A Summer Gathering Of Thoughts

I got this post idea from one of my favorite bloggers-- Elizabeth Foss. This summer, I am planning to blog once a week using this format, giving myself a bit of a summer break at the same time. I'll see you here each Monday from now until Labor Day. 

Loving... that our weekend was crazy busy but surprisingly fun. I thought this weekend would be all work and no fun for me, but it turned out to be, as I said before, surprisingly fun. Today was about recovering from all that fun-- and cleaning a house that didn't get as attended to as it might've had we not been in and out so much. 

Listening to... David Gray in preparation for his concert this week!! 

Clothing myself in... I am finally braving skirts and dresses, even though my legs aren't near as tan as I would like. I cooked Curt and his dad a nice Father's Day feast and threw on a cute cotton sundress minutes before it was time for lunch. When I did I suddenly remembered the loveliness that is throwing on a dress and hearing how nice you look when actually you were totally cheating because 1) it's so comfortable (it's like being complimented on wearing a nightgown) and 2) you don't even have to think of components for an outfit because the dress is the outfit. I forgot all about this particular brand of summer miracle. 

Reading... I tore through Elin Hilderbrand's new one, THE RUMOR, which was out last Tuesday. Perfect summer reading! I loved it! I also finished IN THE WOODS by Tana French, the first book in one of the series I wrote about last week. I am sad to say I didn't love the book like I'd hoped I would, which means I am not going to go through that series like I'd planned (too many other great books to get to!). 

This week I'm working my way through a She Reads book that we're not going to be able to choose (we have our reasons but suffice it to say this one won't appeal to a broad enough cross section of readers) but I am intrigued enough with where the author is going with it that I am determined to finish it. 

Bingeing on... The Missing, yet another BBC mystery show that I loved. It took me a few episodes to get into it-- figuring out who the characters are and the time jumps-- but once I started tracking with it, I was sucked in for sure. Great acting, layered characters, and so many twists and turns. (I streamed it off Amazon on Demand.)

Pondering... Whether I want to attempt to make Pioneer Woman's iced coffee, based on Modern Mrs Darcy's recent recommendation. It looks like an involved process and yet, I think it might be worth it. 

Cultivating a rhythm... We've got some travels coming up for various family members, which means all attempts at rhythm are futile. That's ok. It's summer. 

Creating... As I said before, I created a feast for Father's Day, which we are still enjoying (read: leftovers). I made this excellent barbecue beef and served it on sliders, served with slow cooked green beans, baked beans, pasta salad, and watermelon. We had oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip or white chocolate macadamia nut cookies for dessert (store bought so don't be too impressed). Curt loved having a nice lunch at home (more relaxing than going out) and since I had done most of the prep work on Saturday, I didn't have to stress out getting it all ready on Sunday. Today I created a loaf of banana bread out of some browning bananas. I added chocolate chips because that just makes it better. 

Giving thanks... for this season. I love every minute of it-- even the really hot minutes. Even the pop up thunderstorm minutes. Even the "I'm bored" minutes. Even "The dishwasher is full again?" minutes. Even the no bedtime minutes. It's all good. Because it's summer. 

Planning... trips. 

Looking forward to... trips.