time for tea

tea house, not clubhouse

A pleasant day of leisure~lunch with les parents and a tour of their club house/community center and then, tea with a newish friend.

She introduced me to a new tea shop in the area; one that was displaying her friend's artwork. 

I enjoyed a flight of summery iced teas and a couple hours of chatting.

And now? I feel a nap calling my name.

sky of surreal

My version of red/white/blue for the week. 

This is an actual snap of the molten sky this evening~there are moments that do make one gasp from sheer beauty. A nice way to end the week.

Thursday thoughts

Just some random smart-assedness to describe most of today.

But I made it safely home through a wild thunderstorm and next week is an actual holiday/short work week for me, so blessings surround.

not yolking around

A little surprised as I cut open my egg this morning.

Nordic treats

My colleague knows me and my love of the kitchen, so these were what she brought for me from her trip to Norway. I look forward to savoring each gift in kind.

words, power of

Out running an errand with my scruffy Sunday self and a teen girl approaches me in the freezer aisle to say "ma'am, I have to tell you that you're really pretty."

I'll carry those words with me this week.

harbinger

First nasturtium bloom of the season on my balcony! 

And some very green blackberries seen along the roadside.

the solstice of summer

As the humidity lifted, I stopped by Meadowlark Gardens to stroll around after work.

So many beguiling nooks in which to sit.

Forest of ferns.

The beauty of a butterfly garden; no real ones spotted today, but the silk ones were jaunty.

V. fun whirligigs; I want one to pop out my sun roof while driving.

May your summer be full of lazy afternoons, ice-cold lemonade, and long twilights.

the caring of coffee

A kind student wanted me to try his version of Turkish coffee, so I found this carafe on my desk this morning. Little did I know how much I would need this high-octane beverage to power through the day. 

Did I mention the other admin is on vacay this week? And we're in the process of hiring a few new teachers and we're getting a flood of summer students. All good things, but a whole lotta paperwork and logistics.

But, it does beat those super quiet days. So, that's my joy for this day.

vicinity

Have lost track of how many states we've celebrate Father's Day, but we just added Virginia to the list. It's delightful and handy to be in the same zip code and celebrate in person.

Got to have a short walk in the humidity to view the garden plots at my parents' new property. They even had a community garden, where you're welcome to snip all the herbs you would like.

A good sentence with which to kick off a new week.

with eyes to see

I still am not sure why this room of a David Hockney painting appeals to me so much, but today, I discovered that this exhibit has a 9-minute lighting loop.

After lessons this morning, popped into DC to the Aveda school to get the hairs dealt with. Since I arrived early, got to spend some time roaming the National Portrait Gallery. One of their new exhibits deals with women's right to vote. I didn't know that the earliest ballots were cast for school districts and that women has their own ballet box.

A few orchids are still in the courtyard and they've turned on the floor fountains again.

A bit of Calder whimsy~a breezy day in which miles were walked. Grateful for all of it.

June something or other

another day, another painting

Quote from this morning's reading, penned by Harry Emerson Fosdick:  "Happiness is not mostly pleasure; it is mostly victory." 

some days you feel like a nut

This week got jump started with the building's fire alarm going off at something dark thirty this morning. Fortunately, it was just humidity that set the alarms blaring, but standing in the parking garage in one's jammies waiting for the fire department to arrive tends to make one late for work. At least this is a desk job as I distinctly remember the same thing happening in my Seattle apartment and I was late for my first choir rehearsal at a new job.

Made my first batch of almond horns tonight. The batter is so wet and goopy that the cookies ended up as little blobs instead of crescents. Still tasty.

between the boxes

A quick and quiet weekend of piano lessons, painting, and helping the parents unpack boxes.

Huh. The 3rd time IS the charm.

My first attempt at Hollandaise had some egg white bits in it. Last week's was tooooo lemony. Today's? Perfection.

the serendipity of the sesame chicken

Helped with the tail end the parents move yesterday. As the kitchen was buried in boxes and it was their anniversary, we popped out to see what food is in their new 'hood. Imagine our delight to find an amazing Chinese restaurant with a full veg menu. We may be a few miles from the culinary yumminess of SF, but we've found a new haunt.

Grateful that they and their belongings are safely back here and they're settling in to a gorgeous new community.

bookended with beauty

Some pretty weeds noticed during the morning commute.

Voila~la peinture est fini.

A pretty bit of twilight as my day winds down.

self-soothing

Painting is my newest tool to deal with the atrocious traffic that now bookends my days.

V. pleased with tonight's progress!

delish

While my students have been generous over my entire career, I feel as though the past few weeks, I begin a lot of my posts with "a student gave me". Today's gift was fresh lychee! Not only was it fun to have it again, we got to teach several people on campus what it was and how to eat it. My kind of education.

in which the baby devours chocolate

As my nephew only eats white or tan foods and my middle niece has many food allergies, it is super fun to watch the youngest eat everything.

We had a family dinner tonight with fresh brownies to celebrate the parents' safe arrival in Virginia.

what are years

Was supposed to volunteer at the National Crossword Convention, but just wasn't in the mood to do any kind of customer service. And, as it's been farrrrrrr too long since I've done a city ramble, and! the humidity was low~to The Mall I went.

I suddenly feel the need for a wall of succulents.

I've been walking by this sculpture for years and never noticed this homage to Marianne Moore's poem.

Happy June~may it be a month of fireflies and long lazy naps.