5 July 2012
Besides welcoming our beautiful, new grandson in early June, there have been lots of other good things happening during the past month.
I learned the basic ins-and-outs of rock climbing at a local climbing facility called Sportrock. Now, I know, and have practiced, the seven hand holds and the three foot positions of rock climbing. This is something that was on my bucket list and I didn't know whether I'd like it or not. But, I found I really liked the challenge of it, and how my body felt from the effort. It seemed more invigorating than most exercise routines. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to climb with, so I don't see myself doing more. But, I'm glad I took the classes I did, and learned the basics.
I also sewed up a costume for one of our cute young women at church. The youth are participating in a big regional youth conference this year that involves kids from all over northern Virginia, and they're all performing in a huge production. Kim didn't have anyone who could sew her costume, so I offered to do it. She's such a sweet girl, and really smart and talented. I loved doing it for her.
I don't have a photo from the evening, but, we enjoyed going to the outdoor theater at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts on June 29th for a production of
Pirates of Penzance. (Laura and Travis gave us the tickets for Christmas) It was a great cast and a lively performance! Really fun. And, to make the night even more memorable, just as we were leaving, a fierce wind and lightning storm came up. We huddled under the shelter of the concession buildings' overhang (along with a few hundred others) — until the winds died down and the rain let up — before making our soggy dash for the car. The drive home was slow going. Many lights were out along the way and there were trees down all over the roads. We were glad when we were safe at home. Unfortunately, some of the people in the area we drove through didn't have power for several days afterward.
On a brighter note, I'm very excited that I'm FINALLY taking a watercolor class from Catherine Hillis. I've been trying to get into a class of hers for over a year. It seems like the minute one of her classes is listed, it fills up. I'm SO happy I was able to get into this one! We've only had one class so far, but I know I'll learn a lot. (Years ago I tried to take a watercolor class, but had to drop it after only one session because of other things going on in my life at the time. So, I'm excited to try again) The photo above is one the instructor painted — it's definitely not mine. :-)
Look at all these beautiful veggies sitting on my kitchen counter! We signed up to receive 20 weeks of deliveries from a CSA farm in the
area, and have enjoyed having all of this organically-grown produce. After I cleaned these, I just had to take a picture!
For the 4th of July, I cooked patty pan squash for the first time ever, along with preparing most of the other farm-fresh veggies pictured here. I added some of the yellow squash and zucchini to the patty pan squash and cooked them up with butter, sliced onion and a little salt and pepper. Then, I made a big pot of fresh green beans with new potatoes. I also roasted some turnips and a little fennel, and, made a marinated salad of cucumbers, onion, and tomato. Delicious! We did grill a little meat, but the veggies were the star of the show.
