Tag: Summer

Dog Days Debriefing

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I don’t know what it is about summer that makes it difficult to stick to a schedule. Is it the lack of places to be, the pull to dawdle and “waste” time, the fact that I have large chunks of time to work on things without being interrupted, or the heat? All of them? None of them? Perhaps we will never know. Regardless, I have time in my schedule to write two blog posts a week this summer, and I often find myself so busy with other things that I choose to do the other things rather than sit down and write. It won’t hurt much in the long run, but I do enjoy re-reading posts and I’m robbing myself of that future pleasure by putting off the writing each week!

Rather than write a regular end-of-the-week kind of post, I figure I’ll do one big swooping review of summer thus far…

Cooking

I’m doing my best to cook things using stuff from the garden, but we had a ton of leftovers after Renaissance’s graduation party, so we ate leftover for 2-3 weeks. Now that we’ve worked through the leftovers, there’s been more garden cooking. The herbs are really starting to come into their own, so I need to remember that they’re available to use!

Renaissance baked up a ton of stuff for her party, and then made some really cute patriotic cookie arrangements for the Fourth of July.

Clothing

One of my goals is to teach the girls some basic clothing sewing over the summer so they can have a better understanding of how clothing fits them and also because it’s a great skill to know. I just taught Rachel her first lesson today and she seems to understand it pretty good.

Cleaning

Graduation party cleanup is taking forever because I bought serving items that need to be assimilated into our household and it turns out our household is pretty full of pretty serving ware already. I think we’ve officially gotten to the point where we need to do a major house purge. Makes sense; the kids have all graduated to new levels of childhood/adulthood, and the life we are currently living is very different from how things were three to four years ago. I don’t know if I should do a full-on Marie Kondo-esque purge, or just attend to the most troublesome spots and make do…I’m leaning towards the latter because I just don’t want to deal with too much. I feel like I can’t handle a Marie Kondo purge this summer.

I did institute a new thing: Catch-up Fridays: For two hours each Friday afternoon I work on the most overdue tasks on my to-do list app. I finally framed up some prints I bought last autumn and was even set to hang them up, but someone walked off with my nails and picture hanging supplies so I’m stuck until I go on my errand run next week and buy some new nails. Hmph. I think Catch-up Fridays will help me feel way more productive by the end of the summer. Crossing those severely overdue tasks off the to-do list just feels so satisfying!

Caring

The girls cannot find jobs. I have them applying to a bunch everyday and they don’t get any kind of responses from the companies. Emily’s been invited to two interviews that didn’t result in anything, and Ren and Rachel have been on one interview each that didn’t pan out either. A lot of people are saying that teens are having a hard time finding jobs because minimum wage pay is so high here in Washington that adults are staying in minimum wage jobs instead of moving up the career ladder and opening the minimum wage jobs back up for the kids. Maybe that’s what it is, I don’t know. I just know that between college tuition rates being out of control and my teens having a hard time finding any kind of employment, post-high school education is becoming very difficult to fund. Ren is hoping that once she turns eighteen next month she’ll be a better job candidate. Fingers crossed.

Creativity

I altered a flower girl dress for a friend and it went well. Now that it’s done I’m trying to learn tambour beading. It turns out that setting up a slate frame takes forever, so I’m stuck on that step until I’m done with it. And then I don’t know what I’m going to bead after, so I feel like I’m flailing at the moment.

My creativity mojo is kind of non-existent at the moment. My instinct is to freak out when that happens, but I’ve had bouts of no creative mojo and I know all will be eventually be well. It’s just a supremely uncomfortable feeling. I feel like I can’t commit to anything because I’m really anxious about the future and whether or not I’ll actually have time to work on projects. And I have completed quite a few really big projects this year already, so maybe I just need a rest. It’s feeling pretty good to be cleaning up the house and working in the garden, which are both areas I had to neglect over the last two years while I did my master’s degree, so maybe this summer will just be about straightening all the home and garden stuff out?

