clockwork orange

not too long ago, we found the best pair of orange lamps at tj maxx. we had them in one spot but moved them to our bedside tables for now. much better. if you are in need of lamps, i suggest paying the maxx a visit. they have the greatest lamps in yellow, grey, turquoise and orange. i haven't seen their selection this up to the minute and chic in some time. we are hosting a dinner party tomorrow night so i have house stuff on the brain. we have been shopping for the dinner ingredients today and just relaxing on the patio tonight making plans for tomorrow. a fun group of friends coming so i will report on everything afterwards!

go check out tj maxx!

ch-ch-ch-changes

change. that is a word that i have never really liked. i have been through a lot of it in my life. especially in the past 6 or 7 years. but change when you are somewhat in control of it, is more bearable. change that is out of your control or just one of the seasons of life is different. it stirs up all kinds of emotions. and this spring has done just that. as of today, i have been through 2 "transition days" with both children. em is transitioning to the middle school and wil is transitioning to the....upper school? i can hardly type that.

em's transition day was exciting. she had lots to say that morning and that afternoon. pb dropped her off at the middle school on a friday morning, along with all of the other apprehensive 4th grade parents. she spent the day there and returned back to the lower school before dismissal. i started teaching art at the lower school when she started preK. so essentially, our lower school experience has been hand in hand. that friday, i distracted myself with the thought that the 4th grade was "just on a field trip". but their absence on campus and at lunch, was too real to play off as just another field trip. they are moving up and i have to be honest, i am really sad. i have grown with this class. they were my babies when i started teaching them. i pushed them and could get them to do anything artistically. they are a phenomenal group of kids. so yes, it is hard to let them transition to the middle school. i can only imagine what they are going to accomplish over the next few years. selfishly, i want to transition with them.

wil's transition day was today. he had very little to say about it this morning. he was excited about the 9th grader that was his buddy for the day, but that was about all that we got out of him. i could not attend the luncheon that parents were invited to, so pb represented both of us. the report was that wil seemed to be having fun but stayed with his friends. parents were at a separate table. the students prefer it that way at this age. another change that is hard to swallow. out of my control. pb said that he is nervous for wil. it is going to be a different world for him. transitioning from the lower to middle school was no problem. he loved every minute of middle school. as i have said, the life of wil has been good. i'm sure upper school will be just as great but it is going to be different. this seems like the final step out of the cocoon that lower and middle school provided. at his lax banquet on sunday, coach hight called all of the 8th grade players up for recognition. when the mass of boys filed up to the front of the room, i had to look away. i remember when these boys had paint on their faces at the thanksgiving feast in preK, when they were dressed as turkeys in 1st grade, when they had their 3rd grade stores, when we walked to the marine armory for toys for tots, the pumpkin patch, their trip to the capitol, and when they goofed off and thought they were so big at the end of the year party before leaving for middle school. and now.

transition. change. words i really do not love. but part of the seasons of life. it is bittersweet.

grass is always greener

in our case, this is true. we are having pizza and one of best fires ever tonight because it got really chilly here today. despite the wind, pb has maintained a brilliant fire. had to credit him with that. so while eating, sipping some wine and talking about our monday, we somehow ended up on the subject of our grass. now mind you, we only have about a 6 x 12 foot area of grass in our back yard. and when we moved here, it was lovely. for about a month. and then it died. and ever since, we have watered and encouraged, but nothing but brown weeds and dirt have grown. the front yard is perfect because it gets full sun all day. the back is mostly in the shade. we talked with our landscape guy about sodding it but this was pretty pricey even though the area is small. the price is determined by his cost and how much he has to buy, despite the small amount we might need. i get that. sooooo, we are trying to figure out another option. zoysia is the recommended grass for this climate and a shady area according to our guy. we have been looking on the internet. pb has his idea about how he would like to plant some grass seed. hmmmm. good thing it's not a friday or saturday night, or any weekday summer night. we have been known to stay up late and solve all sorts of problems and make incredible plans under the right conditions. but tonight, just looking for some input or suggestions from anybody with knowledge in this area.

