Sunday, August 15, 2010

Time for a cool change

The weather has been beautiful here in Maryland and we were actually able to turn off the air conditioner today. I had begun to wonder if the oppressive heat would ever abate. But today we got a reprieve. And tonight -- well, tonight is even better.

So we’re going camping in the backyard.

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George loves the cooler weather.

I love my new laptop. It’s a Dell Inspiron with a 17” screen. I can’t believe I was afraid of Photoshop CS5. Sometimes I am simply ridiculous.

Is it wrong to pretend that we’re camping?

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We have the tent ready.

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And I do believe that somebody wants to sleep out here with us.

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The only thing we’re missing is the campfire and the s’mores.

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I watched The Proposal again the other night. It’s on Netflix in the ‘watch instantly’ section but is also available on DVD. It stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds and although I enjoy the story, I really just watched it to see the Alaskan landscape. It’s so beautiful along the coast.

Readers have asked me how I find the time to watch movies and whether or not I have to tackle my husband for the use of the TV. The answer is that I make the time to watch them. And rather than watching them on the TV, I view them on the big monitor that I have attached to my laptop. That way, I can be in the same room as everyone else and while George and my husband are watching golf, or MLB, I’m happy as a clam over here in the corner with my laptop.

And I can toss Scary Bird around for George.

Hope your weekend is a good one. It’s always nice to see you here.

34 comments:

Annie said...

What a terrific idea. I love it. Hope you have a great time. George will enjoy it too!

And I hope you have a wonderful weekend too, Kate.

Nancy's Notes said...

Great idea, would have never thought of doing that!

Have a great weekend!

Nancy

Jill of All Trades said...

Sounds wonderful. Used to do a lot of camping when we were very, very young.

Gail said...

Sounds like it is working!

Enjoy your camp out.

Nancy Grossi ~ Churned In Cali ~ The Wife of a Dairyman said...

I love it that you're camping in your own back yard! And why not? It's beautiful! New laptop.....sounds wonderful:)

Jen at Cabin Fever said...

I used to go camping in the back yard when I was a little kid. We would bring books, games, and flashlights. My parents would "sneak" us candy we wouldn't normally be allowed to have and we would stay up late.

Funny thing is we would ALWAYS either get scared or couldn't sleep and never ever spent the entire night outside in the tent.

Cloudia said...

sounds lovely.





Warm Aloha from Waikiki :)

Comfort Spiral

Low Tide High Style said...

It's gorgeous here too, and we ate outside tonight and have all of our windows WIDE open! Love it!

I have a lemon/blueberry cake in the oven and life is good! Have fun camping out!

Kat :)

Tiggeriffic said...

I have a two man tent and in the front of my house is a large room that the grandchildren use as a play room. I set up the tent in there so they can play in it during the day and then at night they sleep in the tent..
The 5 man tent that I have goes outside and we sleep in that with the campfire near so we can roast our hotdogs and make somemores.. I bought some lanterns at a military store and we light them and hang them in the low branches of the trees, what a glow they make.
Your tent looks so cozy and a great place to sleep for the night..George will love sleeping in that tent. Keep an eye for the meteor shower that well be happening in the next few days. start watching about 10:30 until you can't stay up any longer. The other night it was just fantastic~!~!
I want to get a laptop someday.. sounds like you have put yours to good use... Have a great Sunday.

Annie H said...

I just put The proposal on my Netflix instant for the Wii. I know what I'm watching after my little boys are in bed!! Thanks for sharing and have fun camping in the back yard! (totally the way I would camp too!

Deb said...

congrats on the cooler weather...

deborah said...

have fun!

JacksDad said...

Did you watch the extras? I was amazed at how much of the movie was shot somewhere else!

A New England Life said...

You just reminded me that we need to get our tent back from friends that borrowed it last year. Can't say we've ever slept out in the yard but the girls have. I wonder if Lily would like it?

George is always so handsome : )

Congrats on the new laptop! And CS5! Awesome! I'm stuck in a time warp with PS7. LOL!

Did you know most of The Proposal scenes were filmed in Massachusetts with mountains added in afterwards?