Also, I was just called to be our ward’s new choir director and I feel like I’m not entirely on top of that just yet. We’ve had a couple rehearsals and we’re working on the newly-released hymns, and I kind of resent that my choir pieces have essentially been chosen for me with all these new hymns coming out and needing to be performed before they can be used as congregational hymns. I need to find time to work on my own piano and vocal practice so I can pitch in some more with church music, but…the fire isn’t there right now. Music just feels so stale right now; just more of the same things I’ve been doing for twenty years. It will be nice when this heavy cloud begins to lift.

Gardening

The garden is a source of joy for me this season. I’ve been really good about consistently maintaining it and the effort is definitely being repaid in terms of produce, flowers and beauty. I harvested the last of the lettuce this week and tore out the spent pea plants. The Napa cabbages are almost ready to harvest, the mini carrots are also getting close to picking, and the rhubarb keeps producing. The squashes are all starting to vine and bloom, which is exciting! I have some corn plants popping up, and my peppers, tomatillos and tomatoes are blossoming a ton as well. There’s a lot of potential brewing in that little space in the backyard!

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I planted green beans and winter squash in the newly-vacated pea plant bed this morning, and planted random sunflowers in any blank spaces that I felt needed something growing in them. Sunflowers have had a tough year contending with the slugs, as the slugs love newly-sprouted sunflower greens. I’m thinking about getting my starter trays out again and starting the rest of my sunflower seeds so that I can put them in once they’re bristly enough to deter slugs and then I can have a plethora of sunflowers for autumn color. I also want to start some broccoli.

The nasturtiums are blooming so wonderfully, the Shasta daisies are starting to bloom, the marigolds are growing leaps and bounds, and the aforementioned herbs are scattered throughout and give off the best scents when you brush by them. Rachel harvested the French Lavender this morning and we’ll make wreaths from them this week for the doors. I love the smell of lavender wafting through the house!

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Celebrating

The Fourth of July came and went. I made patriotic Jell-O and it was wolfed down in a matter of hours. It’s so good! Nom, nom, nom.

As far as celebrating summer goes, we’ve not done much. Maybe I should come up with some ideas.

Community

Renaissance and Nathaniel signed up to be in the orchestra for a production of “Guys & Dolls.” I’m worried that it’s too much for Nathaniel’s ability at this point. Renaissance is straining to keep up, as she’s playing three different instruments for it. I’m hoping that this is a “sweet spot” of difficulty for her that has her coming back for more when it’s all over, and not a “that almost killed me and I’m never doing it again” kind of difficulty that turns her off of musical accompaniment in the future.

Ward Choir is still in its infant days. As always, we have way more women than men, so I think I’m going to have to morph into recruitment mode and stalk dudes, which I really just don’t want to do. Maybe I’ll wait until school starts? Summer is often so hit and miss with families going on vacation anyways. We’ll just plough through new hymns throughout the summer and it’ll be enough. We’ll set our sights on making choir magic in the fall?

I want to start some sort of social group that meets once a month or so. A couples’ potluck group, or a creative women’s group, or something. Or just invite some ladies over one evening. I’m feeling the loss of all the regular socializing at school events and I’m feeling pretty isolated. I feel like friends are a necessary ingredient to an enjoyable summer. Every season, really, but this season–without its enforced socializing that school throws at us in autumn, winter and spring–needs shared laughter and sweet drinks in the sunshine with favorite friends.

Maybe everything is in a “nearly ripe” stage at the moment, and after all the hustle and bustle of school’s end, graduation and Ren’s recital, normal feels a little flat in comparison? I may be feeling a little off-kilter, but the weather is beautiful and we do get a lot of free time for reading, naps, and daydreaming, which ain’t that bad. There’s a couple of things planned in August that should be fun, so I’ll just keep showing up and cleaning up the cobwebs that have formed in the past couple of years and hopefully feel better for it. I would really like the Creative Mojo to come back, though. It’s so unsettling when I’m not up for creativity. It will return, I know that. Maybe I’ll read some more on the hammock in the next week. Chill out some more.

Best wishes to you as you go about your summer experiences and memory-making!

