Weekend in review

A few photos from a lovely weekend.

A rare Friday off: we took Annie to French Creek State Park.  It's like you're driving - and driving - and it's woods everywhere, and all of the sudden is  a splash of aquamarine and a dazzling swimming pool next to the park's lake.  It was really lovely. Annie didn't think it was all that neat and simply tolerated the two of us taking her into the water.

And then, Saturday.  We walked the city with my sister Kristen and her boyfriend, Chris.  Here is Chris, Matt, and Annie at brunch spot Kanella.

And then an impromptu visit to Aunt Priscilla's new digs in the city.

And on Sunday Annie met Micah, the 3 1/2 month old son of our friends Lauren and Jesse.  I think she's playing hard to get in this photo.

A Perfect Sunday

The above four photographs are from a late afternoon walk today in Valley Forge.  We often walk this river trail .  First with Penny.  Now with baby in tow.

There's a whole lotta love in this photo.

We were gifted with leaves and leaves of basil so Matt made homemade mozzarella (on the plate), and I made a pesto with almonds we had in the freezer.

The two bath photos are from a few days ago; we've taken to give Annie baths in the sun room this past week.

My (a bit older, and so much wiser) co-worker has this saying: "Eat the meat, and spit out the bones".  She means that to absorb, chew, on the good stuff, and take the rest with a grain of salt.  It's a way to get through the utter BS of cubicle culture.  But I thought about it in a different way today as I was choosing what photographs to highlight in this entry.  This past week at work has been a a dizzying nightmare.  And I have been taking it home with me.  So I'm going to work harder - really hard - on leaving my Monday-Friday at work, and wholly absorbing my home life in that little girl, above.  Oh, and that boy, too - he's not half bad. :)   I've worked too hard to get where I am in my personal life to have a job gnaw at the edges of that beauty.

Yesterday Matt and I had a dinner out and saw his favorite comedian in the city (Paul F. Tompkins, with a surprise guest opening by John Hodgman - score!), and today we had a perfect and quiet Sunday whipping up baby food for the week (and some adult goodies for us, above) and ended the day with a riverside stroll.

So to the ugliness that was displayed to me this week: this - this - is sacred.  And you can't touch that.

(I'm already liking my new bad ass self.)