3 parts Aviation gin
1 part dry vermouth
Stirred with ice and strained into chilled martini glass
Garnished with 3 green olives on a toothpick
Enjoyed on the front steps in the evening with the garden
Tag: summer
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Martini with garden -
It’s evening, after swim practice, and our daughter reads on the couch, smelling of swimming pool, while my husband grills chicken and blends fresh pesto. An Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong record plays on the turntable.
Our cat, Tubbles, loves chlorine, kid feet, laying on outstretched legs, and our daughter. She’s got all of those tonight. She has made our whole family happy by loving on our daughter’s feet. We giggled and snapped photos with our devices.
I had a productive day at work. Our house is clean. We ate at twilight on the porch. Our kitty made me laugh.
It’s been a perfect summer evening.
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Sunrise run I ran outside again today. The air was brisk and was perfect for running. September is almost here.
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I unfolded the paper slip from my prompt box today, and on it was written “half-dressed.” This of course made me think of our recent trip to South Beach in Miami, where “half-dressed” is a generous description of the people we saw from our various perches around town. Quarter-dressed, or in many cases, tenth-dressed is more appropriate.
Sadly (or maybe happily) for you, I don’t have pictures of all the nine-tenths-naked bodies we saw. However, pulling the prompt made me realize that I never wrote about or published any photographs from our trip. And this trip was significant: it was the first time my husband and I have spent more than one night alone together since our first child was born almost 12 years ago.
And it was amazing.
We stayed The Angler’s, a small hotel off the main strip so that we could relax into quiet if we needed to, and we were thrilled to have our little oasis to return to after walks on the beach or around town.
Sea grapes and South Beach tower
Bright umbrellas
Starlight on the strip
Pretty water
Art Deco lighthouseWe walked on the beach, lay by the pool and drank wine and cocktails, wandered the boardwalks and sidewalks by day and by night, ate when we were hungry, slept when we were tired, visited an art museum, went out on dates every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The art deco architecture was refreshing — so much different from what we’re used to in southwest Virginia, and we particularly loved the bright life guard stands.
Lifeguard stand, South Beach, Miami 
Lifeguard stand with clouds, Miami Beach 
Lifeguard stand, South Beach, Miami 
Looking out to sea, Miami Beach, Florida Did I mention it was amazing? Hopefully it won’t be another 12 years before we take a trip together again.
Thank you to sapel2013 for the prompt “half-dressed.” -
A few weeks ago, I started using a tread desk when I work. I walk four hours a day, five days a week, while I type. It is as awesome as it sounds: 40 miles a week and I’m working while I walk.
The only problem is that I rarely go outside to exercise anymore. This morning was cool for August, though, and so I grabbed some music and my phone, and I went for my first run in weeks.
The wildflowers and growth along my route are as tall as I am, and I noticed a creek today that I hadn’t noticed before. As usual, I forgot how hilly this place is.
I miss running with my camera(phone). Now that fall is approaching, I need to do it more.
This is another entry for the Today Was a Good Day photo challenge. I’m having fun using Mesh :-).
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The SUV stinks of sour shin guards and sweaty soccer jerseys. The boys are splayed on the seats and the floor in the back, napping between games at the tournament while we sit in the parking spot, trying to cool off. I look over at the mom my son and I are carpooling with, and she smiles slyly. She she digs around in the console, then pulls a new air freshener out of a package. Spent fresheners litter the cup holder area. She pulls the old one out and clips a fresh one on the air conditioner vent, and we aim them at our noses to try to clear the stench. It doesn’t work.
I expected stinky diapers. But when planning for children, I didn’t really think beyond the small years, when of course there would be spit-up and pee and vomit and poop. I didn’t think about foul feet and smelly soccer socks. When I glance back at the boys in the back, I expect to see stink waves coming off of them like in the cartoons.
All day sweat has dripped in rivulets between my shoulder blades and down my chest. My bra has gained 2 lbs from the perspiration, and it’s smeared with suntan lotion to boot. This thing, and our son’s shin guards, are going straight into bins of soapy water when we get home. When he pulled his uniform over head this morning, after wearing it in two games yesterday in sweltering August heat, our son squenched up his nose and said, “This doesn’t smell very good.” I guess we could have looked for laundry facilities in the hotel. Oh well. Maybe next time. But probably not.
I don’t know how the boys play in sun and in this heat. Back out on the sidelines I sit with my arms and legs out, making sure no part is touching any other part. Even in the shade, sitting still, I feel vulnerable to heat stroke. And there our sons run in the sun and sweltering heat without even hats or sunglasses. Their red faces give the strain away. The beads of wet on their upper lips give the strain away.
The sour stench of boys in the back seat gives the strain away. And they are only 11. How will August soccer weekends smell when they are almost men?
Butterfly Mind 