</graduation> <summer>

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While I am very pleased that I didn’t throw Renaissance’s graduation party until two weeks after graduation, I also feel like our summer vacation didn’t really get to start until now after the party is finished because we were so busy with putting the party together. I spent this past week trying to summon up the will to do anything and then just gave up because I figured it was my body’s way of taking a break after many, many months of non-stop activity. All good things, of course, but it’s been a lot and recovery is an important part of the wellness cycle. I’m hoping I slowed down enough and rested enough that I’ll be good to go for the rest of the summer.

I have missed my little weekly posts to begin and end each week, and I’m hoping I can get back into a routine that includes writing them. The past six weeks were really busy! Here’s the plan for the next week, as we really sink into our true summer schedule:

Cooking

This week’s meal plan:

  • Monday: Chicken Shawarma (Emily), Cherry Tomato Salad w/ Burrata & Pesto
  • Tuesday: Grilled Chicken, Cantaloupe Soup, Grape Salad, Breadsticks
  • Wednesday: Cheeseburgers (Because Rachel has been asking for them repeatedly), Shaved Summer Squash & Peas,
  • Thursday: Hot Dogs, 4th of July Jell-O, etc.
  • Friday: Ribs, Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob
  • Saturday: French Bread Pizza, Caesar Salad
  • Sunday: Panzanella

Clothing

Laundry is pretty caught up on the daily stuff; I still need to fold and figure out some of the other season stuff and do a wardrobe rotation to make sure all the cold weather clothing has been put away and all the summer clothing is out and in use.

I’m altering a flower girl dress for a friend’s daughter and it’s going pretty good thus far. I’ve basted all my alterations into the dress and the girl came over today to make sure everything was fitting correctly before I put in legit stitches, and it looks really good! I just took the very top of the side seam in a little too far and it’s going to rub her underarm too much, so I’ll let the alteration a wee bit there. Time to get going with permanent stitching!

Cleaning

  • Finish cleaning up the graduation party, which will require:
  • Decluttering and cleaning the pantry so I can find space to put the new chafing dishes and drink dispensers that I purchased for the grad party.
  • Let’s be honest here, those two things would be absolutely amazing to accomplish in just one week, so I’m going to keep it at two items on this list.

Caring

  • Driving lessons for Emily & Rachel, scheduled and everything
  • Spelling lessons for Rachel & Nathaniel, because that’s what we do in the summer
  • I’m teaching the lesson tomorrow for Family Home Evening and I’ll be walking the kids through the “Getting Things Done” filing system. I’ve come up with a great way to help them keep track of their incoming mail and schedule their stuff and keep track of their chores. I’ll write a post in a few months if it actually works well.
  • I need to find out more about the Fife & Drum Corps that I want Renaissance and Nathaniel to join.

Creativity

  • Much of my creativity time will be taken up by the flower girl dress alterations. I’m glad I’m doing it, but it also reminds of why I generally say no to these requests—I don’t have a lot of creative time and I’d like to use it for myself. No regrets on this particular commission, but it’s a good reminder.
  • I will be teaching all three girls the basics of garment sewing this summer with the end goal of Rachel being capable of stitching her own homecoming dress. I’m excited about this prospect because…
  • I am going to be learning a new skill over the next couple of months that should take my dressmaking abilities to new heights: Tambour Beading. Tools arrive today and I’ve made a promise to myself I won’t start playing with them until I’m done with the flower girl dress, so hopefully I can speed through the alterations this week so that I actually get to start learning how to do this beading technique ASAP. I am SO EXCITED!
  • I need to check in on the various quilt blocks I sent out into the world for Ren’s Signature Graduation Quilt. There were a handful of last-minute cancellations on attending her party as well, so I might reach out and see if they want quilt blocks to sign.
  • I need a Crafting-in-the-Van project because summer music lessons will be starting up this week or next. Obvious options include: Smitten Quilt, Beehive Embroidery, Roses Hexagon EPP Quilt, and the Star Spangled Diamonds Quilt (I think this is too big for van crafting, though). My heart wants a new project, preferably embroidery and/or historical costuming-related. I am really not in a quilty mood right now, or knitting, either.

