READING: Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland. There is a bit of a dreamer in me for all things historical, something magical happens when I read history or things of the past: it transports me to another place, another time, another world. I usually prefer reading factual (non-fiction) accounts of history as I enjoy the reality of it all.
Sometimes a book comes along that sounds intriguing that isn't non-fiction and I delve in with great enthusiasm, knowing that it will drive me insane with the inaccuracies and freedom of artistic expression that often happen with such books, but am sometimes willing to put up with all of that if the story line is well done. Nicole was reading this book for her book club and while she wasn't actually enthusiastic in her endorsement, it intrigued me and I went to the library in search of this author.
I first read Vreeland's Girl in Hyacinth Blue which is rather fun as it traces a painting through its owners throughout the years from the 1600s to present, how the painting began, how it was sold/traded/acquired by the various owners, what it meant to them, etc. Totally fictional, totally fun for me, so onward I headed to Luncheon of the Boating Party which fictionalizes the painting of that title by Auguste Renoir. 
It fictionalizes the artist, the people in the painting, and the time period in France. Again, absolutely delightful. A good author to visit before I head back into more serious reading.
LISTENING TO: The Indpls Sym Orch was performing Elton John and Billy Joel tunes this weekend, so certainly it is my duty to carry this over around here for a week, don't you think? Good, I think so, too.
SWIMMING NEWS: Matt went to Nationals (that's him left in the middle diving in for the start of the 4x100 Freestyle Relay and he and Daniel in photo below watching Harrison swim his leg of the relay) 
out in California and had a great time, no real new gains in swim times. There reaches a point in every season when that's all that season will net for a swimmer, so looking back in total, there were some great moments, new best times, and a lot of fun, all that one can ask. 
Speaking of "all that one can ask," here's another photo of the 4x100 Freestyle Relay team at Nationals, again, Harrison is in the water swimming his leg of it. The guy adjusting his swim cap is the person who makes it possible for the boys to have a National entry in this relay, Coach Chris. Since CSC did not have four boys able to qualify in the last couple of years, Coach Chris (who happens to be 36 and definitely able to keep up with these 18/19 year olds) trained and was able to qualify with his times to swim so that the boys could have a fourth man for the National relay. Not sure how many coaches would do that for their team, but we are awfully happy that this one does. It started last winter at Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, and who knows how long it will continue! It's been a great ride for the boys to have Chris swimming with them.
Now they have two weeks off from formal swim practice, a time I like to characterize as "when Mermaids and Mermen grow legs and feet and traverse the earth for a bit before returning to their watery world." Next up: college swimming for IU!
COOKING BYTES: Rebecca and I are having Pickle Up Weekend this weekend...she mentioned on Twitter that she was going to make pickles, I had seen a couple of recipes here and here and am a huge pickle fan, so I decided to join in and she sent me a recipe she was going to use as well. Since I haven't a clue how to do processing/canning, I made refrigerator pickles that don't require that. I might get around to posting them this week. 
FAV NEW FIND: I found an interesting little melon at the market today, something called a Lemon Melon. It's rather smallish, smaller than a cantaloupe. It is cantaloupe colored on the outside and light green on the inside, sort of a honeydew color but doesn't taste like a honeydew melon. 
It tastes like citrus (lemon), hard to describe, but very lovely. Just perfect for a lemon-lover like me!
FAV THING THIS WEEK: It's been rather fun having Matt around 
to enjoy these summer days before he heads off to college...no practices or real commitments when he returned from California, just so nice to have him hanging around doing silly kid-like things like making smiley faces on his burger bun with the ketsup bottle...it's the little things I'm going to miss the most.
WEEK IN REVIEW: Mark and I did great with Empty Nest practice...we were married 14 years before the boys came along, so I guess we have that part down pretty good actually, so maybe it will all be fine and I will adjust quicker than I imagine. Maybe.
PRAYING FOR: Bill and Jim, two great guys whose gals are depending on them to recover quickly. I know I mentioned this last week, but keep praying, we have a ways to go yet.