Necessary Chocolate

Weekends

Two weekends.

July 20-21

Friday: Saw amazing documentary. Mostly to be somewhere air conditioned. 

Daylily farm. Took my friend Christine. Thought that I could live vicariously through her, and thereby keep myself to buying one daylily.

Bought four.

Then farmer's market.

Then Williamstown.

Pygmalion. And then saw that it was the last weekend for Hapgood, a Tom Stoppard play at the smaller venue. It was sold out, but I managed to get a ticket. It pays to go alone, every now and then... 

And then the weather turned. And the Northeast was again liveable.

So after church, I baked. For the first time in a long time.

I've wanted to make macarons forever, and the "I'm not going to do any real work" weekend seemed the right time. Plus, there's the Bravetart site, Stella's writing will help you overcome any and all trepidation.

Most of mine came out cracked (I didn't whack the cookie sheets enough to get the air bubbles out of the batter). But really, who cares? They tasted great. I used the bravetart recipe. And they were really really good.

July 27-28

And then there was this weekend. Fine, but the one where you have to live the consequences of your actions.

Like, planting those four daylilies. Going to the post office. Doing laundry. Catching up on office stuff. Doing church stuff. Cleaning out the seminary closet. You know, THOSE weekends. 

People ask where I'm going to go on vacation this summer. If I can have vacation-like weekends just once a month, then that's enough. For now. Because it's a lot easier to catch up on weekends than it is on a week. You know?

Living the dream: Summer 2013 - the ballet

Decorative converse sneakers. Gazpacho. Oreos. Really cute scalloped polka-dot napkins.

Not to mention dolls.

And little girls in tutus. And Re-ment bear/strawberry dessert favors.

It must be American Girl Doll night and the NYC Ballet at Saratoga Performing Arts Center!

SUMMER!

 

Living the dream: Summer 2013

Thank you for your kind response to this year's Read for Fun! Last year's prizes should get mailed this week. 

This is a belated post. But what the heck. The Fourth of July!

That's Robert Sean Leonard reading the Declaration of Independence at Williams College. Paxton Whitehead read the British Response, and then Mr. Leonard read the preamble to the Constitution.

I love the Fourth of July. I often feel out of place when it comes to this country: more liberal than my church friends, and more conservative than the rest of my friends. So it's awfully nice to have a holiday where, whatever my politics, I'm surrounded by people who love their country so much that they want to stand in hot weather to hear its original documents.

And then I drive south to Pittsfield to Mr. Donut.

It doesn't look like much.Until you hit the drive-through.

Right on the lake. Really amazing.

Not to mention the closest thing to old fashioned donuts that I can get around here.

Oh, and to get back to patriotic things - there were fireworks, of course. But not at Mr. Donut. Later. 

Read for Fun 2013

Out for the Independence Day weekend again! It's clear that I need a holiday to get this done. But here it is!

Are you ready to read about intrepid explorers? Are you ready to skip some housework? Or maybe you just like cutting things out? Maybe you want to play with cool paper theaters? Then come Read for Fun!

This year's chart comes from a series of Dutch toy theaters that appeared in Illustretet Familie Journal, a Danish journal from the early twentieth century. If you want them for your own, they're available to download for free from Harry Oudekerk's lulu page.

The goals are a little different, mostly because they were inspired by the theater characters in the journals. Seeing them, I must speak of plucky heroines and stalwart lads. Not to mention hovering dogs.

I've included an extra sheet of characters that amused me, in case they inspire you to different goals. And despite the many beautiful landscape backdrops available, I had to use the garrett backdrop. There was a sewing machine. Duh.

The main page of characters are posed against the backdrop so that they'll be easier to cut out. But go ahead and cut them out however you like to move them around.

The annual reiteration of the rules: 

This chart isn't meant to make you read lots of books. This chart is all about five-minute summer vacations. Choose some of the official goals. You're a grown up, so you can change the goals if you want to (except for Shakespeare - please!!! read (or see) some Shakespeare).

I REPEAT: YOU ARE AN ADULT (OR TEEN, SORRY EMMA and ABBI). IT'S SUMMER. IT'S FUN. YOU CAN CHANGE THE GOALS TO FIT YOUR SUMMER READING NEEDS

At the end of the summer (which I usually extend until the first week of October), you'll need to report to me some of your favorite reading moments.

I WILL ALSO EXPECT YOU TO SHARE A SHORT SYNOPSIS OF YOUR THEATER PRODUCTION.

Besides the fun of reading, cutting and pasting, there will be prizes!

Download Read for fun 2013