Summer: Sat., 7/14

The kids slept late on Saturday--Lucia didn't get up until 9:30am. Once everyone had breakfast, we went to the turnover sale (again). Didn't find too much except a gaudy light-up Christmas decoration, a couple of frames, and a few more fabric remnants. After lunch, I volunteered at the library book sale for a couple of hours, my first time as a Friend of the Library. It was pure organizational rapture. I parked myself in the children's/young adult book area and organized the heck out of it, separating chapter books from picture books, reorganizing the rolling racks, and neatening up all the boxes of books. I felt myself sink into a calm, zen-like state. My mind was at rest. The sale books have never been so organized.

We spent part of the afternoon futilely trying to move the bike-riding forward with the girls. Andrew is trying to teach them according to a video he watched that requires first removing the bike pedals so the kids can learn how to coast and balance; but the pedals wouldn't come off the bikes. He borrowed an outgrown bike from a neighbor, and the pedals came off but the seat is too high. We have not moved forward at all. We are all frustrated. Now Andrew's leaving for another week, which means if we want to engage in further teaching in the next few days, it's on me--and I'm terrified I won't be able to keep them upright if they start to tilt. And Lucia's piano recital is Friday, so she can't break an arm even more urgently than she usually can't break an arm. I scoffed at a friend's mention of a local bike-riding consultant who can teach kids in 30 minutes, but now I'm thinking that might be money well spent. Fun times. 

The rest of the day was spent preparing for the third annual Hickory Crab Fest, a tradition Andrew started--he loves picking crabs and a Baltimore-raised neighbor of ours always helps him organize a dinner for neighbors. We set up the patio, Andrew went to Newark to get the crabs, and everyone brought sides and drinks. After dinner we sat around the fire pit. A fun night that came to an end when a thunderstorm rolled in almost exactly at midnight.