rainy days at home

It seems as though it has been raining for weeks...although I vaguely remember roasting in the sun as we closed the pool up last Sunday. How can that be? I am loving the cooler weather, though, and am so happy that fall is on the way.  We have been spending a lot of time inside, since the yard is mostly under water and you can only go shopping so many times before you start to wonder if the bank account will continue to support this activity, you know?

Here's what's been going on around here in the past few days:

• Twenty five pounds of Roma tomatoes turned into eleven pints of spaghetti sauce, and into the freezer for an...ahem... rainy day.  We used two recipes, one is chunky and the other smooth.  I think we will enjoy the smooth one better, but we'll see. It was the recipe from Barbara Kingsolver's wonderful book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and she kindly puts the recipes online here, since I don't (yet) own this book (but may yet have to buy it...so much garden and healthy eating wisdom!).

• Painting with the boy

• Three loaves of oatmeal-whole wheat bread baked from The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking, by Brother Rick Curry, S.J.  I love my library. This is one great bread book!  And this is a really yummy bread!!!

• Dancing in the living room with my little buddy yesterday afternoon.  I had to admire his creativity turning the hobby-horse into his very own air guitar to rock out...where did he learn how to play air guitar??

• Taking the girlie to her very first Irish Dancing lesson last night in the rain.  Wish I was young enough to join her in class! It seems like so much fun and I think will be very good for her coordination and discipline. 
• Still working on my "hurricane vest"...a knitting project that was started as Irene arrived, and is now nearing completion...pictures soon, I hope.

So, the rain keeps coming down, and we are hanging in there, keeping our spirits up with yummy smells from the kitchen and lots of music on the radio.  Then there is always the ark-building project....we may need it yet!