It has been a great summer and I have not gotten to the computer to add anything to my blog for so long. A friend suggested that I at least write a little bit about what we've been doing.
We have had gorgeous weather here in Door County. A couple of hot spells but basically warm days with cool nights which is wonderful for sleeping and we do not have air-conditioning. After Craig's health scare in April we really have taken time to look at our lives and how busy we seemed to feel in the summer and this year we have had more downtime and are conscious of how we are spending our time.
We took a trip to Michigan in May to see our son and his family and watch all of them march in the Holland Tulip Festival. Since we moved to Door County we feel that Holland, Michigan is now our vacation spot.
In June we went to Minneapolis so see our youngest son and Craig's bothers and their wives and managed to squeeze in time with a few friends. It had been 10 months since we'd been there so it was a much needed time to connect with people.
We had some close friends come and stay a few days and over the 4th our youngest son and his friends came for a long visit. We are so grateful for the wonderful people we have met through our business over the last 7 years up here and love when they stop in, unexpectedly.
We have been gardening and it was a slow start as it was so cool for a while but things are slowly starting to come. Tomatoes are green yet because of the cool nights but eventually we hope to see them turn a gorgeous color of orange. My herbs are prolific and I need to start drying a few of them. Basil is great and we love putting it in so many things, especially on our pizza which we do on the grill.
We spend time sitting out in our Adirondack chairs looking at our gardens and the woods surrounding the house. The hammock is a real favorite late in the day.
Our bird feeders are busy all the time. We have so many gorgeous finches as well as an Indigo Bunting, cardinals, nuthatches, chickadees, robins and blue jays. We are amazed at the amount of food that they go through each day.
We started using our screen porch in the spring and haven't eaten a meal inside since. Anytime we are in the house we sit on the porch to eat, visit with friends, and read or rug hook into the evenings. We keep saying that was the best addition we could have made to our home.
With this ideal weather I've been able to hang almost all of my wash out on the lines. What could smell better than to climb between fresh sheets at night.
We have a farmers market close by on Saturdays and slowly we are getting more fresh vegetables. I do almost all of our cooking using as many fresh items as possible. At least I'm trying not to use packaged products more than I have to.
We love Trader Joe's and the closest one is about 4 hours away but we always make a stop there on our way home from Michigan. Craig doesn't enjoy grocery shopping but he really enjoys Trader Joe's and we always come home with some great food to fix, not to mention good wine as a great price.
The other day we picked 14 lbs. of sour cherries and sat on the porch and pitted them. A friend came over in the afternoon and we made 4 batches of cherry jam together. It was so much fun as she had never made jam before and we said we felt like we were in Mary Jane's Farm kitchen.
Our rhubarb patches have been prolific and I just went out and picked another bunch and am cooking it. We love to add frozen cherries which adds a little more color and flavor and is great as a sauce but we also use it on pancakes and waffles.
We have a new granddaughter in Michigan and soon we are heading over that way to see her (and the rest of the famly).
Our days are flying by but we really take time to enjoy life and are grateful for every day that God has given us. I really have "let go" of our shop this summer as business is slow and there has been so many other wonderful things to do each day besides pushing hard to make things.
I am feeling inspired and hope to do an artist's show near Milwaukee on Sept. 15 so need to get motivated real soon. When I think of Fall and Christmas items then it is so much fun to see what new things I can come up with. As usual, I try to do a little rug hooking as often as I can.
Hope all of you have had a great summer!
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