I hope you have a happy holiday.
Chris had to work for most of it but got off with enough time for us to go over to a friend’s house for a BBQ. There was a gaggle of similarly-aged kids and Ben had an absolute hoot running around with his new pack of friends. It’s fun to watch the interactions of a three-year old. Plus we got to consume lots of tasty food and spend time with friends.
I made this ice cream cake, except with chocolate, vanilla, and a raspberry sorbet. We topped it with magic chocolate sauce and toasted peanuts. Judging by how much was left, I’m going to call it a success. It was outrageously simple and I think it’s going to become my go-to cake for summer birthdays. There are so many ice cream combos that are begging to be tried. This one also looks tasty.
As a sign of how badly the vegetable garden required weeding, we discovered this dark-eyed junco nest in amongst the lettuces.
Each day there is a new egg and Ben and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the babies. For my part, I just hope they make it.
Bailey and I have stepped up our efforts to ‘encourage’ the hordes of neighborhood cats to pursue their interests elsewhere but these little guys are on their own come night-time. Keep your fingers crossed, my dears. Our native avian populations need all the help they can get.
Last night we had a great BBQ with my parents. Emma is a happy baby when she’s on somebody’s lap.
We also did a bit of house work this weekend, including a door in the basement bathroom:
With trim, even. But no handle (yet). So far we’ve been really pleased with the final wall color of the basement. It’s "light pewter" by Benjamin Moore and it’s nice and bright, without being plain ole white.
We are also the proud new owners of a couch in the tv room. Beats sitting on the floor, that’s for sure. Chris installed window trim but this room still needs baseboard and a door. That’s our project for next week. We are soooo close.
I am also finished with the tile in the laundry room but I’m out of time so that post must wait for another day.
And last but not least, we did a small hike in Paradise Valley Conservation Area on Sunday. This was our second time there and both Chris and I agreed that we’re going to shelve this hike. It’s mostly brushy single-track that is shared by hikers, mountain bikers, and horses. On a beautiful sunday, it was simply too nerve-wracking due to the mountain bikers coming round corners and down hills at top speeds. But head on over there if you’re a biker; they even have a bike-specific ‘playground’.
That’s all for now.
xo,
Sonja