Gardening

It is looking so beautiful. I am so glad for every hour I’ve spent out there to get it ready this year because the view is absolutely worth it. I take a thirty minute break every morning after I wake up the kids to sit in the backyard and watch the birds flit about and feel the sun on my face. I love summer mornings.

  • Keep harvesting the peas, which are coming fast right now. The peas I planted on President’s Day weekend are massively producing, and also starting to fade a bit. The peas I planted near St. Patrick’s Day are ramping up production and will take us through a few more weeks I think. It was a good experiment with those dates. The peas I planted in April haven’t amounted to much at all. I’m not sure if I’ll get any pods off of them.
  • The lettuces and spinach are producing marvelously right now, but we also have so much cut lettuce left over from Ren’s graduation party that we’re not using the garden lettuces at all. Hopefully we can plough through all the leafy greens before everything goes bad or bolts.
  • Everything else is in the growing/maturing stages: Zucchini, Summer Squash, Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant, Tomatillos, Hot Peppers, Sweet Peppers, Bush Beans, and lots of herbs.
  • There’s also some corn coming up, along with some pumpkins. I’m really excited for these two crops. Corn is always fun to grow, and I bought a purple variety this year. Hopefully it’s tasty. And pumpkins are just delightful.

Celebrating

  • Still cleaning up graduation stuff, but it’s coming along
  • Happy Canada Day today! I don’t do anything for it anymore because I have a lot to do for the Fourth of July, but I still like to wish people a happy Canada Day when it rolls around.
  • Fourth of July Jell-O preparations will commence tomorrow. I need to make sure we actually have everything we need, but that’s also something that can be remedied the day of if need be.
  • Pioneer Day is coming up and I’m not sure if we’re doing anything for it. Church is having a potluck or something and I think I saw something about a pie-making contest, which I’ll need to mention to the girls because they will absolutely commit.
  • Renaissance’s eighteenth birthday is coming up in a little over a month. No idea what we’re doing, should probably get on that.

Community

  • Ward Choir is on my mind as we get it started up. I like to have them perform once a month, so we’ll be hitting the rehearsals hard. I’d also like to start figuring out the Christmas program ASAP so I can get music ordered and have everything ready to go in September/October, depending on the difficulty of the pieces.
  • Hymns have not been chosen for July because sacrament meeting topics weren’t chosen when I was looking yesterday. A reminder text was sent.
  • Need to do July contacting with ministering sisters. My two companions are both moving out of state this week, so I’m also waiting to hear who my new companions will be. I’ve asked for it to be my own daughters, so we’ll see, I guess.
  • I have a couple of books about decorating and entertaining that I like to read from time to time, and I just read the summer chapter from The Collected Cottage and I’m all revved up to do some summer entertaining, but I don’t know what to do. That beautiful chapter just makes me want to have friends over and enjoy the beautiful weather while we can, but it’s a leap to invite new people over and everyone is so busy with travel and houseguests during the summer. I guess I just need a mentality of “Just keep asking until someone says yes?”
  • I’m sure there’s Band Booster stuff I should have my eye on, but I gave myself the last week off and am uninformed at the moment. I’ll have to reacquaint myself and start touching base with the other band moms.

Top priorities this week:

  • Finish cleaning up the graduation party, which will require:
  • Decluttering and cleaning the pantry so I can find space to put the new chafing dishes and drink dispensers that I purchased for the grad party.
  • Flower girl dress alterations.
  • Fourth of July preparations. Mmmmm, Jell-O.
  • Ward Choir prep.

It’s the time of year for enjoying the weather, and thankfully, I’m solar-powered so the sunshine helps me get loads of stuff done. Happy North American Country Day that you celebrate, if that pertains to you, and I’ll talk to you again soon!

It Begins: Graduation Week

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Big week ahead!  I’m starting to feel really worn out by everything, but I’m trying to ignore the feeling and just enjoy everything that’s going on.  Next week will be much less busy and I’ll make sure to take some time to rest and recover, but until then I just gotta keep going!

Cooking

This week’s meal plan:  Don’t judge me, it’s going to be an extremely busy week where I’ll only have about thirty minutes to throw dinners together.

