Hello Friday.

I’ve seen a handful of you lately but it’s been a while since I documented you in this blog post.

It’s back to the routine in a host of other ways – meals to prepare on my own, stories to write, kitchens to clean, work to do – so I guess it’s high time I stick to the schedule here too.

 

 

funny

 

1.  The jokes we made in the car at Hour Fourteen on the Road on the last day.
2. The new season of Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix.  It’s not as funny as the first season – which I’m sort of thankful for.  I have no desire to binge watch six episodes beginning at midnight.  I’m satisfied with one episode every couple of days.  Much more manageable amounts of humor.
3. This really weird horse head that Jon keeps in his garage – for what, I don’t know.  Moments like this, I guess.

 

 

fashionable

 

I peeked into the Title Nine store again while we were in Colorado Springs because it’s full of just all of my favorite types of dresses and skirts.

I bought nothing.  (Please applaud my self restraint with me.)

But look at this fabulous simple little skirt.

 

 

Those are built in shorts under there.  Which is a bonus and I love that feature.  Because you just never know when you are going to need to do a cartwheel.  (A hotel lobby.  The boardwalk at Audubon’s state park.  Emma’s front yard.  Rocky Mountain National Park.  You know.)

 

flavorful

 

After returning from a trip, one of the worst parts of getting back to the grind is food preparation.  It’s not that I mind meal time or feeding kids or fixing dinners.  It’s that I cannot stand that very first back to the grocery store outing.  I was thrilled and ecstatic that hannaH had supplied our basic needs and we had food for a few days.  But I’ve yet to make the journey to the store yet to really restock our cabinets.  And I don’t want to.

I will, of course.  But so far we’ve found some interesting options in the freezer and in the recesses of the cabinets.

Which means, my mental resources for thinking of a flavorful option this week are scant.

However.  One of my favorite summer treats – and one that I especially love for my friend Amanda to make and for me to consume – is Fruit Salsa.  (Served with cinnamon chips.)

Have you had it?

It is SO good.  As in – eat it until you feel ill good.  (Do I have a problem with excess?)

Here’s a recipe for Fruit Salsa.

When you make it, you should invite me over.  Or just send it to me.  It’s probably better if I indulge in my excess in the secrecy of my own home.  I like to eat Cadbury eggs alone too.  There’s really no reason to explain why.

 

 

faithful

 

Faithful.  Easy to rack these up over the past few weeks.  Safety over 4,000 miles.  Safety despite two run ins with tornadoes.  (What is wrong with the weather anyway?)   Friends welcoming us home.  Dad caring for us along the journey.  Able to hang out with All The Brothers.  Good news for loved one’s health issues.  Friends who enthusiastically cared for our dog and our kitten while we traveled the country.

So incredibly much to be grateful for.

 

feels

 

I know that people have to move to all kinds of places all across the globe for all kinds of reasons.

After leaving the glory of the Rocky Mountains, I sometimes struggle with being content to live anywhere else besides at their very base.

Which is why, when Jo invited me to join her and Hilary for a little adventure to Sassafrass Mountain, the tallest vista little old South Carolina has to offer, I said yes.

 

 

It was hot by the time we finished our trail and the bugs seemed to have it out for us all, but goodness – there was a pretty view up there.  Green valleys.  Blue skies.  Ridges rising up and down and so much space to see and breathe deeply.

It was good to be reminded that I live in a pile of pretty here too.

 

 

 

 

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