enjoy summer

I recently acquired a digital camera that fits into my purse, has battery with good life and a memory card that holds more than enough. I am surprised by the fun of taking shots along route during a trip and dumping the photos in a folder to look at later. My boss and I looked at the Paris shots while waiting 6 hours in the Atlanta airport for the thunderstorms to clear.

I glanced up while walking to the Segway Tours shop (completely sold out) and snapped this photo. In real life, you can see the top of the large shiny modern sculpture that has a name, but is called “the kidney bean”. When I looked at the photos later, I was surprised that the edge of the bean was lost to the reflection of the sun.

This summer has been usually full of travel. During the winter I limit my travel because I have orchestra rehearsals during the week and concerts on the weekends. As a result, the summer is packed with work trips and family trips. The folders of photos will pile up for now, and I’ll enjoy sorting them in the dark cold winter days ahead.

It is early July and I can already consider this summer properly enjoyed. I spent five days in Paris with my fifteen year old son. We had a fabulous time. Well above my usual quota of enjoyment for any summer.

I’ve been to Paris before and each time I see a different Paris depending on who I am with and who I am at the time. I’ve been a high school student and a honeymooner and a business woman and now a mother of a nearly adult young man. On this trip I saw many new places because my son picked many of the sites. We saw Napoleon’s tomb, the gates of Hell in Rodin’s garden, and the crypts in the Pantheon. We spent an entire day in and around the Military History Museum. We ate frequently, but never fancy. We stopped for twice for Angelina’s Chocolat Chaud African. We detoured three times for Berthillon ice cream. We went to some places I’ve been before, but regarded in new ways. I looked at the ceilings in the Louvre and the clocks the in Musee d’Orsay. We climbed to the top of wherever we went if we could (Notre Dam, Arc de Triumph, Sacre-Coeur, etc.). We researched the obvious question: why is the Mona Lisa so famous?

His winters are filled with school and his summers were filled with camp and will soon be filled with summer jobs. In three years he goes to college. We had more conversations this past five days than in the previous five years. I am glad to get to know the interesting young man that he has become. And now I am a part of his Paris.

Yesterday morning, I put strips of steak into a plastic bag with a Thai inspired marinade of chopped ginger, chopped garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, hot red pepper and a little sugar. At dinnertime, I pulled the spicy meat from the fridge, lit the grill and handed the tongs to my fifteen year old.

Meanwhile I steamed some fresh spinach and sprinkled it with sesame seeds and salt. I made rice in the rice cooker. I cleaned some fresh snow peas that I bought at the farmer’s market and tossed them into a hot pan with a bit of oil and chopped fresh garlic.

My husband set the table on the porch and opened some wine. I cut the medium rare meat into favorable slices. We filled our plates in the kitchen and carried them outside.

Today there is a little leftover meat. I’d make a cold Thai salad, but my older son wants fried rice and the younger son wants little pieces to which he will eat with his left hand while holding the fork with his right hand (he is ambidextrous). My husband might consider steak for lunch, but he knows it will not last that long.

I wonder what’s for dinner tonight.

The sun rises so early this time of year. It is impossible to sleep in. Better to have coffee on the porch.

It was hot, humid and sunny so I was surprised to get a call from my friend that her daughter’s baseball game was rained out and they were available for dinner. Our schedules are both so busy that if a spot opens, we go for it. I put away my violin after only an hour of practice. She headed down with her family still dressed for baseball, including their dog who is the team mascot. I pulled chicken breasts from the fridge. My husband rolled out the grill.

I chose a simple chicken preparation. I put two canned chipotle peppers, 2 cloves of garlic, a little apple cider vinegar, a little sugar, a little salt and a little water into a small food processor. Whirl. I sliced the chicken into generous strips and put it into a plastic bag with the marinade. 2-4 hours is best, but 30 minutes is enough.

Next, I sliced some beautiful tomatoes and pickle cucumbers from the farm stand and sprinkled a little salt on top. For desert, I chopped crunchy local rhubarb into small pieces and put it into a saucepan with fresh ginger, honey, orange liqueur and recently picked strawberries. This simmers on low heat for about 30 minutes. I put rice in the rice cooker and tortillas in the toaster over. I handed my husband the bag of chicken and grilling instructions. I made Irish Soda bread to supplement the Rhubarb Compote.

Less than an hour later we were gathered around the table each enjoying the many flavors in our own ways. We opened a crisp sauvignon blanc from New Zealand and poured milk for the kids. We talked about Summer plans and Summers past. About half way through dinner, the sky darkened suddenly and heavy rain began.

We ended the evening with Strawberry Rhubarb compote topped with whole milk yogurt. I had an extra container of pressurized whip cream which I put on the kids’ desert. This became a huge source of fun when one of the dads began to dispense the foamy treat directly into young mouths. Soon they were all begging like little birds. We ate one loaf of the Irish Soda bread and sent the other home with the baseball family.

I will add “Enjoy Summer” to my goals. I would not want to lose myself with shuttling kids, yard work, shopping, computer work or even playing violin too much. I should embrace simple opportunities.

i guess i’ll have to do better to enjoy fall now

my cat is

i didn’t think it would be so difficult to find a pool to hang out at. damn you exclusive community pools , i’m hopping the holiday inn gate.

i had the most spectacular day in the sun picnicing and kite flying by the river. awesome. we need to rent a jet ski next time.

sigh sun