Happy July Day!

The gardens at Mount Vernon

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is
jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief
that all's right with the world."
- Ada Louise Huxtable

Happy July day! I hope that all is well with you and yours. Summer is rolling along here. The days have finally grown hot, but they don't bother me. Of course, I am indoors during the worst of it and go outside for work in the cooler evenings. I putter in the garden with the cats by my side. They spend their days under the cool of our neighbor's bushes, but as soon as they hear me moving around on the back porch, they jump the fence and are with me in no time.

The veggies are growing quite well. I am watering them less this year and they are doing much better. I am embarrassed to say that I watered way too much in the past - ah, the learning curve of beginning gardening. Unfortunately, some of my plants could not survive the humidity. This year, my pumpkins are all doing great. I have my first ripe tomato and the peppers are ripening their first fruit. The corn is getting tall. I am only concerned about my cucumbers. I am keeping an eye on them. Green apples hang from the tree and there are even a few peaches on the small peach tree this year.

The children are spending a lot of time at the pool with their friends. They leave the house for their water fun bundled up with towels and sunscreen. I use the time alone to calm my brain from a house full of kids and laughter.

We are hoping to go camping in August, someplace fairly nearby and scenic. It will be really nice to get away from phones, to have a break from daily chores and just be together.

How are your Summer days going? What are your plans?

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Usually, I post my week's menus on Mondays. However, I am confronting this week all out of ideas about what to have.

For one thing, I cooked a huge pork roast yesterday and am looking for ideas about how to use all the leftover pork. I got it for only 99cents a pound (wow!), but now what do I do???

Here are my favorite cooking sites, if you are also looking for ideas.

Mennonite Girls Can Cook

One Perfect Bite

and OF COURSE,

I'm An Organizing Junkie! (for menu ideas)

Have a great one!
Elizabeth

Back to School

Tomorrow, my daughter, Sarah, goes for her Middle School orientation. My son, Robert, begins school on Monday, which will also be my daughter's first full day. I thought carefully about putting them in school versus home schooling and, for now, this seems like the best choice for the family. However, I will miss them greatly.

It seems like it was last week that the children first came home for summer break. We hoped to have so much fun and we did make many memories: Midsummer's Eve and the baby dove is one of my favorites, July 3rd at the Read's, we saw several sets of fireworks this summer, had many sleepovers and fun activities, like visiting the Fish Hatchery in July with the home school Project Wild group. This was also the summer when Sarah and I learned all about Blogging together. Time zipped right by...

Now, we are looking at the beginning of school again and I'm planning fall decorations.

Did this summer go quickly for you, too? What is one of your favorite summer memories?
Love,
Elizabeth

Busy Summer Days

I haven't blogged since Saturday because our lives have been very hectic, running from activity to activity...

Sunday, Mark and I gave talks at church, plus I also taught a class. Monday was Sarah's birthday slumber party with lots of girls. Tuesday was Project Wild at the park and sleepovers. Today, I spent the balance of the day taking care of homemaking responsibilities which were badly neglected.


Tomorrow and Friday will be busy, but I will have more time to write. I have much to say and a recipe to share (whole grain!). Check back with me then.

For anyone interested in what we did at Project Wild, check Teri's blog, Joyful Liberation. Teri teaches these hands-on science classes. They are fun!
Love,
Elizabeth

Rest is not idleness;
and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water,
or watching the clouds float across the sky,
is hardly a waste of time.
–John Lubbock

Summer Afternoon

"Summer Afternoon - Summer Afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." ~ Henry James