a good mail day.

90/365 - couldn't resist
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...plenty of junk (including an offer from O magazine for SARA - would she be their youngest subscriber, I wonder?) and a nice letter from adpi soliciting senior night photos and letters (gulp, wow, it's coming fast!) - but this package blew me away.

so glad to have a memory from the quilt shop hop even though I ended up not going... and so looking forward to finding something creative to use it for. but mostly, so grateful to have family who are friends and think of me...(and provide me my 90th!!! photo for 2009).

p.s. as I was taking the picture and then writing this post, I couldn't help thinking back to the summer of 2007 when I lived for the mail every day... and recommitting myself to putting some "good mail" in my loved ones' mailboxes more often.

beaufort 2009.

...we had a fabulous time. and I've ordered photos (starting to think about how to document "on paper"), but for the on-line world, the mosaic seems best. these are my favorite photos from my beaufort 2009 set on flickr. each year, I wonder how the next year can possibly be better and this was certainly no exception. so a few of my special memories:

who knew beaufort was just a 5 hour trip from atlanta (if karen's driving)::beauloft looks just the same (thank goodness)::pananis...twice...of course::running to lunch at wren's and being asked by a kind driver "are you ok, do you need a ride?"::walks with karen::phase 10 over and over until I finally won - big!!::knitting::stories (this is actually one of my most favorite parts about these mother-daughters weekends; have so loved hearing my mom's stories...as an adult)::saltus river on a saturday night::giggling::a nancy rhett original of my very own::window shopping::sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures::sea island sunday morning::having a dear friend who will practice bach and play it just for me (and get his choir to sing my most favorite jesu joy of man's desiring for the anthem)::not having to watch the NCAA tournament, but getting texts and phonecalls with updates on the scores (that's the way I like my sports!)

1. do not touch, 2. 79/365 - beauloft, 3. smile, 4. our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, 5. dinner at panini's, 6. phase 10 dice, 7. 80/365 - walking with my sister, 8. spanish moss, 9. lunch at wren's, 10. phase 10 cards, 11. cocktails, 12. dessert, 13. dinner at saltus river grill, 14. 81/365 - grace, 15. family portrait, 16. nancy rhett & mary, 17. the swing bridge swinging, 18. on the beaufort waterfront, 19. mary & polly, 20. dinner at paninis (#2)

thinking about paris.

...is really hard when I'm trying to think about new york (sara and I have made tons of progress on our plans - but we still need to get the 50+ restaurants and shops I've saved in my favorites folder sorted and organized...we've got lots of energy and appetite, but even we can't manage that much in five days!).

so I've been putting off paris plans. confident katie & I can put together the big rocks and little pebbles (hoping anyone who reads this blog is familiar with steven covey's 7 habits :-) to pull it all together in the 4-1/2 weeks between the trips. because I planned last year's nyc trip in less than that. and katie's been to paris. and we have lots of input.

but this morning I saw joanna's post. and spent nearly 30 minutes checking out the links from here. (downloaded this, loved this). and then the book. ...and so did katie. she sent me an email saying we needed to both it before we went (you know, the whole mother-daughter thing). um wow, coincidence? (probably not, I think our "daily read" blog lists have a lot of overlap) but still - - agreed!

very much looking forward to the planning, and the experience. this video was cool, too (and thank goodness francie is studying up on her french!)

(thanks, joanna!)

knitting update.

...yes, there has been knitting. actually quite a bit by my typical standards.

Sara and I were out yesterday, both wearing sweaters I knit - sadly (and maybe for the first time EVER, Sara agrees!) I didn't have my camera!! but I did take a few blurry shots of Sara in her February Lady Sweater.


ravelry link

and I had so hoped to get a photo of my latest project, a clapotis (my first!) for Francie, next to spring-greenery outside. but the rain just didn't cooperate. so this first photo is from the floor in my den (like this one!)

hoping for much more knitting time before NYC to finish clapotis. I hate having too many projects going at once, and NYC is for sure sock territory!

83/365 - on the nightstand

83/365 - on the nightstand
Originally uploaded by mere2007

inspired by this and this (and one other photo that had such lovely colors, and for the life of me, right now, I can't find it again!)

the chair is from my grandmother's house - she re-caned the seat herself and I even have magazine clippings that talk about caning (boy, I hope this version lasts, though - I'm not sure I could manage another one!)

and the pile of books...as usual, out of control. the current one (in the vera bradley cover) is a donna leon that I started before I found out this month's book club pick. and there's another donna leon to read and one I've read, plus the shack (a book club pick I didn't read at the time because I knew I would miss the meeting) and...a few others. a few months ago, the pile fell over (at least twice) and marc moved all the books from the chair to the bookcase. I still need to reorganize that!

promised! another photo - before paris - with fewer books (all ones I intend to read) and maybe ... if I get really ambitious, the bookcase!

{eta I found the inspiration!}

thinking about quilts.

77/365 - pink and green
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...lydia's invited me to tag along for a day of quilt shop hopping with her friends. and I am so excited about it. re-learning how to sew is on my next-year list because I'd like to make quilts (and maybe other things, but certainly hoping grandchildren things - a post for later).

anyway - I am completely in love with the colors and patterns...and - as I'm sure most newbies are? - completely fearless in terms of what I want to make!

I've been browsing websites and blogs and the gentle art of domesticity (christmas gift from andrew), trying to prepare for next week's trip. at this point, I'm honestly not sure what I might end up with. but this photo - first thing I thought when I saw it in my photoshop window..."wow, that looks like a fabric I would love to have in a quilt". stay tuned!

for sara.