  • Monday: Costco Chicken Alfredo & Mac ‘n Cheese, Green Goddess Salad, French Bread
  • Tuesday: Waffles, Eggs, Bacon
  • Wednesday: Pizza
  • Thursday: Hot Dogs
  • Friday: Salad Bar
  • Saturday: Citrus & Honey Chicken Breasts, Cilantro Rice, Broccoli, Strawberry & Spinach salad
  • Sunday: Chicken Tostada Salad, Fajita Veggies

Clothing

  • Everyone needs dresses hemmed for some reason
  • I cannot find Michael’s khakis, which he needs for graduation.  Where could they have possibly gone?  Super annoying.  I’ve looked in all the places they should be and in places they could be and nope.
  • Continually monitor the wrinkly-ness of Renaissance’s graduation robe after each thing she needs to wear it to this week and re-iron as needed.

Cleaning

I didn’t even get to the toaster last week, so…don’t hold your breath on any of the other things!

Caring

All eyes are on graduation this week, so everything that isn’t that has been rescheduled for dealing with next week. Oh! Michael and Nathaniel needs haircuts before graduation. They look like shaggy dogs right now.

Creativity

  • The graduation signature quilt blocks are halfway assembled and they may stay that way through the graduation party.  What’s done so far is enough for them to be serviceable at the party, so I’m going to spend my time on more pressing things and circle back to finishing these blocks when I have time, which may not be until after the party.
  • I need to start sewing up the bunting for the grad party decorations.  I just think it will add the nicest touch.
  • Other grad party decoration preparations will probably wait until next week when I have more time.

Gardening

  • I need to kill some slugs.  As predicted, they’re gobbling up the petunias.  If I could just remember to buy slug killer at the store, I could easily move this problem to a much more positive outcome.
  • Still need to get the Three Sisters planted, but we’ve got an atmospheric river pouring on us right now and the weather’s not set to clear up until graduation ceremony day and I will be beyond busy during that time.  Maybe I can get to this on the weekend?  Same to the front porch plantings and figuring out what the heck I want to do with the front yard plantings.

Celebrating

There’s so much going on this week—Baccalaureate ceremony, a choir concert, and graduation!  There’s still a lot that needs to be done for some of these things, but we should be OK.

Community

  • I can push most of this stuff to next week and I am actively trying to do so.  I did reach out to my ministering companions to try to set something up for next week and one of them has gotten back to me, so that’s a start.
  • With the release of the thirteen new hymns I have some work to do on the music front at church and I got a bit of a start on it yesterday with good outcomes.  Someone recommended that I join the “Music Callings Resources” Facebook group for good ideas, but so far it’s only seemed to be a big bunch of squabbling complainers who are personally offended that the Church didn’t pick their favorite song for release, and if it’s not that kind of person, it’s the super annoying “I know more about music than you do” people who enjoy flaunting their musical knowledge and elevated opinions.  I’m hoping it’s just a little agitated over there because of the announcement, but I’ll leave the group if, after my 30 day snooze wears off, it’s still a lot of the same a month from now.  What an absolute downer of an experience.

Top priorities this week:

  • Graduation and all of its associated events
  • Keep everyday life afloat in the midst of all the graduation stuff

Graduation is really here! I remember my mom friends being all “it’s going to go by so fast!” at the beginning of the school year, and while I think we kept so, so busy this year with all the fun that a senior year brings, it is weird that graduation is actually here. I think I’m still recovering from the epic prom dresses, so graduation feels like it popped up out of nowhere! I was telling Michael this morning that I’m so glad there’s all these graduation warm-up events before actual graduation because, based on how much I’m tearing up at these pre-graduation events, I don’t think I’d make it through the actual graduation ceremony with any sort of composure if I was just thrown into it without any of this other stuff happening first. Emily’s graduation was a big deal, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t really involved with her activities and peer group because we were still kind of new to the area, COVID was still impacting things a bit, and she wasn’t involved in as many things as Renaissance is. Graduation feels so much bigger when you actually know the kids who are graduating and have a lot of memories with them. My cup runneth over…see you on the other side of this week!