I was out past my bedtime last night and seem to be paying for it with a crazy headache today. But it was worth it: I saw Chris Stapleton with friends at a nearby outdoor venue. He was amazing! I’d go see him again. Love his voice.
It felt like the perfect finale to what has been a wonderful summer. School starts in three days so I guess I have to admit that it is over.
Today I stuck to cleaning up, doing wash, roasting and freezing tomatoes, walking the dog and reading my book. Anything requiring real thought felt like a struggle. I also made hopefully my last ever trip to Costco to use my $28 gift certificate (I let T use it to buy food to bring to school).
The book, Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, is so good. The kind of book where you put it down every so often just to say, damn, this is good. I know I’m late to the party on it — it came out in 2021. But the third book in his Harlem trilogy just came out so I decided to start at the beginning.
Saturday was mostly spent getting ready for the concert, cleaning up and driving kids around. I had a big garden haul in the morning:
Going back to last week: Sunday was spent prepping for F’s birthday party on Monday night, plus grocery shopping. I used a $25 Fetch gift card at Target.
Afterward, I weed whacked and generally cleaned up outside. I sat outside for a while enjoying really nice weather (82, not humid). That was followed by more inside clean-up. And I finally got the last of the dried thyme and marjoram into containers (so tedious).
I probably spent too much on F’s party, but baking a cake and cooking food myself isn’t going to happen at the end of August. She asked for chicken fingers from Raising Cane’s. I also bought frozen fries and onion rings to cook in the oven. The cake was from Wegmans and was delicious and beautiful. Tom got some free fireworks from a client, so N set them off, and that was the entertainment, as well as playing volleyball. The mosquitoes were tough but the weather was beautiful. It really went well. There were 17 or 18 girls; we borrowed tables and chairs so everyone could sit and eat together outside.
F made a giant banner from kraft paper that read “15 and Fabulous.” She is a great artist!
On Wednesday I took off to enjoy the weather and have a last “vacation” day. I gardened in the morning, transplanting thyme to a bigger container, watering, and thinning the rest of the turnips. In the afternoon, I hit the library for literary treats and Haddon Culinary for edible treats, and brought both to the pool, and it was glorious. So peaceful. I got my laps in too. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I took that day off.
That night I decided to try inspecting the brassicas to see what is eating them. Sure enough, I caught a caterpillar in the act. Grayish I think? Probably a cross-striped cabbageworm. I checked a couple nights later but didn’t find anything else. I have had the fabric cover on them for a while, but it does blow off sometimes.
Thursday it rained much of the day. I’m allowed to work from home the last two weeks of August, though, so I didn’t have to deal with it. The dog kept us awake with diarrhea that night, so Friday was rough. I crashed out early watching the Phillies.
Meals this week:
Sunday: Grilled chicken, corn on the cob, steamed broccoli
Monday: chicken fingers, fries and onion rings (F’s party)
Tuesday: Tom and F had Chinese; I didn’t feel great and just had something small
Wednesday: Circles Thai for me, others were out
Thursday: carnitas with BBQ sauce added, on buns, and sauteed green beans from the garden
Friday: PJ’s restaurant
Saturday: fries at the concert
Sunday: Ellio’s pizza
Spending: I’m too tired to detail it, but a bunch at CVS for various prescriptions, and the party food, cake and some decorations. And my pool treats. And a haircut for N.
Tom managed to fix the dishwasher so it has stopped spitting grit onto everything. Woo hoo!
I’m on the hunt for a new backpack for N. Otherwise I think everyone is all set for school. Hope so, cause I’m broke until payday on Wednesday.
Garden State of Mind 
Leave a comment