THE Salad of Summer

I'm obsessed.

Baby Spinach
Goat Cheese
Sliced Almonds
Red Onion
Fruit (Mango or Strawberries are great)

And this. Ken's Steakhouse Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette.
Mmmmm.
(Thank you, Helen.)

A Great Weekend

In celebration of Mom's chemotherapy for colon cancer coming to an end, two fantastic things happened.

One: a very talented, beautiful, dear friend (Helen) came to visit her and

Two: we had home-made ice cream.

Helen was on her way here and made a stop at my parent's house to catch up and visit with Mom. Several wonderful things happened as a result of that visit. Helen made my mom laugh so much and so hard and so deeply and I am so grateful. I haven't heard that kind of joy explode from mom in many months. I've learned that chemo takes a lot out of a person, including laughter. So, thank you, Helen, for bringing laughter with you, along with the delicious food. (I'll be going to the grocery any minute to pick up the ingredients for that yummy salad.)

Helen also brought out her flute and some pieces that she wanted Mom to try.

This was a common scene in our house in the 70s. Helen would come over and she and Mom would practice for upcoming events. Incredible music (and laughter) would be the backdrop for my afternoons of coloring and playing with my Strawberry Shortcake collection--waiting for all my brothers to get home.

Helen has gone on to accomplish amazing things as a professional flutist (you can read more about her here) and we are all so proud of her. I'm most impressed, however, with the level of respect and admiration she has always shown for my mother. And, my mom can't say Helen's name without a smile on her face and a funny story to tell. Thank you both, for such a shining example of what friendship means.

While they were playing this amazing music the other day, this was also going on:

Mom made vanilla ice cream and Helen brought these:

It was the most delicious thing I've had since that chocolate cream pie--even though Mom says she wants to try again to get the recipe just right. Sounds like a good excuse to make more ice cream to me.

I'm grateful that her treatment is over. I'm thankful for all of her wonderful friends that showed support during this battle. I hope your weekend was as perfect as ours.

Crazy Beautiful

It's official.

I have THE most beautiful nieces ever made.

And, this is only HALF of them. To the other half: I MISS YOU and hope you are all having a fabulous summer.

Bonus shot: (Just because I love it.)

Ok. One more. (Or three.)

The Ford Kids

I just love these guys. They are WAY up there on the cute scale, wouldn't you say?It might not be fair for me to say so, because I am related to them. I know what you are thinking: Julie = Lucky

You are correct, but their parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles are super lucky. They get to see them more often than I do!

Here are a few of my favorites from an impromptu photo session at our family reunion.

(This guy is such an awesome big brother, by the way.)

And this shot is one of my all-time faves:

Thank you, Ford family! You are some of the most beautiful people I know--inside and out. I can't wait til next time!

The Many Faces of Carter Part 2

This is my great-nephew, Carter. He is my niece's son, and for those of you that knew him, my brother Jay's grandson.
That's pretty obvious from the photo, huh?

I've blogged about him before because he is so stinkin' fun to photograph.

Our family spent some time together over 4th of July weekend and Carter didn't let me down. We had snowcones and his caused a very blue tongue.

And apparently, he feels the same way I do about The Donut Stop. Y-U-M.

He played 'wrastlin' with Uncle Skip-Jeff. I know you don't 'play' wrestling, but I wanted to say it that way. The masks are pretty hilarious. Skip-Jeff would disagree. He would say they are cool and fierce and not to be taken lightly. Whatever.

Check out those guns!

That is a cool trick, because Carter also makes his neck disappear. He's a talented kid, what can I say?
I think it was right about here....

...that Carter had had enough of Aunt Julie's camera. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

An Old Bicycle, Vinyl Seats and Good Pie

I photographed this old bicycle outside a pie shop in Fredericksburg, Texas. I love everything about it: the crooked basket wired on the back, the busted lights, the old metal parts...


...and the cracked, torn vinyl seat. It reminds me of the seats in my first car--my grandmother's 1976 bright blue Monte Carlo with white vinyl seats. By the time I was given the car to drive, those seats were cracked pretty good. When I looked at this bicycle seat, I could still feel the pinch those white vinyl seats would give my legs in the summertime.

I know you are wondering if I took a picture of the pie.

How could I not take a picture of the best-tasting pie I've ever, EVER had? The crust was as close to my grandmother's as I've found. (Same grandmother that passed down the Monte Carlo, by the way.) This chocolate cream pie made me moan with every bite. So much so, that I'm pretty sure I made my fellow travelers a teeny bit uncomfortable. I didn't even care. That pie was amazing.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the weekend:

And, if I ever open any kind of shoppe, I want this sign hanging in it:

So, take a road trip to Fredericksburg and have some pie. You'll be glad you did.