...I'm honestly not sure she even reads the blog anymore (sadly, the days of waking up to a surprise post from her are long past....) but she was the first person I thought of when I saw this post on a cup of jo this morning. I visited the website and the blog, and I'm not sure a visit will fit into our nyc plans, but I've bookmarked it just in case. whimsy & spice, in park slope

sara cooks.

sara cooks
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...my photo 365 entry from yesterday mentioned sara cooking dinner. and I'm sure my mom wants to know "what did she make?" (just like she asked from thursday - did they win? and what about the trial?)

in short - she made this wonderful soup and toasted cheese sandwich. completely and totally yummy!

(and no they didn't win, and I finished my testimony on thursday and did fine).

70/365 - new pasta salad.

70/365 - new pasta salad
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...it was a huge hit - and I'm so proud of us for creating it, wanted to share the recipe!

2 # of tri-color cheese tortellini, cooked as usual, then drained and rinsed with cold water
2# grape tomatoes, cut in half
2# fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2" cubes
we mixed all that together (you can see the results in the photo) and added the dressing just before serving

dressing:
1/2 c. basil pesto
3 T white wine tarragon vinegar
2 T water
blend well (we have an old tupperware salad dressing shaker that works great for this)

{thank goodness for costco where all these ingredients can be purchased for a reasonable price!}

this afternoon, I transferred the pasta mixture to a serving bowl (gently breaking up any pieces that stuck together), added the dressing and stirred gently.

it makes a LOT - enough to serve about 15-20 people, I think (who knows really at a tennis match) - if I were to make it for "normal", I'd halve the recipe (or maybe even 1/4 if it were just for two).

69/365 - watching tennis

69/365 - watching tennis
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...love having a warm day! and a win for sara (and the team)!!

square pictures are hard.

...67 days into my photo 365 project, feeling a little better about the photo object itself (I'm sure I'll whine about it again...at least once or twice), but now I'm getting hung up on the format I've chosen for the documentation - ali's calendar - which calls for squares. and honestly...squares are hard.

I've had a few days lately where my favorite photos of the day just can't get cropped to a square and tell the same story. big time yesterday:

the food from lunch (completely yummy all of it - sara says she'll write a review for the high school paper and I hope she does!)


and the gratuitous two of us taken by the lovely manager (two strikes for this one, right, it's a rectangle and I didn't click the button!)

so I ended up with this shot - and I love having the documentation of spring, slowly, finally, arriving, but still!

...and again today:

fun time at mexican to catch up for karen's birthday - no way I could get the whole crew into one square.

so I took this one of sara's february lady sweater to fill the spot. maybe a sign I needed to take a photo of it anyway!

plans for new york.

65/365 - two of us
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...probably not too surprising that a five mile walk leaves much time for talk - about school (going well), about work (still pretty stressed), about tennis (playing both matches next week), and finally...about plans for spring break in nyc. I've decided going back to a place you absolutely loved is harder than going someplace brand new. something about the bar we set last spring has made me hesitant to make new plans ... because they might not measure up.

but on this walk, we talked about that and - at least for me - got over it. and laid the groundwork for a new "list". which will be a lot more organized now that we know where we're going. and a bit shorter on the to-do's and places (really, we have only a few must see/do's this time and a few of those are walks in central park!). but definitely longer on the "eat" part. sara's gotten very skilled at seeking out the best restaurants in the areas we want to visit (east village, soho, west village, chelsea, brooklyn, and on and on) and we've decided we need some sort of ...something!... so we can make the most of our time.

recess until tomorrow.

...words I hated to hear at 5:00 pm when I was sitting on the witness stand (yes, really!) and my attorney had just finished his direct examination. which went fine I guess. but now the opposing side has ALL night to think up crazy questions for the cross-examination. court convenes again at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.

but, being the optimist I am, I've managed to see a few good things about the delay: 1) I have time in the morning to get on the treadmill and respond to the 50+ emails that have accumulated in my inbox since I went to court; 2) by this time tomorrow I will be done (and hoping I never have to do this again); and 3) I have one more opportunity for photos like this one!

60/365 - snow

60/365 - snow
Originally uploaded by mere2007

crazy weather! hard to believe we were in short sleeves on saturday and had rain and thunder. woke up to more rain on sunday and it changed over to snow about noon...and was starting to stick shortly after that. pretty to look at, but really messes up traffic, etc.

just heard no school today. yeah for sara. I'm planning to hang out home until it's light...and hope the sunshine melts away the icy streets.

peachtree invitational.

wow. lots of tennis in the last two days. as we say at work "bottom line on top" - they won. but that's just a small part of the story.

there was the weather - it poured down rain friday and into early saturday morning. we played two of the four matches on covered courts (thank goodness there were covered courts or the whole thing might've been cancelled). but the rain ended and by noon on saturday there were spots of sunshine and a breeze that helped dry the courts. and lots of talk about the snow that's scheduled for today in atlanta :-)

here are photos that tell another part (all on flickr - click for more details).

coach shackleford, alyssa, lindsay, devon, sara, sammi, liz, casey, megan, lauren, mackenzie, holly, christine

lauren, sammi, mackenzie, casey, liz, devon, christine, holly, sara, lindsay, alyssa, megan

team mascot (don't you love his roswell "sweater"?!)

casey, devon, alyssa, lindsay, megan, christine, liz, sara, lauren, mackenzie (ms king with her back turned)



and to end - I enjoyed the time with sara, and the team, and the other parents that were there. truly nice girls, every last one of them and I'm glad sara is part of it all.