Today our buddies Derek and Meredith came up from the Cities to visit us at the cabin. I'm not sure words can accurately capture the excitement that Magda felt upon seeing here pal Meredith up here in the woods. The squealing, circling, jumping, hyper puppy returned.Anyway, they made us a wonderful dinner (currently nagging Mere to share it with you all in a Savory Sunday guest post) and then we played cards late into the night. I had the absolute WORST CARDS EVER. But I still had a ton of fun. The lake has been still as glass tonight, and I snapped this image as Mere and Derek braved the bugs to look at the moon. See it?

I wish this photo could capture the sound of the mosquitos swarming my head as I took this shot. Don't worry, I only got one bite on my shooting hand (the rest of me was covered by clothing). Today was more of the same, except I finally finished up all my belated Thank You notes (woot!) and got them in the mail.We also visited the local "farmer's market" which consisted of some bad jewelry, some thrift-store clothing, about 12 summer squash and some jars of honey. Minneapolis? Your markets kick ass, and I miss them. Beyond that, we read on th dock, basked in the 77 degree sunshine, played fetch with Mags in the water, helped Merlin explore the woods, ate tons of watermelon, played tons of cards (I finally taught Jamie Nertz! My favorite card game of all time!) and ate some donuts.Yup. It was a damn good day.

I think I ate this entire watermelon half today. Mostly on my own. And I have zero regrets. We didn't leave the cabin today -- instead we read (in the middle of book three now), sunned on the dock (a bit of a burn, but not bad) and took a walk in the forest (damn mosquitos). You know. The usual.

Gosh, you guys, these posts are gonna be so boring. Let's see... I finished a book today (A Tale for the Time Being) and the ending totally pissed me off. But the good part was that I stayed in my pajamas until 5 pm reading and felt zero guilt, which is exactly what vacations are for.And this is exactly one of the many things I will miss so much once Kid Plesser is here, as I'm pretty sure my luxurious days of reading all day in my pjs are over. But! The biggest accomplishment of this trip so far has been that as of this morning, we have finally decided on baby names. And no! I'm not going to tell you! We're not telling ANYONE. That is a hornets nest that will not be cracked, but it is a relief to have finally made a decision. You'll just have to be patient.Since I have a photo of Merlin up there, I figure it's worth an update on him. He's doing really well up here at the cabin -- lots of forest exploration, lots of eating, lots of sleeping under the ceiling fans. This is definitely his happiest of places, and I'm so glad we could get him back for one last summer visit. But realizing this is his last visit is making us a touch sad and nostalgic, I must be honest.

Well hello there! How about let's make a dinner that takes full advantage of all the fresh veggies we have around right now, shall we? Today's recipe is for Pasta Primavera. Jamie and I made this for years, until I went all Paleo and gave up pasta. But since we're breaking the rules right now, I thought I'd share this gem with you. It's super easy, fast and delicious, and perfect for summer nights with a big glass of chilled white wine (oh how I miss that...).First, you'll need:• 1/2 box linguini• 1 medium onion, sliced• 1 clove of garlic, diced• 1 red pepper, sliced• 1 cup frozen peas• 5 carrots, sliced (I know there are only 3 up there. I added more. Because I like 'em.)• 1 zucchini• 1 yellow squash• 1/2 cup cashews (or nut of your choice)• 3 tbsp butter• 1 tsp thyme• 1/4 cup white wine• 1/4 tsp pepper• salt to taste (I like a lot)• Parmesan cheese to add after it's servedSo, the first thing I do is get the water for the pasta boiling on the stove, and then set in slicing all the veggies.I put the onions, peppers, carrots and garlic in one dish, and the peas, squashes and nuts in another. Because the second grouping doesn't need to cook as long, I add them separately.Once your water is boiling, add your pasta and cook until al dente (you want it still a touch firm -- you'll be cooking it more later with the veggies and you don't want it mushy).While the pasta's cooking, sautée the first batch of veggies over medium to high heat in 2 tbsp melted butter until the onions soften (5-8 minutes), then add in the additional veggies (and nuts) and cook those for about 2 minutes (thawing the peas). About now the pasta should be finished...Drain the pasta and then add it into the pan with the veggies, the remaining tablespoon of butter, the wine and the thyme, salt and pepper. Heat the entire pan (in case anything, like the pasta, cooled off) and then serve in big bowls with shaved parmesan on top. Yum!Now. For the calories. While this is SUPER nutritious, the pasta, nuts and wine add up, making this dish (which serves 4) 523 calories per bowl... without any parmesan cheese on top. If you add some of that, it's an additional 70 calories. Ah pasta, the food I love to eat and my hips love to retain. But it's summer. Indulge yourself, eh?No internet share because I'm still at the cabin! Woot! (Posting this in advance before packing, in fact). Go out and enjoy some sunshine, why dontcha!?

Magda here is BEAT. Today, for the first time ever, she swam. None of this wading into her elbows and jumping back out, she was outright swimming after toys and playing fetch and having a ball doing it. It was so fun to see her enjoy the water... and it's so fun to see how it wears her out the way it did Memphis.But the best part of the day was this. We had been playing fetch with her for awhile in the water, and Jamie decided to test out the rafts to see if they would hold his weight in the water -- they are super thin and look like they're perfect for kids. Anyway, he stacked two on top of each other, climbed on and slowly laid back. The rafts together did hold him (barely -- and no, I did not attempt it), and he began drifting out, away from the shore. Magda watched him for a minute and then as he reached just past the dock, she jumped in and swam to him, positioned herself so that her neck and chin was in his armpit, and began to swim him back to shore. SHE RESCUED HIM (or she thinks she did). It was so adorable! We laughed and laughed and laughed. Who knew she had it in her? Especially on her very first day of swimming?The rest of the day consisted of writing Thank You notes, reading, sunning on the dock, a nap and snacking on berries. You guys? This right here is heaven on earth. I doubt we'll swim much tomorrow as thunderstorms are predicted, but I'll capture photos of her in the water later this week, I promise.

We got to the cabin late tonight -- lots of traffic leaving the Cities (and we didn't hit the road until 5ish). Plus we stopped for dinner as well as groceries, so it was about 9:30 by the time we pulled up to the lake. I hopped out and shot this image as quick as I could before we lost any more light. No loon sounds tonight, and it got dark fast, so we'll probably just unpack and head to bed. The dogs are on sensory overload due to the lake, the breeze and the nocturnal animals surrounding us. It's gonna be a battle to get Magda to calm down and sleep, but I'm sure we'll all be thrilled to have the full day ahead tomorrow.

I'm working on a beverage recipe right now that involves these berries... if it works out, I'll share it with you in early August. We'll see...Today was jam packed with work as I'm trying to clear out of town tomorrow and head into the deep woods with no internet or mobile phone. (Bliss!) So I don't have much news to report! But I do have some good finds from the internet today.I never read 50 Shades of Grey, but you better believed I watched this sexy movie trailer. Enjoy that one. And I also learned today that they make treadmills for dogs. Yup. So that's fascinating.Now, I need to remind you that I won't be blogging for a week or so while I'm up in the woods, so don't panic. I will keep taking photos, however, and you'll get a post for each day when I return. Hopefully photos of delicious food, beautiful sunsets and Magda full on swimming. We'll see...Oh! But wait! I did write up a Savory Sunday in advance for you guys. So check back Sunday morning and learn how to make one of my favorite summer dinners!