“Life has a way of talking to the future. It’s called memory.”
~Richard Powers, The Overstory

I love looking back through the lens of these daily photos … this practice of capturing one memory for each day, then combining them with a few words … it’s the story of my life, one month at a time. Morning walks, the first boy birthday of the season, knitting (one sweater finished, one started, and one baby dress … that will be finished this month), books (so many books – more on that story later this week), way more sunshine than I recall, a Saturday morning immersed in stories, family gatherings, a sleepover with the little boys, and a freshly groomed Holly.

The last weekend of the month was especially fun – Katie came over Friday afternoon and we had a “girls night in”, then the little boys (can I still call them that when they’re seven and almost five?) came Saturday afternoon for a sleepover. Friday night’s dinner was delicious. It’s been a while since we’ve had a kitchen full of cooks with wine on the counter. We made a meal of salads (inspired by Alison Roman) and enjoyed a fruit tart for dessert. Sara followed Claire’s recipe and it was just as delicious as it looks (maybe more so, because we had leftovers!) We stayed up late and watched You’ve Got Mail. Y’all, that movie came out in 1998!! and it was just as great as we remembered. No time for naps and the boys arrived. Charlie is all into little rubber bands that make chains. Sara taught them Limbo, which is pretty much the perfect way to use a really LONG rubber band chain (here’s the bigger version of the photo from the 25th).Sam wanted to paint his nails (well, really only eight of them). and they both wanted to sleep in the family room in sleeping bags. It all worked perfectly. and we all slept really well Sunday night.

A Gratitude List: cooler temperatures, another season of tennis, family who are friends and who live close, all the book clubs, health insurance.

Life Giving: family time, book talk, knitting on Zoom, coffee dates with a new friend, porch time.

Life Draining: not sleeping, the news (Texas, Afghanistan, Washington DC), endless rain.

A (short) Happy List:

• Not-cable-TV for re-runs of The Great British Baking Show and the beginning of a new season, Come from Away, the first few episodes of Ted Lasso season 2, and Hacks! (yikes! not on my Happy List is what we’re gonna do when Sara moves to her new home!)
• What Should I Read Next 300th Episode-aversary … so much fun!
• Burning the last of the summer candles to make room for fall.

What made your Happy List last month?