Friday Night Fish Fry

So this is love,
So this is what makes life divine.

-- Cinderella

 

This weekend we celebrated 7 years of marriage.  Everything from hiking, ATV-ing, canoeing, searching a flea market for a cool distressed chest for the screened in porch...brunch at Primland and of course rewatching Casablanca, a tradition.  We made it a weekend long celebration.

♥

I am a very very lucky girl.

And I love my life.

 

Earl going for a dip on a hike.

 

a gift from a friend, who grew these.

 

 

I do think when you do something yourself and maintain it yourself it means something precious to you.  I love my patio and flower gardens.  Every year it seems my dream garden gets closer to what I imagined.  Of course now I imagine cottage wild gardens all over the place but summer droughts and all that watering keeps me in check ;)  I couldn't ask for anything better than a lazy morning with my little family.

And speaking of family, here is my handsome nephew Jackson from last week's game.

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
― Mark Twain

Spring has hit in full force here in Southern Virginia.    Another Easter and succesful egg hunt has come and gone.  Our baby is 8 months old.  Isabelle just turned 11.  The Thugs are still hanging strong and loving life and things are good.

Too hard to catch it all up.  I've already gotten one vacation down for the year, the Bahamas.  Freeport.  And I celebrated my 46th birthday with a Fruit Ninja party for the young ones and Hunger Games for us older ones.   I loved the books.  I loved the movie. 

Cooking is not what it was.  Chia seeds, black garlic, roasted kale...things like that have taken place of yummy cheesy pasta and heavy dishes.  Though I did make a mean banana pudding cheesecake for Easter Sunday.  Toonces and I are eating mindfully these days.

So that's where we are and here are a few pics of life here in recent weeks:

 When Spring hit the green turned on instantly.  This is out and about on a walk with Seth, Isabelle, Earl and Eudora.

~

Easter was especially fun this year with Bronx

I could seriously just bite him.  He is so cute.

Isabelle had a spa party with her friends, she turned into a young lady overnight it seems.

 

 

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own." - Benjamin Disraeli

Our little mama, above, is the best little hen mama we've ever had.   She takes such good care of her babies and learned early that we were here to help not hurt.  They spent their first night out alone 2 nights ago.  Finally learning to fly, leaving the tackroom for life with the other chickens.  I am glad they are a tame bunch.  They peep and run to me when I come out.  Wanting food.  Like everything else around here!

I am just the food machine.

and now it looks totally mean to picture this...

Fried Chicken.

Not my own.  Not that ours wouldn't be the healthiest choice but they become pets.  If I end up with 10 little roosters though I may re-consider cooking a few :)

I discovered I am a second day chicken person.  I didn't like it the first day.  Too hot and juicy and it grosses me out a little while Toonces loved it.   However the next day I looked at it to give it a second chance for lunch and really liked it.   And cold.  Guess I am just weird.  It was only the second time I'd tried.  I am not a very good fryer.  I always imagine my cholesterol clamping down in my veins.

Earl doing a little point.  Playing in the meadow yesterday.