say cheese

here is one of our recent purchases that has turned out to be fun for our whole family. a few months ago, pb ordered a fuji camera that is essentially a polaroid camera. polaroid, as a company, does not exist anymore, hence the fuji version. anyway, it's an old school instant camera and we have used it often to catch each other in the moment and to document our everyday life in a sort of way. the kids love to shoot it. we have amassed quite the collection of photos and are trying to decide what to do with them. they were being taped, one by one, on the pantry door and we had a great collage going. until we started hearing them hit the floor in the middle of the night because the tape was not adhesive enough. we want something clever because they make a great conversation piece. we are thinking...
if you or anyone you know likes photography or just taking photos of life and the ones your with, this is a great purchase. they sell for under $100.00 and the instant film is reasonable too. happy shooting!

a rainy night in georgia

it has been raining here all day. after the string of beautiful days we have had, i must admit that i was glad when i woke up to the thunder and steady rain this morning. ahhhh...no pressure to get up and do anything. wil's last lacrosse matches were cancelled. we were sad about that. but this meant we could crawl back in bed and sleep until everyone woke up. i read the email cancellation at about 8:15 so i just knew that we had another hour or so before any movement was heard upstairs. i got back in bed and settled in just as em came down the stairs and tried to whisper,"MOM". she wanted to know if she could go with larry, her grandfather, to kroger?? are you serious?? but i had forgotten that she was going to spend the day with them in the midst of the blissful saturday morning rain and chance to sleep in for the first time in months. so i got up for the 2nd time and made sure she had brushed her teeth, put on something other than what she had slept in and waited with her for larry. she was excited because em likes a day with a plan. she likes having something to do and she likes doing things with larry and nana.

as soon as she ran out the door, i tiptoed back to bed. and could not go back to sleep. i tried. i kept thinking about how great the rain sounded and how long it had been since we didn't have a game to get up for on a saturday morning. but all i could think about was coffee. and coffee that i could sit and enjoy because now we had nowhere to be. there is something to be said for being the first one up and enjoying the quiet rain while finishing a whole cup of coffee.

wil finally woke up about 11:00. he shouted, "MOM", as he panicked because it was 11:00. and then the "wait! what about my games??" followed with an equal amount of panic. it's comforting that some things just remain constant. i can always count on the response of "what??" or "wait, what??" when the plan changes for wil. "your games are cancelled", was my response. and i wanted to say, "i can't BELIEVE that you are just now waking up and panicking over this". the life of wil.... "oh, ok" he mumbled, as he went back to bed. he had a late night last night. his jazz band from school had travelled to west georgia to compete in a festival and play with the college jazz band. they met and heard an esteemed jazz musician/famed drummer from cuba. it was quite the honor for their band and a big day. anyway, since he had an all day "gig" yesterday and the "band" didn't roll back into town until late last night, i let him sleep.

the day continued at about this same speed with more of the same predictable antics from wil and em. nice to have some things remain constant and nice to have a day to slow down and enjoy them. and i would like to say thanks to photo boy for getting out of bed tonight to get the power cord for the dying laptop so i could finish this. thank you, pb.

little hands

i want to share some artwork that we had on display at the lower school today. children's artwork is so precious. and if they can get caught up in the moment and not worry about the end product, i, as their teacher, feel like we have nailed it. the way a child is uninhibited by mixing colors, unafraid to show emotion and truly excited about creating art is inspiring. i love seeing the movement in their brushstrokes on paper when nothing is fixed or smoothed over for perfection. i love seeing the pencil lines that they tried but couldn't erase. i would like to thank all of the children that shared their talents with family and friends today. nice job.

