[Lime, cilantro, and habaneros: the start of a damn good summer salsa, taken May 2012.]

Memorial Day weekend at the lake is the start of a wonderful thing.

Margaritas are shaken and poured into frosty glasses, barbecue and fresh salads are piled high onto paper plates, fireflies glitter as the sun goes down, and marshmallows are roasted for s'mores over camp fires in the backyard. 

Here's what I've been up to already:

--a lot of walking around barefoot

--wearing sunscreen, not makeup

--a long bike ride and an omelet for breakfast

--sitting in our home office with a stack of books

--drinking icy water from big jars with lemon

At the risk of boring some of my old friends, I thought I'd share some recent posts that mostly sum up this journey so far:

That day I quit my job.

Some thoughts on moving again. 

On finding one's way home.

Rob made it safely to China and I'm here for the summer with my family, feeling very well-fed, extra-freckled, and thankful.

Hello again from Charlotte! Rob and I got here on Sunday afternoon and have been enjoying some time relaxing with his parents. Yesterday we took a three hour hike up an awesome peak and have literally been doing nothing since then. Since quitting my job last week, I have been unable to sleep in past 7:30 each morning, but at least it's giving me time to work on my paper before our day really starts. 

We'll be here until Wednesday, then heading up to Charlottesville for a night before I take Rob to DC to catch his flight to China on Friday. Then I guess things will start to settle down for a bit. Or, at least, I won't be driving quite so much.

Until then, here are some snapshots from our day at my parents' house. We drank wine and ate even more tuna and sat outside, enjoying the view. It is wonderful to be at the lake when everyone is home. Summer is so close I can taste it.

Celebratory tequila shots.

Sean filleting yet another tuna.

Outdoor dining on the porch.

Sunday morning reading.

Hope you're all having a nice week so far. Stay tuned for a giveaway tomorrow!

After work yesterday, I snuck off to the lake for the afternoon, hung out with my family, ate dinner, drank a bottle of wine, did pull-ups outside while it rained, went to bed early, and woke up at 4:00 AM to make it back to Charlottesville in time to open the coffee shop. It was one of those fast, quiet things in my life that mean so much to me when they're over.

 Sending more things home from Charlottesville.

 Majestic Cockapoo

Brother with a haircut, home for the summer. 

Red, red wine. 

We love artichokes.

The sun came up this morning while I was driving over Afton Mountain, and I was reminded of something I said on a road trip almost five years ago., which was "I don't know how someone can look at all of this and not believe in God."

I have since become less judgmental and absolute in my beliefs, but as I turned off at the edge of the highway, I looked across the valley and felt something. The mountains, the pink light coming up from behind them, the unknown purpose of life, the hope in spite of everything else--I guess that's what they call sublimity. You can stand alone, but you're not alone.

"Five years have past; five summers, with the length

Of five long winters! and again I hear 

These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs

With a sweet inland murmur.--Once again

Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,

Which on a wild secluded scene impress 

Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect

The landscape with the quiet of the sky."

--From William Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey