Friday, August 30, 2019

nibbles & noshes


What do you do when you discover a Double Gloucester stuffed wtih chives? You create a dinner around it.


While it's been three years since Bogart left, there are still days I expect him to be around and chattering at me. May seem like an odd posting for a daily joy, but I am grateful for the years I did get with him.

Looking forward to three mornings with no alarm clocks and time with friend and family and festivals.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

evidently, it's the fifth time that is the charm


I will spare everyone the bureaucratic sludge that had me send FIVE affadavits to the DMV for my car's lost title.  It has taken all summer, but finally a shiny new title is winging its way from King County to Fairfax County. So, soon, I shall get to stand in another DMV line to get Virginia license plates. 

Yes, three years later. But who is counting?


Even the butterflies are looking a little ragged at the end of this August. Deeply glad that it's a long weekend.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

it *has* been a quiet week

While it's not Lake Woebegon, it's just a dull campus when the students aren't around. So, here's some food humor for today's joy.





This is a legit question. 



Monday, August 26, 2019

yum



Today, our boss took the admin team out to celebrate our CEA acceditation. 


We went to the newly opened Agora's near the school. Genius design to have the oven right by the front door, so you enter to hot bread.


Yes. Yes,  I did have an entire pan of mushrooms all to myself! It was to be out of the office and nice to see the finished restaurant as I've been walking past it for the past year.


I imagine that we'll return often.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

let's dance






A friend recommend this show: https://www.travelbarefeet.com/my-story (for some reason, the quote marks won't work on my computer, so I cannot embed this link.)

Anyway, it's a great show combining dance/food/travel¬cannot really go wrong with that.



Friday, August 23, 2019

adieu, summer term


Sent a group of students off to cruise the Potomac today~despite the drizzle, they had a grand time.


Most of this group will fly to their respective homes this weekend, but they are all planning on returning next summer.

And Mother Nature decided to let us recover from the onslaught of humid misery by dropping the temps by about 40 degrees. I have all my windows open and am enjoying the chirr of the crickets.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

another round of au revoirs


One group of truly fun students~ready to head back to their respective colleges for the year. They'll return next summer. And they told me that there would be a big problem if they didn't find their photos on our school walls. Goof balls.


Jovana, as well, will return next summer to live with her aunt and begin her university studies. We also said good-bye to one of our best teachers. She is off to China for her next adventure.


And in the next county, a certain 'phew began his 1st grade adventure.

Monday, August 19, 2019

every Monday needs balloons


Clusters of fun all through the school today.



A cute little candle from my boss~freshly returned/tanned from Cancun.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Summer Nights

No, I'm not going to burst out into a song from Grease, but will share the perfect poem about crickets.

Some summer nights you
can hear them getting all
worked up over this idea
of cheerfulness and song.
Deep in the grasses where
they hide, there is a need
to be heard in the darkness,
even if their voices are
so small they sound
like a door creaking on
its hinge, or the squeak
a drawer makes when
it opens up at last.
It seems as if the damp
air and dew are trying
to hold their song down
out of sheer gravity,
but neither dampness nor
darkness makes them stop.
In fact, the crickets like
to show off their song,
to let it lift up off
the earth the way that
all notes rise to the stars,
and float up through the
thick night, as if their
joy itself were the only light
we needed to follow.

“Crickets” by Sue Owen from The Yellow Shoe Poets: Selected Poems 1964-1999. © Louisiana State University Press, 1999.

Les fleurs de la semaine are telling me it's only two weeks until I have a long weekend. Looking forward already to the break.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

something about the sands of time


I've noticed a shift in the light in the mornings now; it's still blisteringly hot, but there's a subtle change beginning. 


Today, the whole family got to gather to celebrate our new 7 yo. I've promised to only call him this nickname in private; he wanted to know why I say it out loud in their home? Told him that I wouldn't never say it in front of his friends/at school/etc. 


His cool new t-shirt from his dad.


From this~our first photo together to today.




Little miss ham-it-up-for-the-camera.


The middle child evidently doesn't hold still long enough for a photo.


Not only the bday boy got gifts today; I came home with a lovely new soap.

Friday, August 16, 2019

voila


Such a small and simply piece of paper that was earned with a lot of blood/sweat/tears/bad words. We tracked the package's progress online for part of the week and then face-timed with our vacationing boss as we opened the envelope.

For those readers who are late to this party~we were just starting the report part of this accreditation process when I switched over to the admin side of things at the school. It was almost four months of compiling evidence and writing reports to submit and then a site visit (in a snow storm, may I add?) in February. 

Then, the committee sent recommendations to us in April~which, luckily we really didn't have anything real to fix. They re-met in early August and issued the certifications.

To say that we're all thrilled/relieved/honored is a small thing to encapsulate our emotions. We will celebrate when the boss lady returns to Virginia.


Thursday, August 15, 2019

presto! pesto!


My plants are enjoying this August miasma~even if the rest of us aren't. Since the basil was towering, it was time to harvest some of it and create pesto.


Made it with cashews, as they were the closest thing to pine nuts in my pantry.  Dinner will be zesty tonight.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

in case you need some,


it's for sale at the Harris Teeter near our school.


La Maman caught a gorgeous shot of this guy on her morning walk.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

halloumi


avant,


apres.


Scored a brick of this delicious cheese yesterday and feasted on roasted goodness. One of my travel dreams is to learn how to make this cheese in Cyprus. I promise to send postcards.

Sunday, August 11, 2019

respite from the rut

Since I'm taking my vacation in November, this year has been a long slog of that daily grind/rut. And, after that lockdown last week? I really wanted a break. So, I scored a last minute AirBnB in the Shenandoah Valley and hit the road to see some Perseids.


Chilaquiles filling my dinner with picante zestiness. Haven't had these for TOO long; I really ought to learn how to make them.


A charming and cosy room.


And a stone Buddha hanging about.



Homemade stained glass light cover in the bathroom. While I didn't see any meteors, it was wonderful to be out of town for a few hours.