mixtapes

what is it about having someone make you a mixtape? or now......a mix cd. there truly is an art to it. i have a friend that lives in nashville. several years ago, when we both had more time, we would send each other cd's with our favorite new tunes all the time. it was always a challenge to see who could find the latest, greatest music. living in nashville gave her the advantage. but we would pull from our itunes libraries and find some old stuff that we had forgotten about too. usually the kind of songs that made us remember places we had been, things we had done, and people we knew. it could get kind of nostalgic and sappy. i loved getting that thin little package in the mail! sweet. nothing like some fresh music. i couldn't get it in the car and drive or on my ipod fast enough. and the playlist usually reflected exactly where we were at that point in our lives.

in high school, my friends and i would make mixtapes for each other and for boys. those were the kinds of tapes that had songs with messages and emotion. the songs were chosen for their specific lyrics. i cringe when i think about the seriousness of it all.

all of this has come to mind today because pb made a cd for me. he's the one with the latest, greatest stuff now. we used to make each other cd's and compete over this frequently. again, amusing to go back and listen to the well thought out playlists we both made. lately, i have been in need of some new tunes and he is lucky enough to have a few newer and better resources.

what is it about having someone make a playlist just for you? it's just cool knowing that someone took the time to pick out songs that you would like or reminded them of you. it is the little things, pb.

fed up with pollen?

i am. i love spring but this element of it is killing me right now. i'm sure it has nothing to do with amount of time we spend on the patio or taking long walks downtown. it's a trade off, i suppose. and the price i am paying for enjoying a fire on the patio last night is having to collapse in bed by 7:00 tonight. i didn't have to twist any arms for company either. pb and pumps are right here with me. i will say that after a long day at school and an early dinner, having to collapse while it is still daylight is just what i needed. this and the spicy salsa we had at dinner because i couldn't taste anything else. one suggestion before i am completely absorbed in the comfort of our amazing bed, drink some green tea if you are suffering too. it is helping my throat and full of antioxidants. if i am not feeling better tomorrow night, i am switching to red wine for my antioxidants.

pumps is already dreaming.

i saw the light...

ohh, wil...
this is our 3rd year to enjoy the darlington lacrosse season and as it comes to a close this weekend, we are reflecting. and as it seems, so is wil. the first year he played, the team consisted of 6th graders for the most part. i think they were into all of the cool accoutrements more than the actual sport. but they practiced diligently and they improved. all while trading parts for their lacrosse sticks and learning how to restring a lacrosse head in the newest, coolest way. their first season, they scored 2 goals...all season. this year we have only lost 3 matches and have been called "one of the best middle school teams around".

last friday night, before the 3 game marathon day, wil watched "the blind side". he has not wanted to see this movie for some reason. em had seen it and talked him into watching it with her. if you know them, there is no telling how that conversation went down...i'm sure someone bribed someone and then they watched the movie. and wil lost his mind. pb compares the experience that wil had to his own as a kid after seeing "hoosiers" or even more impressive, "footloose". pb was "changed" by the experiences and when wil took the field on saturday, he was a changed man too.

as i mentioned before, wil is a very cautious player. he stays in his comfort zone and guards the man that he is appointed to guard. he said that when he was out there on the field this past saturday, he just kept thinking about that movie and how anything he did or didn't do to play his part, would affect his team. i think i hear angels...

so he seized the moment as a changed man and went after his man like a good defender with the coolest stick should. his aggression may have sent him to the penalty box, but everyone cheered. that is just the kind of team and coach he has. they are good kids. and we were cheering louder than anybody...

it doesn't really matter how many pep talks you hear or how many times you hear that there is no "i" in team. until you get it, you don't really understand how important it is that you do your part. it's way cool to have the latest stick or most awesome gloves but until you have that "hoosier" or for some, that "footloose" moment, you don't really get it.

