Why MIA?

I've been MIA for a few reasons.

We had a great 4th of July weekend (ah, it was so nice to have it fall on a Friday!) and kept very busy.

Friday itself I did a bit of cleaning and cooking. I made a Booze Fruit Salad (blueberries, strawberries, kiwi slices, and chunks of pineapples, liberally doused with good rum). On Thursday night I made a cold soba noodle salad with peanut sauce & cucumbers.

Then we went to a 4th of July cookout and had a great time. Jen & Chris know how to throw a party! We left early, though, because we were expecting company from Boston on Saturday.

I got up around 5:00 on Saturday and cleaned until I nearly fell over. For once, the kitchen looks good to me! I even washed all of the colored vintage glasses I keep on the windowsill, and scrubbed the floor properly. Very old-fashioned and effective: I used Fels Naptha soap and scrubbed, and followed it with a vinegar rinse, and then rinsed with water, and buffed it dry.

ZantiMissKnit (as she is known at Knitty) and her just-as-fabulous DH came in to play in Providence with us. We hit a few closed stores and restaurants (I always forget that half this town shuts down over the week of the 4th), but we ate lunch at Julian's, went to Rocket to Mars, and out to a great antiques center for long browsing and some buying. We had tea at L'Elisabeth and dinner (nosh style) at Local 121. They also met the terrible furry twosome. They were a bit spooked by Mr. ZMK, who's a tall drink of water, but Than Than even stood on his head for the Mrs.!

And...we're thinking of buying a house!

MAYbe. It depends.

(So if you're curious about the details you'll have to Tune In Tomorrow. Or another day, to find out!)