– You’ll notice that there was no garden update on Thursday, and that is because when I went out to check on things, there was no change. None. Nothing looked bigger. No seeds had sprouted. I was totally convinced I’d have to tear it all out and start over. Last night I went out to water, and lo and behold, we have growth. If gardening teaches me anything, I hope it will be patience. I will post an update this Thursday.

– At Swee’s request, we took our dinner outside on Friday night. The black flies had retreated, and there was a beautiful breeze. Chicken and baked potatoes on the grill; strawberries; carrots and cucumbers with “spicy white dippy,” otherwise known as ranch dressing. I carried it all out on a vintage tray and snapped some pictures because it was just a really pretty table. I later realized that the SD card was not even in the camera, but still in the laptop from my last upload. Oops.

– Today we drove down to Portland for the Old Port Festival. We made it in time for the parade, which was such an interesting experience. I’ve never attended a parade quite like this one. The morning was lovely, and we found a shady bench for lunch and people watching. It sort of deteriorated from there as the sun got stronger and the crowds got thicker, but we got a taste of the town and decided we will plan to go back down on a weekday to poke around.

– Heading into a new week with high temps all under 80* on the ten-day forecast. My parents will be joining us next weekend for a bit, and the girls are incredibly excited. And we will be celebrating a third birthday this week! I have a request to fulfill for a chocolate cake with purple icing and purple sprinkles…