as we end this 8th grade year, we just have to smile at all that wil has done and said. oh to be 14 again and have the life of wil...not a care in the world, loving school, loving his friends, loving life. and we imagine that when he laid down in bed saturday night, he reflected on his play that "saved the day"... and his new favorite movie, "the blind side".

love you, mean it.

the most beautiful sunday ever...

there is literally not a cloud in the sky today. it is 72 degrees and a picture perfect day. i am battling the effects of the pollen but somehow not deterred from sitting outside while pb smokes a chicken and some sort of sausage he was dying to try. he is making his killer guacamole tonight and we are having that with smoked chicken tacos. yum. it smells delicious!
we stopped by tj maxx on our way to the grocery store earlier today. we had a couple of really cool finds that i had to share. one being these great baskets that we hung on our railing on the front porch. they aren't old, which i would prefer, but they have the look. we are trying to decide what to plant in them. any ideas? we talked about some bright green sweet potato vine and white verbena. it needs to be something that will grow and hang over the edges of the baskets and be eye-catching against our brown house. hmmm...
the other find we had today was a pair of foo dogs. they are red and for some reason just caught my eye. we are trying them on the floor in front of the fireplace on top of some books. i love them! i get so excited about a find like this...$12.00 for the pair! i secretly want to be a personal shopper. i would love to have a shopping mission for somebody. either for their home or wardrobe. i would search the antique malls and places like tj maxx or target for finds that are affordable but still unique enough that no one would believe it came from there! the nashville flea market is on my summer "places to go" list when i pay a visit to liz. imagine the finds!
the sausage is done and oh my goodness...it would be so amazing on a pizza with feta and fresh tomatoes or spinach. we will have to try that next time.
happy sunday!

saturday in the park, i think it was the 4th of july

what a day this saturday has been. it began for me with an earrrrly morning walk and then several cups of coffee before heading to ridge ferry park. pb and i had to be there at 9:30 for em's crbi (coosa river basin initiative) 4th grade quiz bowl tournament. 8 students were chosen from her class to compete with other 4th graders in our area in a bowl game. the subject: rivers. and stuff related to the rivers in rome and surrounding counties. following that, wil had 3 lacrosse games. the tigers won 2 and lost 1. wil got sent to the penalty box. amazing. we loved it. following that, we took pb's mom, kiska, to dinner for her birthday. she and lizzie came for the lax game so we decided to do dinner afterwards. her birthday was in...january. we came home after crbi-lacrosse blowout day, showered and met liz and kiska at harvest moon for the very belated celebration. julia joined us as well. just for kiska, we requested our favorite waiter, luis, to wait on us. he is from equador and the stereotypical latin hot guy...in a good way. kiska is a fan.
it was a fun-filled day followed by a great dinner. quality time with family and good friends. i think kiska enjoyed the food, beer and company. and the waiter. dessert was several forks and a plate of chocolate goodness. feliz cumpleanos, kiska!

"...can you dig it? yes i can. and i've been waiting such a long time, for today...."

for the girls

a must have find for spring is essie's "california coral". it's the perfect color for your toes! it's exclusive for j. crew but well worth the shipping and handling if you aren't lucky enough to have a store near you. i picked it up over spring break in asheville when it was still freezing and i was wearing boots. have been waiting to christen my toes with it. it's the new "cajun shrimp". enjoy!

i feel like i just ate the sun...

if you haven't seen abc's modern family, watch it next week. it might be our favorite show ever! to try and explain it or recap various episodes simply won't do it justice. wil loves to recap everything he thinks is funny on t.v. while endearing, we are for the most part lost, when this occurs. there is a lot of "uh, huh. ohhhh. hahaha." in our honest attempts to be interested. who knows how much longer he will want to tell us things? so we listen. anyway, back to modern family. the cast just has that something that makes it work. the one liners are amazing. one that comes to mind...the mom is worrying that she is smothering the kids. the husband affectionately reassures her that it is ok. "the word mother is in 'smother'. nobody ever complained of being 'sfathered'." it is simply hilarious. pb missed it last night while in nashville so i laughed out loud for 30 minutes by myself. watch it. wednesday nights at 9:00.

