Please excuse my prolonged absence. Things have been a little busy here. A good busy, but busy. It’s amazing how you can get caught up in the summer whirlwind of activities. My oldest just completed two weeks of her first, real summer camp. (The same one I went to as a kid!) She absolutely loved it, but it was always a rush, twice a day, to drive the 10-15 minutes to get to the bus on time. But, it was well worth the time! We have been soaking up the beautiful weather to the maximum, working in the gardens, playing at the beach, and taking walks. Summer is good! And baby has started walking! She has taken off running and is very happy about it. Also, going out to dinner with an old childhood friend of mine that moved away when we were still children, was a definite highlight. We only get to see each other about once a year when she generously makes the long trek to Maine to see old friends. I always look forward to her visits! It’s hard to believe that school starts in a matter of weeks. That will be a bittersweet event! One of the highlights of my summer was meeting and befriending two fellow bloggers that I have been following for several years. Annie and Tara were both vacationing at the same time on Mt. Desert Island. We agreed to all meet for dinner in Bar Harbor (sans kids for me) at a cute little restaurant named Havana. We all spent the evening getting to know one another, chatting, eating and having a good time. (Caroline and I had an intense conversation about our cats, it was very sweet.) Since this is a food blog, I have to share what I ate! I had their empanadas which definitely brought back memories from my time in Nicaragua as a teenager. And for dessert, I had their affogato. For some strange reason, that was my first time having it, and it was delish! Definitely something I will be ordering again in the future! Two evenings later, Annie and family, generously invited the kids and I to their rental place for a lobster boil dinner. (And no, I didn’t provide the lobsters, but I did provide goat cheese from the farm down the road from our house and local bread!) Our kids played together and spent time picking blueberries while we cooked and chatted in the kitchen. The kids all wanted to participate in cooking the lobsters, of course. And, they occasionally came in to not-so-sneakily steal a deviled egg. It was another lovely evening!
My husband I had invited everyone to go for a little boat ride on his lobster boat, and haul a few traps to show them how lobsters are caught. It was THE perfect evening. I mean seriously. The water was like glass, the sun was setting, which made the colors beautiful, all the kids were so excited and had a blast, and Tara made amazing bars to accompany the boat ride. We even found some seals! My husband showed the basics of the trap, the rules about what lobsters you can and cannot catch- pretty much all of the basics. It was fabulous. Except when my kids had hit their limit and may or may not have had a total melt down as soon as they got off the boat. I managed to get them into the car in one piece with only a few bite marks. Ha! Ah, children…
To finish the week of their vacation, Tara and her husband invited us all to their rental place for brunch. They both cooked a wonderful breakfast, which we all enjoyed in the brilliant sunshine on their little deck. It was wonderful way to finish up the lovely week we all had together. They were all sweet and incredibly generous to squeeze me into the vacation plans! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone.
(Please excuse the fact that all my pictures were taken with my iPhone because I was foolish and forgot my camera… Who does that!?)