Have a great Sunday, Kate!

Jayne said...

Hey, I think that kind of camping is brilliant. Don't have to pee in the woods or worry about poison ivy...lol! Hope it was a cool evening. Here? Not so much. 80 degrees in the mornings at 8AM... blech.

D.K. Wall said...

I used to camp out in the back yard all of the time as a kid and always thought it was so much fun. Sounds like time to go be a kid and do it again!

P.S. - Uh, did you know The Proposal was not filmed in Alaska? Ok, you can ignore that if you want.

Sort of like Cold Mountain. Cold Mountain is very close to me, but the movie was not filmed there. Oh well, the magic of movies.

Mental P Mama said...

I am signing up for that Netflix today! Hope you had a nice campout;)

Kent Island Red said...

Hi Kate,
GREAT blog! Like you, I'm from Maryland too (Eastern Shore). I camped out in my backyard last summer and altho my dog Lilly promised she'd be my companion in this adventure, she wimped out about 2:00 AM so I had to put her in the house where she slept with my husband the rest of the night. What a spoiled brat!

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

The weather has indeed been wonderful.

What a great idea to camp in the back yard. I used to do it when I was a kid.

We had a great big canvas tent - huge - and bunkbed cots that were very uncomfortable but we didn't care. The canvas on that tent always had mold on it, and I'll never forget that musty smell. It wasn't a bad smell, just a smell.

Hope you slept well. Looks like another beautiful day today. Enjoy!

Daryl said...

Last nite we watched Oceans 11 .. again ... we own it but we often watch NetFlix on the BIG iMac screen as well as on the even BIG TV screen...

Carolynn Anctil said...

I think it's a silly, fun thing to do, to camp in your own backyard. It's right up there with using an inflatable kiddie pool to cool your feet in. Too bad you can't have a campfire though...

I really love The Proposal. I'm a big fan of Ryan Reynolds. I like his comic delivery and Sandra does a good job in this film too.

Enjoy your 'vacation'.

Lili said...

George is just so sweet, so glad you're enjoying some cooler weather. Did you really sleep out in the tent? I haven't done that since I was a kid. Hmmmm ~Lili

Julie said...

Enjoy your camp out, sounds fun!!

Oh, I saw the face in the rock and couldn't help but giggle.

Step on over to my place, you have just been featured on my blog. Hope you don't mind.

Anonymous said...

Scary Bird.... Love that! If I had a laptop I'd find myself downstairs more often in the evenings... Hubby sits down there with his iPad while watching TV and messing with LinkedIn. I tried reading blogs with the iPad but it was just too small for me. HE on the other hand loves it. I think a laptop is going on my Christmas list this year so we can both sit in front of the TV acting like geeks at night.

Oh, and camping at home? Certainly!

Di

Julie said...

Oh shoot! I forgot to tell you. (Please don't hate me for this.) The movie the Proposal wasn't filmed in Alaska. That is what I have been told. I am trying to remember where it was filmed. I was completely bummed.

meemsnyc said...

What a fun idea to camp in the backyard. Your dog is adorable!

beth said...

i make time for movies, too...

yesterday we went to eat pray love and it did not disappoint....

i needed 3 tissues.....

Caroline said...

I love camping outside! I love George and I bet he's happy to have a bit of cooler weather too!

Char said...

yay enjoy - and i'm with beth

see eat pray love. so wonderful

BB said...

Smores... have heard of them often on American blog and have NO idea what they are!!! Ah, the culture clash... off to google.
:-)
BB

Mary said...

Aw, those pictures of George just melt my heart... he is SO cute! As for the camping, do you have an air mattress? :)

mrs mediocrity said...

It is never wrong to pretend you are camping...And I make time for movies too, have always loved them, although my husband is not a big fan. So we do much the same, he watches sports, while I watch movies or read. Whatever works, right?

The JR said...

That sounds like a great compromise. I know I get tired of watching fishing on TV and have to go to the bedroom to watch something else......

ELK said...

you have been very busy in your world..that is what backyards are for..