We're having a heat wave...

Seriously, last night when we got home from taking Sophie back to Cecily's even at 7:30 pm the temp at the bank was showing as 105 degrees! Thankfully the girls have found a great way to keep cool (Girl #3 is our friend, Wei Wei Poole, also adopted from China and JiaJia's best friend).

Without question this is the best $14.95 plus tax I've ever spent (and don't think Mom hasn't cooled her toes in the water a time or two.) Watching them enjoy themselves reminds what it was like when we were kids. The whole summer seemed to stretch out in front of you and you thought it would never end.

Nine Years Ago Today...

We became the parents of one perfect Chinese baby, our darling Laura. I've never experienced anything as wonderful and terrifying as the moment when the judge said to us, "She is your daughter. Take her home now."

Nine years later she is 10 going on 18, a tall, skinny little almost teenager, who is alternately sweet and annoying (like all children) but mostly just a very loving little girl.

I'm the luckiest mom on earth.

A totally delicious if completely messy treat

I'm desperate, I'll admit it, and it is only the second week of summer vacation. In a feeble attempt to buy some time to work today I decided to invite the girls to do something messy, specifically to dip pretzels in chocolate.

Amazingly, the kitchen didn't look like a crime scene when they were done.

And the pretzels were delicious.

Mom's Biscuits

I always think my mother was a slightly conflicted cook. As a child of some privilege she didn't grow up with the idea that the mother of the house was the cook but rather the person who gathered the family into the car so they could go have dinner at the club. I think she liked to eat but enjoying cooking was something she came to later in her life.

That being said, with her history, she started out as a very Piedmont Virginia cook. Biscuits, ham, eggs - these were the building blocks of many meals I remember from my early childhood. It wasn't until I was much older that Mom admitted to me that she taught herself to cook from a Betty Crocker cookbook she received as a wedding gift. Thankfully the biscuit recipe in that book was acceptable against the standards she brought from her childhood, most particularly the biscuits made by Mother Connie's cook Josephine. After Mom died I grilled Uncle Les about Josephine and he didn't have much to say except that these biscuits would have done her proud.

I think of both of these women every time I get up on a Sunday morning and cut butter into flour by hand then stir in buttermilk and turn the dough out onto a floured counter. I don't cut them with a drinking glass like Mom (and I'll bet Josephine) did but I channel them both as I place my biscuits carefully onto a baking sheet and ensure they end up golden brown before they get served to my family.

Today's Thought to Ponder

If you wait to do everything until you’re sure it’s right, you’ll probably never do much of anything.
― Win Borden

That might explain some of the paralysis that affects so many of us so much of the time. When you look back at your life I expect you'll regret the things you didn't do as opposed to those you did that turned out badly.

I know I will.

My summer obsession begins

I don't believe it is overstating the case to say that my gardening skills are at best iffy. I've had reasonable luck growing herbs, for the most part because they are essentially weeds and therefore indestructible. With this is mind it seems a bit crazy that year after year I throw caution to the winds and attempt to grow tomatoes.

I think it is similar to what a friend of mine once said about second marriages - they are the triumph of hope over experience.

So this year, hopeful as ever, I've set up pots on the deck with (so far) four what appear to be sturdy tomato plants. We have a pretty eclectic selection with Principe Borghese (a plum tomato from Italy), Big Beef (the tomato equivalent of Arnold Schwarznegger), Sweet 100 (a favorite of all children which rarely make it into the house since the little people pick them and eat them as soon as they get ripe) and Early Girl (not the most delicious tomato but the first out of the chute - if you carefully scrutinize the picture below you may be able to see my first two Early Girls).

Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I should have my first homegrown tomatoes in about six weeks.

JiaJia's New Adventure

Completely out of the blue, JiaJia announced that she wanted to try martial arts. Vince had studied at a local school for a year or so until Master Lee moved the adult class to 9:00 pm, which is a bit late when you have to get up at 3:30 am like Vince does now. We still kept in touch with the school "family" and am happy that JiaJia is now a participating member.

She's only been taking classes for a month but is progressing quickly and Master Lee has been very complimentary about her abilities. I'm just a bit afraid that one day very soon she will be able to flip me to the ground and sit on my chest.

The above picture shows how flexible the little monkey is. I can only dream.