Shrimp, cherries, a very good article

T and I have been burning.the.candle y'all, just burning away at both ends. Yo! I am what's called tuckered out. He is in bed right now. Not even kidding. Oliver spent the night with a friend last night which seemed like a big deal to everyone except him. For god's sakes, Jack has never even had a sleepover. Second children for you! He had an absolute ball. I mean, it was a homerun of a sleepover, and I say hat's off to friend E's family. He is completely wiped out now, naturally, and is vacillating between bliss and batshit. Cue the early bedtime music. I think J-bird needs to go in that direction too. He ate an entire(!) order of 2Amy's meatballs + bread + an ice cream sundae last night before bathing and then asking for another meal. We watched a movie and this morning went to the farmers market. He has been eating ever since and is gaga because his mind is a hamster wheel on speed. Our family is positively abuzz, people. Last night, Tom made me dinner: shrimp and grits, and it definitely hit the spot. He made shrimp stock from the shells, used sherry and butter, the works. He did manage to dirty ever pot and bowl we own, but bygones; he cooked for moi!

I was extremely pleased to find sour cherries at the FM this morning and bought three quarts which I've just finished pitting. Some are already freezing; the rest will be made into a pie sometime very soon. Sour cherry pie is an absolute highlight of this time of year.

Lastly, I want to draw your attention to this article, The Trauma of Parenthood, published in this morning's NY Times. Though trauma is a heavy word, this piece is right and important, especially in its call to spread kindness not judgment towards parents. The easy or blissful time you might be experiencing may be something someone else only feels fleetingly, and a lack of support for their tougher times only serves to make them feel judged, lonely, guilty and/or other negative things. I emailed the author, Eli Finkel, to say thank you, and he emailed me right back. Turns out we were a year apart at Northwestern, where he is a professor now. Very cool!

Aah, the beach

I'm always surprised how tired a day on the beach can make you. The boys were pooped tonight as am I and all the adults here. Tom certainly is because he invented The Beach Sled, a terrifically fun (but exhausting for him) ride for the boys. Click IMG_6073 to watch this hilarity (I hope you can at least; it's pretty funny).  

It was a spectacular day- breezy, no humidity, just the right amount of warmth and cool. Three of us got injured by a rogue body board but otherwise all was well: the kids came home with bathing suit bottoms full of sand (and Oliver made a "boob" by filling his rash guard pocket with even more sand); they each caught a fish; we learned Rummikub; and generalized mayhem wriggled in and out.

As such I am soon off to bed, but I had to share a few things:

1) I found the most stunning calla lilies at the market today. Called flamingo callas, they stand about as tall and the pink is utter perfection, yes?

2) In reading about the food scene in Charleston, I came across this cocktail served at The Ordinary. Does this not sound like something you want to shake up right now?

"Delfino Fizz — a crisp mix of Lillet rosé, blood orange liqueur, grapefruit and soda water..."

and 3) My brother-in-law, Pete, and I cooked a heck of a meal tonight: perfectly spiced shrimp and grits (Pete); a warm cabbage salad with spring onions, corn, bacon, Meyer lemon zest and Parm (moi); lemony Grouper (Pete); and, wait for it, a plum tart (moi). We all ate much and well, and now it's time for bed!