I know I was supposed to write another installment in my green laundry "series" this week, but time got the best of me, and other posts got in the way. But I promise I'll share more early next week. I have some more good things to pass along and a giveaway! :) So be watching.
Summer has suddenly arrived around here and with that the much anticipated filling of the pool. The pool here on my grandparents' farm has been around since the 30s or 40s. Most of it was dug out with work horses and then some excavating tools at the end. It is spring-fed and sucks the breath straight out of your chest when you dive in. But oh, how good it feels on a sticky, hot summer day. The other thing I love about it, is that it hasn't changed a bit since I was a little toddling bare-bummed swimmer many years ago--except for the fact that there's no longer a giant red crab painted on the bottom, and I've sewed new curtains for the girls' side of the pool house. While we wait the few days for the pool to fill, it is like a concrete beach for the girls to play in, the perfect warm-up to refresh their swimming muscles and techniques.
Last summer was the year I sat poolside with a hot, sticky newborn attached to my chest making me sweat in places where I didn't know possible. This year, I've graduated to baby pool life guard and hose-holder. Things are looking up.
Yesterday, the girls swam with two frogs who somehow made it up the drain to hang out in the cool water of the pool. Their panicked squeals turned to curiosity after I gave the frogs names--my trick for making all scary things seem like pals--Besty the bumble bee who flies all over our porch and sometimes in your face, Paul the spider who lives in the corner of our shower, and Charlie the fly who is...basically everywhere and even followed us all the way from Wisconsin to Maryland. The naming thing works like a charm.
This morning I started my last batch of strawberry jam for the season. My chubby-fisted friend will be sorry to see them go. Ive always know she had all the skills and muscles she needed to walk, she just needed the right incentive. This morning, she took four confident steps across the kitchen floor for the big bowl of berries I was holding out to her. My girl's got a thing for the berries.
I just don't recommend giving them to her outside and then letting her crawl around in the dirt...not a good combo, but good for a laugh and a bath in the kitchen sink.
**messy strawberry pix courtesy of my cousin...thanks, Mags!**
Happy Weekend!
m.
