Light on the photos and light on the content

It's getting to that time of year.  It's not very bright out when I leave in the morning and it's nearly dusk when I get home.  We live in the woods, so that translates into some pretty dreary conditions for taking photos.  So, you're not getting progress shots until I get some weekend sunshine.  And yes, I can finally report that there has been some (meager, but I'm not complaining) progress.

So, what have we been up to this summer?  Well, lots of sailing.  Lots of farmer's marketing, lots of berry picking, lots of jam-making, lots of yard work.  Some renovations, like painting and putting up shelves (totally mind-blowingly fascinating, I know) and drywall patching.  So, you know, nothing exciting.

This weekend, we participated in a beach cleanup and I remembered to bring my camera:

It was pretty gross.  When I showered afterwards, I found sand in places you should never find sand.  Blech.

In other news, a member of my extended family passed away a few weeks ago.  She, my aunt, had MS and had been suffering with it for over 25 years, so it wasn't a shock but it happened very suddenly.  She was the kind of person who, above everything else, loved a good laugh (at the most inappropriate moments, preferably), so we spent the days before and after her funeral telling funny stories and dirty jokes and doling out vast quantities of hugs.  It's always a shame that we're seldom together these days unless there is a funeral to attend, but I must say that it felt really damn good to see my cousins again.  It had been 8 years (since my own wedding!) and that's just too long (some of them did some appallingly efficient growing up during that period and my mind is still reeling).  So, I am declaring before all (40) of you, that I am hereby going to put $50 from each of our paycheques aside for future family-visiting.  No excuses.

I couldn't bring my camera (too bulky, too expensive) with me, so I'm relying on others' photos, but I hope to be back with more shortly...