[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!

Because our lease doesn't actually end until the beginning of August, we sort of moved this weekend. A lot of our furniture is gone, and we packed up all of our clothes and school stuff, but there's still a lot of crap in our apartment.

Rob and I woke up around 9:00 on Saturday morning and got ready to go to the Farmer's Market, which was the last thing on my Charlottesville To-Do Before We Move List. We got some iced coffee, took a little walk around, said hello and goodbye to my friends at The Baker's Palette, and then walked over to The Nook for some breakfast on the patio. I had a crab and asparagus omelet. It was a beautiful thing.

  

It was sort of a perfect morning, and it wasn't even spoiled when we had to go home and pack up Rob's car until we couldn't see out the back window, then drive to Roanoke. We had an awesome dinner with my family, spent the night, and are now in Charlotte, North Carolina for a few days with Rob's parents.

This is our last week together before Rob goes to China for a month, so we're kind of on vacation. Get ready for photos!

Happy Monday, people.