friendship

"cultivate friendships instead of collecting them. deepen and clarify existing relationships before adding new ones. go slowly in getting to know someone, allowing the friendship to unfold rather than burst into bloom. share your secrets sparingly; guard the secrets others share with you. invite friends into your home thoughtfully and as a meaningful gesture of friendship. nurture and protect the lives around you."

stay classy sal!

so pb's sister, liz, a.k.a. sal, LL, and "liz lemon!!!", is moving to nashville. we are glad and sad. she's been wanting this for some time so it's a good thing. we will miss her being in rome with us though. em is particularly sad about this. she and sal (step aunt lizzie) made the greatest snow-woman in february this year. we had the most beautiful snow day rome has seen in a long time. em took off to sal's to get her to play in the snow that day. the snow-woman took a lot of time to create and em had a blast. making memories with sal....what a day. she was most impressed with the fact that liz had a real carrot to use for the snow-woman's nose. i think their creation lasted a day until wil somehow defiled the snow-woman and added some parts that shall remain unmentioned. needless to say, a good time was had by wil, em and sal.

liz's move will change our life in many ways. we will miss having her in our backyard but how fun is it going to be to visit her in n'ville? can't wait. however...an immediate effect that comes to mind is thursday morning when pb is moving her and not here to take wil to school. he usually takes him to the middle school while em and i head the other direction to the lower school. the fact that he will have to ride with em and me and not get to leave on his regularly scheduled time is going to rock his world a bit. i'll probably go the "wrong way" because it won't be the way pb takes him to school. he'll have to fight with em over the front seat, usually not an issue on his typical days. oh, the stress that he has in his life. oh, the havoc that is about to be wreaked on our lives.

we'll miss you lizzie! so happy for you and we wish you the best in nashville.

man's best friend

so today was the day that photo boy decided to take pumpkin, our cat, to the vet. pumps' day started out like any other day for him. he was up and eating breakfast at 4:30, then scratching and clang-clanging the blinds at the back door to go outside for the "first" part of his morning. this is his routine. it really doesn't vary unless it is raining and then, he is in and out several times at 4:30, utterly disgusted with the world and life. he likes his routine. and today was such a lovely spring day for him. he came in at lunch when pb came home for lunch. they bonded just like they do every other day while eating. bonding time was followed by a nap as pumpkin retreated to his regular spot on our bed. pb let him have a few moments of napping and then put him outside until the trip was to take place. pb went back to work. pumps settled into his outside napping spot in the bushes.

a few hours later, the hunter returned for his prey. he had been studying his outdoor springtime habits these past few days and knew exactly where he would find his victim. pb opened the back door and affectionately called, "pumpers, pumpers, come here buddy". obliviously and faithfully, he answered the call of his "master". pb gingerly picked him up and carried him inside. the trap was already set, the kitty carrier turned up on its end with the door open so pumps could easily be dropped in. the plan was foiled when pumps caught a glimpse and went "spread eagle". then i am guessing, just guessing, there was a lot of cussing and meowing from both master and "buddy".

the car ride was brutal. pumps was singing the blues the whole way to culbreth, carr and watson. once they made it there safely, pb carried the victim inside and waited until they called, "pumpkin moore". this still makes me laugh. now, there are notes on his chart to sedate him if needed. "w/o", translated "watch out", to be exact. the vet did the exam and asked if pb could leave him for the bath and necessary sedation. he did and all was successful. he was fluffy and bright orange at pick up time. he would not talk to pb for several hours following the trauma.

with some time to recover, he is now resting in his master's lap, tired from a day that was not in his plans.

disclaimer: all photos are original documentation of today's events. no animal or human was injured or harmed during the photo sessions.

where did sunday go?

