A Juicy Slice of Summertime

Whitney is here. I love it when she's here, especially when she comes alone and can relax. So often when she comes to Portland from Bend, she is on a business mission of some sort and has very little time. Today we are having a banner piece of summer. Had breakfast in the sunshine on the deck with Sparrow Bakery's bagels and walnut bread, local blueberries and the New York Times. Leola doesn't quite remember who Whitney is, but enjoys her all the same. Before Whitney came upstairs for breakfast, Leola called her "the new girl" and when I reminded her that she is my daughter and her granddaughter, she marveled at the thought.

This morning at Hillsdale Farmer's Market, we bought pompano chilies, tomatoes, cilantro, purple and red raspberries, a chicken and a cookie for Leola, who didn't want to come with us. Jon left for Wisconsin on an early flight. I took Whitney to my studio for a peek at my new work and then we settled in at home for a relaxing afternoon of reading, dozing, a walk and later, cooking. As I'm writing this, Whitney is asleep on the deck chair in the sun and Leola is reading in another chair. She is re-reading the box of letters and papers she read yesterday - all new to her today. Whoops! Now both of them are asleep. I'm so happy Whitney has this chance to relax. She works her butt off 7 days a week running The Sparrow and has very little time to herself. It gives me joy to see her have some downtime.