Work travel. A bout of shingles. 19 years of marriage. House projects. Swim and cross country season practices. Swim meets. More house projects. A return to public masking and outdoor dining (for our family). One school requiring masking. Another not. Frustration. Resignation. Exhaustion. High school orientation and back to school this week. Kids that drive me bonkers. Kids that make me proud. The same two kids, usually within minutes. Dentist and doctor appointments. More of those than I’d like. Endless laundry and to do lists. Tears. Every. Single. Day. Laughter. Every. Single. Day.
In the gardens, we pulled the pumpkins not fully ripe, because they needed to be rescued from vine borer. The melons never grew fat and plump but were so sweet and juicy that we didn’t even take a picture before we devoured them. This year has provided an overabundance of tomatoes and peppers which Peter Rabbit obviously doesn’t like. A bed nasturtium and marigold is all that remains of what was to be a bed of broccoli, beans, and beets. He also managed to eat every single carrot. I never thought I could hate a palm-sized bun with such ferocity, but I could have smashed that baby rabbit with a shovel and felt no guilt. (I didn’t, however, because other people were not as ferocious feeling and that’s why we have no beets, broccoli, beans, or carrots.) On a happier note: those baby bells? I think they were my favorite thing to come out of the garden. I’m sure they’re a complete waste of garden real estate if you’re gardening to really feed a family, but in my little hobby garden they bring so much joy.
We bought a 25 dollar bookcase and some peel and stick wallpaper (which I can officially confirm is contact paper charging a premium for a pretty design) and I love how it turned out. V loves having a bookcase in their room and that peperomia obtusifolia plant deserves awards. It arrived during one of the coldest weeks in January (2020) and was an absolute frozen then thawed again mess. We cut it down to the very base of the stem and crossed our fingers. It bounced back while being horribly neglected.
Okay, so let’s talk some things:
Knitting: I’m just about finished with Jesse’s socks and then I’ll be knitting this hat from a kit I purchased a few months back. Just in time for the fall.
Reading: I just finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It took me a while. I started. Fell asleep. Forgot about it. Started again a few weeks later. Got hooked and absolutely loved it. You know how some books just hit at the right time? This was one of those for me. I don’t know what is next in terms of novels. This article on Facebook’s tracking information even when you don’t have an account just smacked me upside the head (need a Washington Post subscription to view, I think). Lots of things I want to put in a Friday Finds post but that won’t happen until we are well into the swing of school things.
Watching: The most recent season of RHOBH (I bought a season pass because I don’t have cable and it’s been absolutely worth it), Violet and I watched Enola Holmes (Netflix) and really liked it. Ted Lasso (Apple TV) and Roy Kent always and forever (I’m pretty sure that is the most favorite of all my favorite TV shows.)
Making: Order out of the chaos that is my new office set up. Plans for my first ever yard sale this fall. In the kitchen: this and this are both on the menu. Having kids in sports means they are always famished and I’m always time crunched. This rice and beans recipe is another time crunch favorite.
So that’s me. What are you -ing this almost September? Hope you are well and staying healthy.
Xoxo.
Your pickled jalapenos inspired me to grow a garden next summer. I am looking forward to having something to plan over winter.
I plan on sharing that WaPo article about Facebook in a tater tot post.
The Midnight Library is on my list. I can’t wait to read it and see how I feel because so many others are having such a wide range of reactions to it. Ha!
RHOBH is one of my favorite shows. This season has not disappointed.
Your recipes look delicious. Saving them to make later.
I think the planning of the garden is my favorite part every single year so I hope you enjoy that part! (It is a fun winter activity. Also, I wasn’t set up to do indoor starts so I ordered starts from Burpee and all but one of the 5 were AMAZING. Highly recommend. I’ll share other seed catalogues I love too if you’d like!)
I’m excited to hear what you think about Midnight Library too!
I used to watch RHONY and Potomac too, but a friend told me NY wasn’t worth purchasing and I can wait for Potomac. BH has been so good though. Kathy Hilton is my favorite this season.
You sound so busy! I’m amazed at all the creating/growing you are able to do while in such a busy season of parenting. I hope things will settle a bit for you once school gets fully under way. (Although I am planning for disruption and changes and unforeseen things. As much as one can plan for the unexpected.)
I have to ask: What is RHOBH? I feel very out of the loop to have to ask, but that’s where I most likely am. We watched Enola Hughes a while back, and we also liked it quite a bit. I would have liked watching it with my daughter when she was Vi’s age.
Love the links to recipes. I swear I’m going to get back on the meal planning bandwagon, especially as we’re back to work. And, work-work, away from the. house. I need some new things, that are easy. Connected to this though, is my biggest -ing: Reveling. I am loving working part-time. I went in the past two days, then stayed home today to take care of house business (paying bills, some cleaning, making progress on a curtain-hemming project). It was SO NICE to have time in a quiet house to simply take care of things, after having two days working with great people on things that are creatively challenging and important. Back to work tomorrow, and then a 4-day weekend. Feeling a little like Hannah Montana these days.
So great to see a post from you! I always like seeing what’s up in your world.
RHOBH stands for Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and since I don’t understand the Hannah Montana reference (after my time but before my kids), we can trade loops. 😉
We made that chicken recipe last night and while I made the browned butter sauce we didn’t love it so I would skip it (less work, a lot fewer dishes). The chicken and potatoes on their own are so tasty and we just did steamed fresh green beans.
I am hoping for a little more settled feeling. I think it’ll be at least a couple of weeks – especially since both kiddos are so busy as well. I’m glad you’re able to both work-work and have the space to get the home-work done too. And I LOVE that you’re reveling in that balance. It makes my heart happy.
Thanks for the recipe intel. 🙂
And here’s what you (didn’t) missed: https://youtu.be/nDMIuuO_PQo
Also, I won’t be checking out RHOBH 🙂
No. I don’t see RHOBH being your thing. Any of the Housewives, to be honest, and I respect that about you.
And thank you for the Hannah Montana link. I LOVE that you have the best of both worlds. (Your most recent post made my heart so happy for you!!) And while I did miss Hannah Montana, I will say grown up Miley amazes me – her voice is unreal to me.