what a beautiful spring day. photo boy had a shoot that took up most of his day and i was at home doing things to get ready for another week of school, work, etc. he got home just in time to catch the last part of the masters, so all was good. em cooked dinner tonight, which was quite impressive. she peeled potatoes, chopped them, added them to a pan with a little olive oil and cooked til almost done. next, she added some chicken and secret sauce. she stirred until all was ready. she served this with edamame seasoned with a sprinkle of sea salt. if you know em, you understand that there is no helping her. when she decided that she wanted to cook dinner, she meant she was cooking dinner by herself. all i could do was stand back and watch, thinking to myself how much i hope she always has that independent and tenacious spirit. even though at times, i think it is going to kill me, what a gift for a girl to possess. the possibilities...

our dinner was followed by a bike ride downtown. i walked while the three amigos took off on there bikes to meet me at town green by the fountain. i went the long way and when i got there, they were nowhere in sight. after a few trips around the block, i spotted some familiar hats turned backwards and met up with them. seems photo boy had taken them the long way. he was pointing out various places with the hope of convincing them that they could ride to these places on their own this summer. no wil, he explained, this did not mean that we were never going to drive them to the pool again. but wow! how cool is it that you live downtown and can hop on your bike at anytime and go by yourself to meet a friend? if you know wil, then you know there is no convincing him. you have to stand back, let him mull it over, and come to the conclusion himself. again, all i could do was stand back, let photo boy handle this one, thinking to myself how much i relate to that cautious and pensive spirit. photo boy is just the person to help him grow. the possibilities...

a lax day

today the darlington middle school lacrosse team traveled to chattanooga to play baylor and webb at baylor. photo boy and i pulled out of rome at 9:40 with a cooler full of water bottles for the team and our directions to baylor in hand. the team left at 8:30 for the first game which was to begin at 11:00. i've been to "chatt" so many times that i was sure we would make it to baylor on time and that i probably didn't need the directions that photo boy had suggested i print.

we were making good time, enjoying the drive and listening to some tunes when we got to downtown chatt. I tossed the directions in the back seat, rolled down the window and proceeded to direct pb downtown, past a lot of cool restaurants, past the aquarium and over the tennessee river. all the while pointing out how great chattanooga is and how we need to come here and visit more often. there are 4 bridges downtown and i was sure that we were on the right one. as we crossed the river, we hit fraizer avenue and the very hip area know as "north chatt". hmmm. this wasn't mentioned on the directions. "keep going straight", i directed. hmmm. nothing was looking familiar. i had been there before. it had to be close so we kept going. i had a feeling we had gone over the wrong bridge but how does one back peddle and reach for those directions in the floorboard without paying for it dearly? let's just say, we got there. we might have been twenty minutes late and more familiar with chattanooga than we were before today, but we were there.

the baylor school is beautiful. our boys won both games. and with a little bribery as motivation, wil stepped out of his comfort zone, put his usually cautious nature aside and left of his defending position on the field. he yelled, 'midi back!", and took the ball down the field. no score, but he moved that ball. thanks pb, your sideline motivation and quiet coaching truly demonstrated the power of the dollar, or in this case, dollars. hmmm.

good games boys!

4th graders and the capitol

photo boy and i took our first trip to the georgia state capitol today. yes, believe it or not, neither of us had ever been there. we have driven past that golden dome many a time in atlanta. in fact, the last time i saw it was in route to the krispey kreme on ponce de leon. i was with my good friend and college roommate. it was a saturday morning this past january . we were taking our children back to the place that we had stopped so many times on a late night driving home to agnes scott from georgia tech. i'm sure that photo boy's last siting was equally as exciting and unrelated. anyways.........back to the trip. today we had the privilege of taking the darlington class of '18 to the the capitol. we took a "leisure time" bus, which was amazing. the actual tour of the capitol, however, was anticlimactic. and the tour guide was blah. but the kids were great, the chaperons were great, and the weather was even greater. we got to jay-walk in front of a policeman in downtown Atlanta to get back to the bus. because we had places to be...the varsity. yum. hot dogs, onion rings and ice cream were followed by a quiet ride on the leisure time bus back to rome. photo boy and i reflected on our day by the fire on the patio tonight. undoubtedly, a stellar group of kids. we toast you, class of '18. you are indeed a polite, well-rounded, cool bunch of kids.

