Je Parle, Tu Parles

I've been spending some of my down time on the weekends brushing up on my French. Once upon a time, I was pretty good. I even went through a period where I dreamed en français. Of course, that was years ago. Our weekend at the New College 50th Anniversary celebration in 2011 (another thing I failed to make note of here) brought home just how long ago it really was.

I periodically get a bee in my bonnet about how sadly lapsed my French skills are, usually when we've been for a visit up north and I've been caught out at a cash register by a french speaking cashier. I tried podcasts and iTunes University and the BBC free language tutorials. Nothing quite hit what I needed.

The Mr. came across Duolingo a few months ago in his internet travels and pointed me to it. It's still in Beta, but you can request an account and it's free and really quite good! It's been amazing to me how much I actually remember and how quickly it comes back. I'm still much better at reading/listening I am at writing/speaking, but the Duolingo method feels sustainable so I think it will be a big help.

The Fourth

Continuing with our "Time Flies" theme, the Mr. and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. Yah. I KNOW. The fourth anniversary is the fruit/flowers anniversary, so we decided to splurge on some of the more exotic items we find in the legendary Wegmans produce section as a special treat. What more appropriate moment to spend ten dollars on a single piece of fruit?

Pineapple, mango, kiwi, cherries, plumcot, feijoa and dragon fruit. We even bought a cherry pitter to commemorate the day.

Smells of Summer

As I was walking to my car tonight, I walked into a wall of the aroma of woodsmoke and barbeque. The air was warm and humid, but the promise of a cooler evening was there. And suddenly, there were so many memories. Family gatherings, cookouts, summer camp and bonfires. Wow.

And I wonder, how much effort did my parents put into creating those memories? How much planning, and scheduling and arranging did that require? And where did they get the energy?

I hope there comes another time in my life when I am surrounded by family and close friends. When parties and gatherings seem effortless, not exhausting. When I have the energy to do more than just recover from my day at work.

Time Flies...

Life has been, well... life. Probably no busier for us than it has been for anyone else, and yet I still failed to find time to post any updates here going on two years now. I have at least kept up personally with most of the folks who were visiting this blog, but I've been feeling like the time has come to make more of an effort here.

To be honest, there isn't really any news to report. I'm still working the 9-5 job, though perhaps liking it a little less than I once did. The Mr. is still doing the independent contractor thing. It's amazing to me that he's been self-employed now for nearly as long as he was with the U. Time does indeed fly.

Our biggest achievement in recent months is the completion of our new driveway. I haven't even killed anything in the garden in the last year (not even weeds, as you can see above - sorry Moms)! Thrilling stuff, I know. But it's the little things that make life what it is, so that's what will be appearing here.

I've also revived my Etsy of the Week in the sidebar. If you're looking for something a little different, check it out. Treat yourself and support a working artist into the bargain!

Etsy Adventures

So that funky apron that's been sitting in the sidebar for months has finally made its way to my side. Adam's mom surprised me by giving it to me for my birthday - so exciting!

We made a long-weekend trip up to Montreal to celebrate my birthday and hers, had some good food and good company. It's funny, no matter how much I want to make any trip, by the time I crash out at the end of the first day away, I just want my own bed and my own cats to cuddle.

I suspect my adventuring days are waning, or at least the adventures are evolving.