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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Garden Party

I love spontaneous gatherings! Friends of ours invited us to a Garden Party late in the week, and we were especially delighted to attend, as they live a mere 10 minute drive from us! I spent the morning picking raspberries and making pastry for homemade mini-tarts, boiling up some sugar and mint for Mint Juleps, and baking a HUGE quiche, then we were off.
A hammock under a willow tree, and a puppy for company: what more could a kid want?

...aside from maybe a cob of corn.


Anya, our gracious hostess, has a keen eye for garden juxtapositions.

This contrast of red and green is particularly striking.

Their pond was a draw for all the kids (although I think their frogs must be traumatized...Violet even kissed one full on the...lips? Do frogs HAVE lips?

As per usual, her clothes came off within hours, and she was content to contemplate the wonder of being three by the serene garden waters.

A rare snap of me (I'm usually the one behind the camera), with my girls.

Margot spent the day grazing at the picnic table...love how tiny her face looks here, peering over daddy's shoulder!

At the end of the afternoon, Margot helped to finish off dessert: Eton Mess (a marvellous swirl of berries, whipped cream, and chunks of meringue). She used a wooden spoon to get it into her mouth and was quite pleased with herself (and with all the attention she was getting).

We had a scare when Margot fell into the pond; she is used to wading into shallow shoreline water, and we imagine she just stepped in; we were closeby and saw her hat floating, then realised that that was her floating beside it, face-down and not struggling at all. We didn't even hear a splash, and the many children around the pond didn't notice anything amiss. A quick Daddy-scoop out of the water, a bit of sputtering and crying, and then she was off toddling happily around again. A frightening reminder of how quickly your child can get into trouble, even when you're standing closeby. She enjoyed the pond later in the day, but this time with mama's hand firmly around her tummy (as she was intent on plunging in again)...sigh. I whispered a thanks to the Angel that whispered to us to look over when we did, or this post might have had a very different ending.

*Special thanks to Anya and Jay for the loan of their camera, and to Jenny who emailed me some of the ones she took!

8 comments:

  1. lovely summer days with friends, wonderful.
    we had a pond scare too with our eldest, some 14 years ago .. he stepped into a pond and just disappeared, my husband jumped in and pulled him out, my heart stopped and took a good while to start again.
    hugs of love to you Mama xx

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  2. How lovely...except for the pond mishap! All part of partying with the little people. We had a scare with my son and a few too many dogs at a gathering a few months ago. All was fine, but it's a good reminder of how quickly things can go wrong. Glad you had a nice time with friends! That's so what summer is about!

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  3. Beautiful photos! (do I ever comment in any other manner?) Happy faces and happy ending, thank the angels.

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  4. Oh my goodness, I'm so glad she's ok. How terrifying, it can happen so quickly. I love the water, but having to watch four children running around is never very restful.

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  5. A gorgeous day for you all! Thank you for sharing the scary water moment. It is SO important that people understand drowning happens silently, not usually the crazy splish=splash you see in the movies and on TV. We must be ever vigilant when around the water. We had a scare once too...
    Thank your litte pond faeries for looking after your sweet child. :)
    xoxo

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  6. It's nice to see your pretty face in some of the pictures. Glad all ended well. I wish it were cool enough here to have an outdoor gathering. We might melt if we tried!

    Stephanie
    www.simplicitymom.blogspot.com

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  7. Yikes, what a scary moment for you.
    It sounds like a lovely garden party....friends and fun.
    We are headed to Sault Ste. Marie this weekend for the week, so please know that although I will try and get on a computer I may not be successful. I will miss reading your daily posts.
    Karen

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  8. Oh my goodness, thank heavens that Margot was okay! Your heart must have skipped a few beats, there...what a terrifying moment in an otherwise beautiful day.

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