Leisurely Sunday in Darien

Lacrosse Game Over

A leisurely morning, as it's 9:30 and Tyler and Beth's still sleeping, Evie and Rami are sitting here playing Words with Friends, and I have been to the bagel shop already to pick up and dozen bagels, then back out again to hit Trader Joe's and get gassed up for our trip tomorrow to Long Island to visit Claire and Henry. Mitch is in the dining room with his math tutor, and I am watching the Wimbledon Finals on TV as I write the blog.

Marisa Helps Dad with His Next Word

Marisa had her Dance Rectal yesterday afternoon, to a packed house,  and when it was all over, she got a  bouquet of flowers and a treat from the ice cream truck.  What an afternoon; Beth, Evie and Marisa left at 1:30 and did not return till 5:00, as it took that long to get home.  Lettie came out for the festivities and stayed and had pizza with the kids and Evie and I as Beth and Rami went out to a dinner and movie with friends.  Lettie headed back to the city by train around 8:30 the rest of us watched THE GREAT SANTINI on Apple TV, a movie that's a  bit dates, 1979, but still quite moving, especially the tension between the son and his macho father, played by Robert Duvall.

So far it's been beautiful outside, cooler today, in the 60's, and should be that way most of the day.  Just got back from a long walk with Cody, and Mitch and Ramiro skateboarded a good part of the way,  The roads here at nice and smooth with some nice gentle hills, ripe for riding,  I think.  While we were out Evie and Beth packed up a lunch, and we are going boating out in the bay.  We'll stay out a couple of hours, have some lunch, soak in some sun but it's probably too cold to swim...maybe.

We just got back from our picnic on the Long Island Sound in Rami's boat.  We started out in warm, sunny weather, but it soon changed to overcast with a bit of wind, so we went to the usual cove, anchored and had our lunch.  A couple with their two kids were unable to get the motor on their dinghy started, so we ended up towing them back to the harbor.  It turns out they have a sailboat docked about 10 meters from Rami's slip.  Earlier, Rami and I went to a couple of marinas, looking for a new anchor, which we found, but when we tried to hook it up, we found it was just a bit too small, so we had to return it after our ride. The kids act just as they do when we go for a ride in Chautauqua; they bundle up in towels, and lay down either on the seats or floor, and don't give a twit about the view, the ocean, other boats.  I guess, unlike adults, they don't like just cruising, in fact, it must be a bit of a bore for them, just sitting there, watching the ocean and shoreline go by.  After the kids left,  Rami and I spent a half hour cleaning up his boat, an easy job as you just soap it down inside or out, and then spray it with a hose.  Tyler spent the afternoon studying; Beth is currently tutoring a good friends son in Spanish, while  Evie parboils the chicken, for out evening barbecue.  Marisa's amusing herself with FunFusion, a jar full of colored pieces of plastic, which you place next to each other, in a design of your choice or follow a template, place a special cloth over it, iron it, and voila, you have a square or triangle.  Mitch has spent most of the past two days playing with six sets of Nano Dots, magnetized balls that allow you to shape them in to various designs.