Moving to Madison.

...whoa. I never imagined it would be a week before I could post...but the internet was just installed Saturday. and we had things to do ... like make a very last-minute appearance at her company picnic! yep, I got to see her office and the rest of the Epic campus from the inside (2 dots on my fitbit!). Sara's team is located in the lower level of The Barn (part of Farm Campus which is three buildings - the  Barn, the Stables and the Shed). It's decorated in a farm theme on the inside, too. There are sheep that apparently move to new spots each night and a conference room with cowhide upholstery on the chairs. Here's her building

and Sara's office (she shares with another new hire).

and then it was Sunday. I started writing this sitting at the airport (with a glass of wine and a most sympathetic bartender) with the idea I'd post before my flight...and then as soon as we landed. And now it's Monday. I'm back at my kitchen counter. I still haven't written much. So I'm just going to share a few more photos and trust that I'll find my voice soon enough.

Sara's apartment is just off Monroe Street in a neighborhood her company orientation calls "yuppie". fair assessment. and honestly great for this mama to imagine when I'm not there. The building is brand new (hence the delay in internet ... I'm not sure anyone else in the building has internet either). She's on the third floor with a through-the-trees and south-facing lake view. I took these photos yesterday morning. This is the view from Sara's back porch.

And here's the inside. This is the main living room (the kitchen is off to the left).

We hung a few pictures yesterday morning, including these prints of cities Sara's visited. These are on the wall behind the dining table.

Here's the kitchen.

and the bathroom (with another picture we hung yesterday).

(sorry, no photos of the bedroom...Sara hasn't quite gotten everything together there!)

We went out for brunch yesterday...and I'm delighted I have a smiling two-of-us to share.

It was a full week. I'm glad I was there to help her unpack and settle in. even just a little bit. Madison is a great town and Epic seems like a great company. I'm planning another trip back in February. We'll see how I handle the snow!

Safe Travels.

...the view from my driveway about 9:25 this morning.

I posted the photo on Instagram along with the (only slightly) tongue in cheek comment that I hoped Siri had a good night's rest last night. She'll be giving Sara turn by turn directions and sending me texts about every two hours or when a new state comes up. Her last text was from Kentucky. Then there's a good stretch through Indiana before she makes a hard left turn into Illinois to spend the night in Champaign. Tomorrow's drive is - thankfully - a lot shorter.

Since she left, I've walked Holly to the lake (a little over an hour's walk), run with Lauren (about three miles), taken a 75 minute yoga class and been to Costco (for a case of wine and a few other things :-) Tonight Marc and I are going out for dinner with a few friends (celebrating our return to empty nesters!). Yes, I'm planning to keep myself super-busy for the next few days to ease the emptiness. 

She moved out of her college apartment exactly two months ago. Even optimistic me couldn't have imagined then that today she'd be headed out by herself, for a new adventure...in a state I'd never visited. I am so very grateful for all the time we got to spend together; oh my we made some wonderful memories (and we even have great photos to show for it)! And I'll see her again in nine days...

Safe travels, Sara - and if anyone else is reading this post over the weekend, I'd love for you to add your best good wishes onto mine. Thank you!

baking bread with sara.

...another item on my fifty for 50 list done - thanks to sara! baking bread has intimidated me for years, but it's something I've always wanted to do. sara found a super-easy recipe on smitten kitchen. and we did it.

1. the ingredients (plus water); 2. the dough, after about 18 hours of resting at room temperature; 3. a quick mix; 4. resting; 5. into a pre-heated, covered pan for baking; 6. bread!!!

everything that deb said about the bread is true (and we used two hands to handle the heavy hot pot!). we sliced it for sandwiches (pesto mayonnaise, turkey bacon, avocado, tomato and lettuce) and it was delicious.

I will definitely make this again, maybe with some whole wheat flour. thank you sara for pushing me to do this!

the birthday dinner.

