Wednesday, August 24, 2011

What the Cats do while the Mice are away!!!

Right about now the average blog reader is coming upon post after post by Moms wistfully commenting about how emotional they are about their 'babies' heading back to school. As Julia would say, "NOT so much!"....nope, uh-uh, this Mom is no way in any shape or form upset to see the kiddos strap on the book bags and head out the door in the mornings!

We are a completely UNdisciplined family...Auntie Peggy can now go to get a rag to clean the diet Coke she just spit all over her computer...and that may even be a tad of an understatement. Routines...regiments...schedules...just don't seem to take hold here without an exterior force exerting pressure. School is a life saving exterior force that puts this family back onto a healthy schedule of sleep and diet and we are all better people when school rolls back around in the fall. Don't get me wrong!! My free spirit loves the haphazard happenings of summer break and I firmly believe we need time to just experience life as it comes BUT we also need the school year to make sure we learn the things we need to succeed in life.

So this Wednesday morning marked the 5th day of waking to alarm clocks and packing lunch sacks and ushering two little ladies out the door to school. Wednesday....almost every one had been spent at the lake house this past summer...Wednesday....the day our little community hosts the Farmer's Market which we had missed all summer as we swam in the lake! It is only a bit under a mile from our house and the day dawned glorious bright if a tad humid so while the mice were away the cats ......


...rolled their wheels out of the back of the garage and cycled their way to the market!


Longtime readers of my blog can clearly note I've been packing on the pounds in this past year. Frankly I was not even sure I was still in good enough shape to cycle! Last year's rides had been difficult and I had decided that my shoulders could no longer take a mountain bike...and I need to address this bulky body...so I'm now the excited owner of a good old fashioned cruiser style bike WITH A BASKET!!! It's the little things sometimes.Even the 4th of July garland that Patrick blissfully maintains on his cruiser compliments of the girls brings us a smile. The bigger smile was saved for  the sense of accomplishment I felt when I pulled up to the bike rack with no fatigue!!


Seems they added a new feature for the tots this year! Can I say it is also not a point of sadness for me that I no longer had to take a toddler by the hand and turn AWAY from the jump house in order to head into the market!


Okay, this is a Chicago suburb so the 'farmers' are not exactly next door neighbors and the stalls are more in the craft fair mode but the wares...


are real ...are fresh....


...are irresistible!!!


I love our little farmer's market (<;
Patrick loves the 'good old produce' like from his childhood on the farm BUT not really convinced on the need to pay a premium in price to get fresh and organic just yet.
We both love walking around and catching up with the news from neighbors we meet there.
We both love the baguettes sold by the French speaking nuns.
Today was bread, cheese, apples, and....


tonight there will be roasted BRUSSELS SPROUTS!!!

The cats really enjoyed uninterrupted discussions to and from the market.
The cats enjoyed not having to fend off plays by the mice to buy more.
The cats savored the moments with the breeze blowing in their sweaty faces as they rode home.
The cats enjoyed the fruit, cheese, and bread brunch.
The cats enjoyed the chance to curl up on the couch and nap....
because at 3:00pm the cats start chasing after the mice again!!

3 comments:

  1. too funny, those cats seemed to have a very nice day without their mice.
    My mother in law wants a bike like that, the seat looks alot more comfortable to me too.
    I will be one of the crying ones next year, so glad for that fall birthday!

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  2. so nice to see you two are taking advantage of the together time without the girls. the farmers' mrkt looks wonderful! lovelove your bike.

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  3. Love the farmer's market! We haven't visited ours this summer nearly enough! Glad the cats enjoyed the day while the mice were otherwise occupied!

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