Monday Miscellany

* Yes, it's supposed to be Monday Memory day, but really I am too lazy to go photo-hunting. So instead, it's Monday Miscellany.

* Speaking of memories, I was remembering today how incredibly hard it used to be to go to the pool. Now that my kids are good swimmers, I can sit back and chat with my friends. I never thought I'd get to this stage, but it is lovely. If you still have little ones, you'll get there, too, someday. Really!

* Speaking of the pool, this is our first real day of summer vacation, so we went to the pool for the first time. Our city has a fantastic community pool, complete with a huge slide and a few diving boards. For the first time in three or four years, my daughter isn't swimming on the swim team, so we are going to spend loads of time playing at the pool. It's more fun for her to swim at the pool when she doesn't have swim practice later in the evening.

* This morning Duncan and I were out doing yard work. I asked him to put "that" in the shed, pointing to the snow shovel. (It was out because Jesse was shoveling old sand out of the sandbox and into the new flowerbed.) "What is this thing anyway?" he asked. I told him it was a snow shovel. "What is it used for?" he asked. My boy is truly a southerner. We have never needed to use a snow shovel in his entire life. We probably could have left that behind in Iowa.

* My 16-year-old is getting ready to go to Philmont Boy Scout ranch in New Mexico. He'll be hiking for 12 straight days, and he'll be lucky to get one shower. We spent $40 on a pair of hiking pants this weekend, and we've been told that they'll stink so badly when he returns that we'll have to burn them.

* I need new recipes. I am officialy tired of every single meal that I make. I want light, summery, and extraordinarily delicious fare. Ideas?