...there are many great things about sara going to georgia tech, but when it's her birthday, the best thing is that she's just 45 minutes away and can come home for dinner (and stay the weekend because tech has a bye this week!)

she loves to cook and I love to cook with her - so we enjoyed fixing dinner together. I bought the chicken at costco (seriously, I know ina has a tried-and-true recipe, but this one is way easier, and less expensive - and delicious!) and we added salad with roasted cherry tomatoes and a red wine vinaigrette, roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash macaroni and cheese (I'd been wanting to try this myself since sara posted the recipe a few weeks ago...but a big pan of mac and cheese is too much for me to eat by myself!)

the table does look much more inviting covered with food than with yarn and knitting!

we joked about this being good practice for the thanksgiving meal we'll be preparing in a few weeks. again, for just three. it's kind of hard to cook a really good meal for just three people. so it's a good thing we all like leftovers!

sara didn't request anything special for dessert, and while I suspect she was secretly hoping for cheesecake, I decided to recreate our favorite bistro vg dessert. by ordering three browned butter tarts from the bakery that makes their desserts. I requested three different flavors, one with figs if possible.

and oh my, they did not disappoint.

fig, cranberry and blackberry browned butter tarts

make a wish!

and enjoy....happy birthday, dear sara, happy birthday to you!!!

couldn't resist the close-up shot - and yes, it tastes just as good as it looks!

happy birthday sara!

...happy birthday sara! love this photo of you and that huge smile - you were a happy baby who grew into a fun little girl who grew up to be beautiful woman. I hope today brings you plenty to smile about...birthday wishes, shared laughter with your friends, cake, and maybe even a bit of sunshine.

love you! xxoo - m.

p.s. yes, I knit that sweater!

another summer coming to a close.

...Sara goes back to school on Saturday. and I'm certainly in a much better place this year than last - it helps knowing that Marc and I enjoy being empty nesters :-) and that she's been home over three months (and that I have another very small being to care for). but still, it's bittersweet.

Tomorrow is busy with last minute shopping, laundry and cleaning, so today was the celebration. We saw Harry Potter (quickly - it was wonderful - not as good as the book, of course, nothing could be - the book was the best!) and then enjoyed a(nother!!) very late lunch at Bistro VG.

The food was delicious as always. And I have to say it was a real toss-up about which I enjoyed more - rehashing Harry Potter...or the browned butter fig tart we shared for dessert.

click photos to see more details on flickr

But the best part for sure... sharing a lovely lunch out - and a photo! - with Sara.


Best wishes for the upcoming year, Sara - I'm sure you'll do well (and have fun, too!)

year one. done.

another birthday celebration.

...our fall birthday bonanza continues - we celebrated sara's birthday with all the best things - two lunches out at bistro vg, which means two delicious desserts,

pumpkin bread pudding from the first lunch, back in october

a perfect opportunity to start our thanksgiving planning,

and the second lunch, on friday - if they'd had pumpkin bread pudding on the menu again, we might've ordered it! but the browned butter tart was delicious!

and a two-of-us photo.

gifts,

including a handknitted one.

the 2nd pair of these I've knit for sara - she wore out that first pair last winter!

and, of course, cheesecake

from alpine bakery

with a candle for making that all-important wish.

happy birthday, sara and best wishes for the upcoming year - I'm so glad we got to share the celebration with you!!

happy birthday.

...to sara.

pleased that my photoshop skills have improved this year!

happy birthday, sweet sara - your first one away from home. and while I won't surprise you today with a pumpkin scone for breakfast, I am thinking about you... and promise a few treats and surprises this weekend. love you. xxoo - m.

and now it's sara's turn.

...finally.

Oh, if I had a daughter, sir, I'd dress her in White and Gold,

And put her on the campus, to cheer the brave and bold.

I've been thinking that while this choice might've seemed like a complete long shot - after all, she's interested in cooking (and writing), or she might want to follow a different path from the one her sister took -  maybe her decision was really not so much of a surprise. she excels in math (enough to teach it!).

and she's been a fan her whole life.

sara, 1st grade (I think!)

she's got a great dorm (I still need a photo!), rush started last night, classes start monday, and I hope she loves it as much as she thought she would.

s - so very proud of you. beautiful, smart, funny, the best cook I (might ever!) know, and a smile that never fails to brighten my day. (and love that you're still close enough to have lunch :-) xxoo - m.

knitting and other news.

