honestly, I don’t sleep late anyway. But I could.

I’m dreading the early darkness. I hate that. But, I love cuddling up with the boys and reading great stories together, night after chilly night. And, I’m looking forward to the lima beans at the farmers market. And the crisp smell of the autumn air.

And the apples. I can’t wait to make applesauce.

I’m going to hate to see Fall go.

Long live the queen.

So we’re back on school schedule. And while we’ve been a little lax about making sure the kids did all their jobs this summer, that is so over.

So when I got a feed with ChoreWars in it, it totally piqued my interest. It’s like Dungeons and Dragons for families (or others) to accomplish chores. So I’m Queen Mum. The rest of my family consists of the Prince of all Choredom, Wide Mouthed Eagle, Prince Davis III, and last, but not least, the King of All Cooking.

Everyone gets points for their chores. After some chores, there are challenges with dragons and rodents and such. Pride and gold can be had.

This appears to be very motivational in my house. Maybe it’s because we have a strict no electronics rule (except for schoolwork) during the week when school is in session and this allows for a little computer time. Or maybe it’s because it’s just fun.

I’m thrilled that all the beds are made, the cats are fed and the laundry is put away.

Let’s see how long this bliss lasts.

Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down.

Today was the first day of school. Some parents eagerly await this day. Some parents fix the lunches with a smile and gently shove the kids out the door so they can be transported to that educational facility that will help mold and shape their young ones into independent, strong, and well-informed little people.

But not me.

While I value education tremendously, I miss the boys all day. I was sad packing lunches this morning. (They were really healthy lunches, too. Let’s see how long that lasts!)

I had a tear in my eye when the buses pulled away from the corner.

But they’re home now – with smiles and stories to share. And aside from the huge pile of forms for me to fill out and sign, I’m happy.

And I got to thinking about Gnightgirl and her son Brian. If it was this hard for me to send my kids a couple miles away for 6 hours….

I’ll never look at our postal carrier the same.

On the D.C. metro the other day, I saw this advertising poster. I almost laughed out loud. (A serious faux pas on the metro, I might add.)

What could be more exciting than a postal exhibit? Postal Inspectors: The Silent Service.

Who’s with me?

And today, some shocking news.

Lindsay Lohan is addicted to alcohol and drugs.

Stop the presses.

Help me settle a bet.

Andrew and I disagree about my last post. (Ding. Dong.) So can you help me out?

<a href=”http://wscherer.wufoo.com/forms/wwyd/” title=”HTML form”>Fill out my Wufoo form!</a>
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SATURDAY UPDATE! 75% voted YES and 25% voted MAYBE...

Ding. Dong. It’s your Avon Lady.

I got a mass email from the elementary school PTA. It was sent to all the officers and committee chairs (and maybe more). Last year, I was a co-chair of Cultural Arts, so I think that’s why I was on the list.

The email asked that each person make (or buy) an item for the staff luncheon to be held the day before meet the teacher day. (The luncheon was today.)

I offered to make a cake. Why I would offer to make a cake in the heat of August is a little hard to fathom, but I did.

So the day before yesterday, I made the layers. They came out nicely. Chocolate. What else is there?

Yesterday, I spread a strawberry jam between the layers and the boys helped me spread milk chocolate icing around the sides and on the top. It looked great. I sprinkled some nice decorating thingies on the top. And voila!

Last night, on the way to poker, I planned to drop the cake off at one of the two homes specified on the note. Though I figured I’d recognize both women, I couldn’t place the names. No worries.

I drove to the neighborhood where they both lived. It’s a beautiful sprawling neighborhood with spacious homes and tall trees. Checking the mailboxes along the road, I found the house ending with 43 and I needed 41 but there was no number on the mailbox. I pulled in.

Perhaps I should mention that I haven’t been wearing my glasses as much as I should. And, that I might have been a bit overconfident about the name of the street.

Okay. Back to the story. I parked. I walked to the front door and rang the bell. A woman answered and her young son clung to her leg. I remember those days.

She smiled broadly. “Thank you,” she said, “thank you!”

“Julie?” I asked.

“No.”

Yikes. Well, I explained that I was at the wrong house and that the cake was for the PTA Teacher lunch and I’m sorry to have bothered her and did she know if that was Julie’s house next door?

“No, I just moved in this week,” she said.

Oh, poop. This woman thought I made her a cake to welcome her to the neighborhood. But instead, I snatched that good feeling right away. I felt like crap.

I asked her if she had any elementary school kids. She does. A first grader. I said I’d see her at school. Nice to meet you and all that. And I’m sorry again for bothering you.

I just took this pie out of the oven. It’s a crumb-top apple pie. I’m taking over to that woman to welcome her to the neighborhood.

Who’s in a hurry?

I love Cabot Cheese. So this morning, in their newsletter, I saw the Who’s in A Hurry Recipe Contest. This is what they said:

Ever feel like life is one constant balancing act between family and work, exercise and diet? Do you find it difficult to slow down and savor the moment? Good news! Relief is just a recipe away.

Enter the WHO’S IN A HURRY? RECIPE CONTEST and win a lifetime chance to pamper yourself and a loved one for five glorious days at one of Vermont’s foremost spa resorts. Visit www.whosinahurry.com. Good Luck!

I can’t enter because I do some research for them. But you can! Send me a postcard if you win…