I call it, "Sisters"

 

They are going to miss each other.  They are tender and sweet together, very affectionate, full of private-giggle jokes and snuggles.

 

(Photo credit:  Jen Babcock @ 2013 Carlson Fish Fry  THEY LOOK SO HAPPY & CUTE TOGETHER!!!)

Emma has her own snuggle now, but I know Suzanna looks forward to spending time with her, too.  I wish these 3 daughters were closer in age--they have brothers born between them that spreads the gap...so they have to work harder to be close.

 

Looking at Profiles

What similarities do you see?  Forehead slope, noses, lips, chins.  Max has a Babcock button chin, like mine.  Stewart looks more like my brothers, but these blue-eyed men look like their daddy! 

It was haircut weekend, back-to-school cuts, short.  I thought their t-shirts were great indicators of their interests:  Sam wearing his welding technical high school "Cobra by Choice" mascot shirt, Max an old boychoir shirt, John his Father's Day Suzu gift DAD in ACDC-style font and the pants I bought him in St. Thomas, and Stewart with "Got Sharks?"  Perfect. 

 

 

Let's Talk About Snowballs, Dean, and Blue & Green Color

NOT Snowcones.  NOT a slurpee.  Not a Utah-western snow cone.  SNOWBALL texture is different.  Smaller.  Finer.  Not grainy.  More like melt in your mouth, cold but not hard pellets or too tiny, it has a nice wet-heft-bulk to it, and is soft-like real snow.  Not that it snows here.  Only in the summertime!

They do this thing, adding marshmallow topping for extra 50 cents.  This is a photo after I have waited to cross the street and licked half of it off in the 91 degree sunny weather.  This was one of the specials:  "Ocean Wave" which was skylight (I don't know what flavor that is, but it is blue and really yummy--maybe raspberry based?) and green apple with marshmallow on top.  I ordered the smallest size so I could get additional marshmallow in the middle.  I cannot explain how good this summer treat is.  Emma would understand.  She used to work at a snowball shack.  She tried all the flavors, and made up her own combos.

 

To get to the post office every day I drove by this most unusual-colored brick old home:

 

And found a restaurant that shares a name with son-by-marriage:

 

Kind of a strange, old-timey town, snowballs and old buildings.

And on the way home, back in Harford Co. there is a remodeled home that used to look horrible.  They have redone it with gorgeous blue stained siding.  Green grass/trees & Blue home w/ white trim looks stunning, hard to capture in this drive-by.

I've never thought about a blue home before, but this looks great in our east coast lighting.  Not really navy, more like a dark peacock, but with enough gray to keep it neutral and pleasant, not a neighborhood eye sore.

 

 

There is work, and then there is WORK!

 

 

I am a travelling on-call.  I go to offices where the Branch Office Assistant is on vacation or ill.  Filling in.  Most of the time it is planned well in advance, so she leaves me a list of things to do.  Sometimes I go beyond my responsibilities a little, a put away Christmas decorations, take the turkey candy bowl off the desk, recycle stale candy (I have to sample to see if fresh for clients!), and try to leave things better than they were before I came.  I finally invested in some awesome graphite lock-ease, to make the door locks easier to open!  They send me a key and I am amazed at what people will put up with, tough to open doors are fixable with a few well placed squirts.  Squeaky door hinges are silenced.  Squeaky chairs.  Twisted phone cords unraveled.  Everything dusted...

 

 

Trying to shake off the guilt of working outside our home and coming home to a dirty sink, hungry people.  I had a super busy day at the office.  And I wish I could have been home, working, cleaning...really.

 

The first day I was there alone, without the financial advisor.  I did all the paperwork waiting, then found the vacuum, cleaned up, rearranged a little, moved the couch to focal wall and moved around pictures (they were all hung another 2 feet higher with no relationship to each other or the furniture, and I am a snob about pictures) and made myself at home.

 

It is hard for me to leave decorating tragedies alone.  Should have taken before photos.  Trust me, it was worse, much better now!

 

The financial advisor's wife called and said, "I have heard how great everything looks since you arrived!  Someone after my own heart!"

 

I leave a smiley face note telling the regular Branch Office Assistant that everything can easily move back to original spot, that I am a self-admitted decorating snob who has watched way too many DIY shows...and I miss my home.

 

 

Satisfied House

From a distance it is hard to believe this is a single family dwelling, not a...assisted living home or something.  HUGE!  Count those chimneys.

 

This is a tiny representation of the McMansions I drive past on the way home.  Huge, hefty, unbelievable, many with huge horse barns and fields--not crops to harvest, but silly grass!  Many of them are secluded with greenness.  Maryland is very green.  A forest will sprout if you don't mow every week when it is wet/rainy.

Fancy hedges that were more than 1/2 mile along road...

 

Sweet porches...

Historical stone.

Old farms...

It was nice to come home to our house.  Nothing pretentious.  Simple rancher.  In need of de-cluttering and cleaning, but feels like home! 

 

What's For Dinner?

 

Twenty years ago when we first moved to Maryland, a quilting buddy took me to Farmer Knopp's Vegetable Stand.

Keeps you honest, putting your quarters in a locked box with nobody watching.

Beautiful day to be in rural Harford County!

His driveway is lined with flowers and I was fascinated with all the butterflies!

Can You See the "Love" Tonight?

We have black-out curtains in our room, that I punched "Love" out.  It lets in the light from the street during the night--and during the day you can see the words.  Got the idea from Etsy and discovered leather punches with a hammer work through the thick fabric...

Our Friday night date was a spontaneous picnic:  French bread, fresh mozzarella cheese, grapes, cherries, and homemade shrimp salad (tiny salad shrimp, celery, onion, mayo & lots & lots of Old Bay Seasoning).  We drove out to Havre de Grace with a blanket and stopped at the park, where folks were gathering for an outdoor concert.  The band was amazing (found out Mercedes' uncle was in it!) and we enjoyed our food and the music!  Nice, relaxing, good to talk without worrying about being interrupted by waiter/waitress.  We made lists of what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives, what goals, bucket list we were still dreaming about.

John has a talent of condensing my big plans into concrete mission statements, specific things that helps me see what I am saying more clearly.  

If we keep preparing to serve a fulltime LDS mission together as a retired couple it is amazing how many of the dreams/goals are fulfilled.  So that is our course, our journey.

With lots of dates & picnics along the way!