...happy to report that I finished another sock. and a sweater (yes, alexandria is done! and I have a plan to get photos today to share later). it feels really really good to have all my class knitting done. to wrap up my teaching schedule for october and november, I'm going to re-run the six classes I've offered so far. which means no more preparation required on my part. and that means I have five whole months to knit whatever I want. just for fun. right now, I'm enjoying just thinking about the possibilities of what to start next while I wrap up two lace shawlettes and the mate to this sock.

and the other news.

first - sara has started her own blog. as excited as I am for her on this new venture, I admit to being just a teensy tiny bit sad about the second fille leaving me alone here. mere seule. mere et filles sounds so much better, doesn't it? 

enough whining from me! because the second piece of news is that katie and I are catching up on our ride. we should be back on track for weekly posts this weekend. (side note - I can't believe we are 26 weeks into 2010 - yikes, the year is half over!!)

not knitting.

...that's right - not knitting (well, except for about an inch on a sock wednesday evening, but that really doesn't count, does it?). nope, amazing I know! instead, I...

...finished reading a book - shadow of the wind by carlos ruiz safon. It was amazing. A great story, beautifully written, and now I think I need to visit barcelona (I'm sure I could get katie to come with me!)

...finished my nyc journal - I am so pleased with how it turned out.

it's not quite as full as the one from paris (shown on the bottom), but for a week, I think I did fine. I also uploaded over 70 photos to costco so I can get them into an album. and I did all the laundry, cleaned up the house, bought yarn for my next project and worked a bit.

so now I'm really anxious for some knitting time - but that will have to wait til later - off now to meet my mom & dad for some shopping and lunch. we've got lots to do to prepare for sara's last bit of celebration tomorrow!

celebrating sara.

...one last (at least for now!) "way to go, you!!" post to celebrate sara's graduation. despite the rain, the day turned out perfectly. beginning with a late morning walk while the rain took a break, we proceeded to lunch at bistro vg.

then visited cast-on cottage to check-in on our latest KAL (this photo doesn't capture all the drama - that's another post for another blog!).

got dressed (smiled! and posed!).

and did the ceremony in perfect style. I wrote to several friends today that the rain was really a blessing for us. graduation was in the high school gym - a very small venue (sara gave away two of her four tickets...I was glad it was just marc and me...) and how cool that we made eye contact more than once! I surprised myself - no tears (maybe it was knowing I'd forgotten tissues and all marc could offer was a recycled napkin?)

the best surprise for me was finding this photo on my camera. cloud nine. life is a blur. focus on what's important. . . .

one last "official" photo (that's her real diploma hidden in the green folder)

and then to sage for a very (especially by marc's standards!) late dinner. more good food. and the million dollar cake for dessert seemed fitting.

sara, we love you, we are proud of you. and we wish you the very best in all you do. xxoo - mere.

(p.s. I cried editing the photos and typing this post - and now really have no idea how I managed dry eyes last night :-)

scholarship night.

...one more event that didn't make my list, but should have (this should be the last one - sara's actual graduation has been on my list for months now!). senior scholarship night was last night. we weren't at all sure why sara was invited - not that we're complaining about Hope, but it's common enough that all the students who receive it don't get honored.

good thing we took the invitation seriously. marc and I were both there to see sara receive the female scholar athlete award. this award recognizes the two seniors (one boy and one girl) who play a varsity sport and have the highest gpa.

way to go, sara!

and after last night, I've completely revised my expectations for myself for tomorrow's graduation ceremony (shoot, maybe even for the just us two celebration lunch at bistro vg tomorrow afternoon). I'm hoping to simply maintain a bit of decorum. and I'm bringing lots of tissues.

lots of lovely.

...in our yard. lovely blooms all around.

and sara. ready for prom.

(more photos here)

google weather doesn't lie.

...right? (or at least no more than any other weather forecast!)

this week is looking fabulous for sara, sharing her spring break with katie. and as much as I love them having their sisterly bonding time, I admit to just a little bit of jealousy. springtime in nyc is lovely. and even more so when it's warm. (and being warmer than home. and drier. priceless!)

birthday rewind.

the present.


the cake.


the dinner.


the dinner prep.


...and guessing this might be my last "kid birthday" (wow!) I enjoyed every single minute of it!