from "entre nous"...

your self-image is a reflection of your inner life. how do you cultivate your inner beauty so that it shines through?
"you nap. because napping is more delicious than sleeping, and its undeniable pleasures will always reflect well on you."

clean shave

for the strangest reason Em has always wanted to shave my face. maybe she wants to be a barber when she grows up??? i don't know....
my easter gift to her this year was granting that wish. it's the little things in life.

every little thing is gonna be alright

sans clouds

not a cloud in the sky today. pb

on discretion....and a target find

"think before you speak. leave some things unsaid. respect secrets. consider your life your personal currency-and invest it wisely. resist the impulse to turn over other people's stones. cultivate the art of saying 'no' with mindfulness. make decisions from your own center. be wary of shoulds. exercise deliberateness in all decisions. stay on the high road but make room for compassion. bring unconventional wisdom into your life. go gently against the grain."

go to target and check out the new liberty of london things. the greatest clothes, boxers, bathing suits, dishes and bedding. it is going fast and i almost missed it! pg

our green thumbs

we decided to take advantage of the incredible weather today and work in the yard. after several cups of coffee this morning, we headed out to home depot to survey the arrival of spring plants, flowers and herbs. last year, we had the best marigolds planted around our lamp post. we faithfully "dead headed" them as they needed it and saved all of the dead flowers to dry for the seeds this year. we knew we wanted to scatter these seeds somewhere but had several pots to fill as well. we ended up with an assortment of lemon yellow petunias, snapdragons, new guinea impatiens, basil and rosemary for our herb planters. we also planted a blueberry bush and some cilantro seeds that were and easter present from my mom. photo boy smoked ribs for our easter dinner and they were spicy goodness. another fire on the patio tonight, no school tomorrow. jealous? pg

about last night

yesterday was a perfect day. nothing extraordinary happened but it was just one of those days. the kind that ends with you thinking how perfect it was and how you know that you will look back and really remember it. it was good friday and a half day of school. we went to an easter egg hunt, i painted my nails on the patio, photo boy napped, the cats napped and then we went downtown for dinner outside to celebrate. we ended the night by the fire on the patio reminiscing about childhood things, people we love, making adult plans, talking about summer and listening to the cheesiest play list that photo boy has created yet. it was indeed a perfectly content day. and here are some tunes from the soundtrack at the end of our perfect day: pg

copacabana, 1978 barry manilow
whenever i call you 'friend', 1978 kenny loggins
you make me feel like dancing, 1977 leo sayer
let's go all the way, 1986 slyfox
everybody everybody, 1990 blackbox
sing, 1973 the carpenters
africa, 1982 toto
holding back the years, 1986 simply red
true, spandau ballet
ring of fire, johnny cash
if you leave me now, 1976 chicago
how long, 1975 ace

entre nous

this might be my favorite book. i bought it several years ago and i pick it up all the time just to refer back to the things i loved about it. it's a little book about the french way of life and that "je ne sais quoi" that certain people seem to possess. it covers every aspect of living. i love it. several of my best friends own it now as well. there is the greatest stuff in this book that i would love to share from time to time. just assume that if it has quotes around it, it is from this book. enjoy your good friday and weekend...pg

on children and time: "i believe that boredom is one of the most formative experiences in childhood. kids must learn to be creative on their own instead of constantly being entertained and distracted. they must take time to be children. they must learn the fine art of doing nothing in particular."

my tunes

take a listen to a cd called 'live at xx merge' by lambchop. good stuff. pb