just a few cherries, thank you

Ah it is cherry time around here. I have to say, however, this colander represents the sum total of all the cherries I am purchasing this year. After last year's cherry-box-panic, where in which I spent two days pitting cherries by hand with a paring knife, this season I decided I would by one pint and eat them fresh that day and that would be that. Maybe I'll get a cherry pitter before next season and my courage will return. If so I should get one early - my friend Hannah asked the only store in driving distance that still had one in stock to hold it for her and they had to turn away 3 or 4 other potential buyers in the hour it took her to pop over. Wow. Apparently the money is in cherry pitters this season - who knew?

fire pit

While we were digging in the garden bed we kept hitting stones. Big stones. Stones that broke a shovel and two forks in the process of putting in our kitchen garden. It seemed only fitting to find some pleasure in them so Andy took to the task of making a fire pit for us.

So far it's just been used twice for after-supper s'mores but I'm looking forward to trying out some kebabs and stick-bread as well.

In the back of this picture you can see a big pile of stones - that isn't even half of what we dug out. We have to repair our stone wall and I'm hoping to us as many of these as we can. After this, I really understand why New England farms are bordered by stones walls. The joke always that rock is what New England grows best and I'll tell you we had a bumper year!

the cape

Someone very dear to us has recently been diagnosed with cancer. We spent a week, as a family, in Maryland staying with them during surgery, and spent a week at home without papa while he helped them transition home from the hospital. We are very optimistic but it has caused a lot of upset in our routine and rhythm. The next round of treatment should be starting soon so while we had the time we escaped to Cape Cod for a week by the ocean to soothe our souls and take a step outside of the trials of life.

We rented a cottage with my mom, uncle and niece in Truro, our favorite outer-cape town. The beach there is like none other. The dunes are dramatic and protected so there is only an occasional weathered-shingle house up on the hill - the rest is sand and grasses and the sea.






We came home rested and rejuvenated, and happy to sleep in our own beds again.